27 Dresses

The fashionista in me is cringing at all these proposed bridesmaid dresses...  Who would want to wear an office dress made out of shiny taffeta?  Why do the rest look like soggy caveman chiffon?  Did they really need to add a puffy flower there?  Is this really how I want preserved in someone's photo album forever?

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Fashion Boundaries

"Fashion fades, style is eternal." - Yves Saint Laurent

All the sorts of people were there today to view the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit at the SAM.  YSL has always had a dichotomous image in my head of being either very elegant and proper or very daring and pushing the envelope.  Like with any sort of art though, anybody can appreciate the creativity and craftsmanship and history of such a designer, whether or not it's their personal aesthetic.

These were some of my favorite pieces, although there were many more risque, elaborate, fantastical works that YSL was known for.  I loved all the mod styles with sleek cuts that just barely frame the figure.

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Cardio

I never thought I'd say this, but sometimes regular shopping is much more exhausting than thrifting.

The difficult part about retail is that you have to wade through everything - each piece which catches the eye, and could theoretically be a good buy to some degree - and discern what you actually like and what you're actually being tricked into liking.  It's harder to pinpoint what pieces are actually special.  After a few stores you start recognizing the same trends and wonder whether you should've bought it from this place instead of that one, whether it really makes a difference that this brand put an extra ruffle here.  When they don't carry your size, you try to convince yourself that either you can squeeze into the smaller one or make it work with the bigger one.  And of course, there's the eternal struggle of "Do I really like it thi$ much"?

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Article: 'Getting Over My Fear of Dressing "Asian"'

Article by Connie Wang

And here’s something that’s worth bringing up: Cultural appropriation has made it so a blonde, white woman who doesn't know her chopsticks from her hair accessories will always look “cute” in a cheongsam, and an Asian woman will look like she’s dressed in a costume. That was definitely how things were in the ‘90s, and is often the case today. But, to my surprise, I’ve also found hopeful signs that we are moving in a new, more informed direction. These days, when I encounter non-Asian people wearing Asian trends, oftentimes they’re from trips they took to abroad. They know the origins of these garments and are interested to learn more. I’m biased, but I’ve always found that these clothes are objectively beautiful, too; the silhouettes are striking, and the patterns hit that mix between eclectic and elegant that I’ve always been drawn to. I'm willing to share, but to do that, I need to have ownership of these trends, too. They’re rooted in a history that feels real and tangible to me. In my mind, Woodstock will always evoke technicolor snapshots from Lifemagazine; Audrey Hepburn’s LBD will always conjure scenes from the movie — those are my adopted cultural story. But a jade earring is my mother and my grandmother and my aunts and my cousin; it comes from the same place I do, and it's part of the narrative I was born into.

*applauds*

But seriously though, I thought I was the only one who felt shame about emphasizing that I was Asian.  Going through the racks in the thrift store to see beautiful qipaos discarded and then picked up as Halloween costumes or "boho" styles...  And worse, knowing that different traditional fashions are "cooler" than others.  I hope I'll have the guts one day to don my culture one day.

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Mix it up

Taken at Handmade, La Conner in La Conner, WA, an adorable little beauty product and gift shop.  You can see in the second photo their kitchen-like workshop where they concoct all their products.  My paparazzi skills are a little rusty, sorry for the blurriness...

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Supermodel

Possibly one of Brooke Shields' earliest modeling gigs?

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Class Act

So awesome - at Wise Buys thrift store in Bellingham, they were selling recycled jewelry handmade by local high school students.  Each piece had tag of the student's name on it; how great a teaching opportunity, to give them that sense of pride in creating a product!  Some of these look very JCrew inspired and most people would never guess they were made from pieces of old broken jewelry.  I almost bought one of the thin chained, single-pendant clear rhinestone necklaces on the chalkboard.

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Upcycled DIY culottes

The culottes trend has slowly grown on me; they're not quite gauchos (*shudder*) but wider throughout and generally more structured and voluminous... therefore somehow more flattering than the bell flare of gauchos.  Maybe I'll shudder at culottes in 10 years too, but so it is with trends.  Since this one is fairly difficult to pull off and style, I didn't want to spend too much money.



I found these very long, high-waisted, wide-legged pants (that came with a belt) at Goodwill for $2, and simply cut off about 10" from the bottom and finished with an invisible hem.  It was difficult deciding just where to crop them - culottes come in all sorts of lengths nowadays from more of a shorts style to just above the ankle - but there's enough room for me to take them lower or higher it in the future if I want a change.

They're fun to wear, and as you can imagine, super comfortable.

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