If I ever became a designer, I'd probably want to be a combination of:
Edna Mode,
Stella McCartney,
and Rachel Roy.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Below, a Columbian t-shirt factory.
Planet Money Makes a T-shirt series
Planet Money, a facet of NPR, produced a segment where they documented the manufacturing of a simple t-shirt, starting from the cotton farm and following the process all the way to the shipment of the final product around the world. It's fascinating to see every step that goes into such a simple item that we consider cheap and disposable. A LOT of resources - from water and raw materials, to labor and chemicals - goes into this mass production. Is it okay for this to be the norm?
I particularly was intrigued by the "People" video chapter. It contrasts the working conditions and motivations of people in the garment district of Bangladesh with those in more developed Columbia. These people earn a fraction of the workers in Columbia. Bangladesh was also the location of the recent factory collapse, where workers could not escape due to poor protocols.
Demand for clothing provides jobs, sure. But should we be concerned with the background scenes? But what happens with the scraps, and the t-shirts that go unsold? Is it really worth all this just to provide consumers a cheaper t-shirt? Business supplies if there is a demand. If we demand slower, more sustainable practices and better treatment for the workers, will we be able to change the whole industry? Not that it's necessary to reverse it to the pre-Industrial Revoluation, but it cannot continue in the trajectory it's currently going.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Here in Seattle we didn't really get much of a Polar Freeze. It's much warmer and drier than usual for January, to be sure. Because of this in-between weather, I'm beginning to see the beauty of long vests, which are a mix between a comfy sweater and a sleek coat, and offer enough warmth without much bulk. These long ones are particularly flattering. They streamline any knitwear underneath and elongate the body, plus they seem really comfy. I'm particularly in love with the fuzzy variety, but I've yet to try one in case I look like a big sheep.
Will this be feeding my outerwear obsession?
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Ishihara Satomi is the second from the right.
Credits for the raw video go to dekkawai!
The latest VSArashi (2014.01.09) featuring the Shitsuren Chocolatier team was super fun. You can see that they all wore matching Breton shirts for team unity and I was immediately inspired by actress Ishihara Satomi's outfit.
The elements: a Breton top rolled up at the sleeves, an oversized flannel shirt tied at the waist, loose pants (not quite sweats, but not exactly trousers, and tapered at the ankle), and wedge booties. It's casual but slightly tomboy while still being polished, and the mixture of prep, grunge, and modern keeps it in the pop realm instead of going too much in one direction.
I took similar pieces that I had in my closet and recreated the look as best I could:
Striped top - Song (from Korean store in Malaysia) / Plaid button up - Mudd
Cropped sweatpants - Mossimo Supply Co. / Wedge sneakers - Mia Girl
The shirt cinches your waist and elongates the body despite the cropped pants. This is the first time in a long time I wore sweats out in public, but it worked. They helped tone down the wedge sneakers, and I didn't feel schlumpy at all. The red and white elements were important to keep the look from being too dark.
I think it's fun to play around with proportions that might not necessarily be flattering to begin with, but if you have the right attitude you can pull it off. A slight fashion risk is worth a try on the weekends.
On a side note... the elevator was the most interesting background I could find haha. It somehow ended up being pseudo-edgy...
Friday, January 10, 2014
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