Typically, the mainstream media portrays thin as the only beautiful body type. Yet, here is an example of the mainstream media, promoting a beautiful, curvy woman. About: Lizzi Miller, A Poster Girl for Positive Body Image
“Glamour is not cruelty. Glamour is not closemindedness. Glamour is not bigotry or hatred. Glamour is not self-conscious; it’s not trying really hard. It’s just expressing your own truth. I think that’s what the essence of glamour really is, expressing your uniqueness.” — Kevyn Aucoin
I pulled the above quote from Dressful’s Facebook page and was reminded of how much I adored Kevyn Aucoin and what a shocking loss we suffered when he died in 2002. Kevyn grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he suffered ceaseless bullying at school over his being gay, a fact he discovered about himself when he was six. Aucoin was forced to drop out of high school as a result of the abuse and enrolled in beauty school. He took a job at an exclusive women’s shop giving make-up lessons, but the female customers were uncomfortable with a man applying their make-up.
He moved to Baton Rouge where the abuse continued when he and his friends were beaten by security officers. His move to New York to start his career was motivated as much by fear for his life as a desire to be at the epicenter of fashion and beauty. It was while building his portfolio doing free make-up applications for models that he was disovered by Vogue and began working with famed fashion photographer Steven Meisel. During 1987-89 he did nine Vogue covers in a row and commanded up to $6000 for a make-up session.
The most enduring quality about Kevyn Aucoin and what makes me love him so much is that he revered the beauty within every woman and saw his job as one of making women feel beautiful. He considered make-up a tool to help a woman discover herself. He refused to do the make-up of models he felt were too young. Working for Revlon, Aucoin launched a make-up line called The Nakeds which was the first to address all skin tones, a move considered groundbreaking at the time.
According to Kevyn Aucoin:
Beauty is about perception, not about make-up. I think the beginning of all beauty is knowing and liking oneself. You can’t put on make-up, or dress yourself, or do you hair with any sort of fun or joy if you’re doing it from a position of correction.
Perfection is boring. If a face doesn’t have mistakes, it’s nothing.
Today I see beauty everywhere I go, in every face I see, in every single soul.
Yes, but everyone is beautiful to someone.
When I heard about Fit-to-Flick I was intrigued – not because I’d never heard of a hat you can push your ponytail through…(I have one of those). What’s interesting about Fit-to-Flick is that if you choose to wear it when you aren’t sporting a ponytail you don’t see a huge gaping hole at the back of your head. My ponytail hat was terrfic when I wore a ponytail but when my hair was down it was useless. Also the hole insisted that I wear my ponytail at only one height, not low or high but somewhere in the middle. Very limiting.
Today I received my Fit-to-Flick hat via post and the intelligent design allows for a ponytail by way of a slit which virtually disappears when not in use. Also, the size of the slit allows you to wear your ponytail at pretty much any height you desire. Freedom! Besides its practicality, the hat is fashioned from all natural fibres which are soft, breathable, warm and silky-feeling.
I love the girl power behind this brand and the way its genesis arose from a personal need. Says founder Hannah Bomze:
While traveling through Italy on a wintry visit with my boyfriend, I got sick of taking off my beanie for every photo in an attempt to look decent in photographs. With a ponytail in my hair and the beanie on, the hat didn’t cover my ears properly, my silhouette looked like an alien’s, and my hair was a disaster when I took the hat off for photos. Needless to say it was a rather cold and unphotogenic trip.
Enter Fit-to-Flick. The company began as a school project for a class I was taking at NYU’s Stern School of Business in the spring of 2011. After a semester of many design ideas and conversations with people in the industry, I created a line of headwear that looks chic with or without a ponytail.
Here’s a front and back view of the ‘Charlotte’ style and color I received:
I don’t know about you, but every time I buy a re-usable travel mug I lose it within days. I did this about half a dozen times before I decided the amount of plastic I was going through might be harming the environment more than the few paper cups I’d use at Starbuck’s (I usually have morning coffee at home, after all). Then it occurred to me that the sunglasses principle might have something to do with my inability to hang on to a travel mug. That being, the value I place on the eye wear determines how long I keep it. I’ve discovered that if I really love and look great with my sunglasses I will hold on to them for years, while less coveted pairs have disappeared within weeks or even days. I believe the same to be true with my vanishing travel mugs.
Enter KeepCup which looks like this:
The lovely colour combination and simple design appeal to my esthetic sensibilities before I even think about the environmental benefits, which bodes well for the sunglasses principle. I received my KeepCup from the company, but you can go on the website and design your own…I’m fairly certain I’d hold onto a travel mug I custom-made for myself.
KeepCup is “the first barista standard reusable cup” (because it replicates standard takeaway sizes and fits under the group heads of most espresso machines). Plus:
- KeepCup users have diverted an estimated 30,000 tonnes of disposable cup waste from landfill
- KeepCup users have stopped 70,000 trees being felled for paper pulp.
- International Paper estimates that in the United States alone over 58 billion disposable cups are discarded every year, the majority relegated to landfill. (Oh, it breaks my heart!)
Disposable Cup Facts
- 500 billion disposable cups are manufactured globally every year; that’s about 75 disposable cups for every single person on the planet.
- Half of the plastic used in the world today is for single use items. (Oh, the humanity!)
- The 500 billion disposable cups used in the world each year placed end to end could circumnavigate the earth 100 times.
- World paper use has exploded by 400% in the last 40 years. Now nearly 4 billion trees or 35% of the total trees chopped down are used in paper industries on every continent. (Why is this getting worse instead of better?)
- Very little recycled paper is used to make disposable cups because of contamination concerns. Because most disposable cups are coated with plastic, both composting and recycling of disposable cups is uncommon.
- Most of the world’s paper supply, in fact about 71%, still comes from diminishing forests, not tree farms or the recycling bin.
I am planning to hold on to my stylish KeepCup and stop being part of this easily avoidable waste problem.
So often, it’s the hot, new–and young–actresses that get all the red carpet love at award shows. Not so at the Golden Globes. Fashionista: A Look at all the Stars over 45 Who Stole the Red Carpet
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve avoided wearing my prettiest clothes because I was saving them for a nicer occasion. Weightless: Self-Care is Never a Waste
Beyonce‘s latest promotional image for album “Four” has caused quite a stir–and unfortunately the buzz has got nothing to do with the music. Fashionista: Critics Accuse Beyonce of “Whitewashing”
Consumers are becoming more aware of ethical issues and many are wanting change. But how can we help to drive this change? Style Eyes Ethical Fashion Blog: Is Boycott the Answer?
Most successful people were not born into success; they simply did, and continue to do, things that help them realize their full potential. Marc and Angel Hack Life: 12 Things Successful People Do Differently
I learned via Citizen Rosebud on Facebook that legendary singer Etta James has died of complications from leukemia. She would have been 74 on Wednesday. I discovered the singer in university thanks to one of my roommates who later noted that I gave him Led Zeppelin in return for Etta James. I became obsessed with her music, trolling second hand record shops and collecting every Etta album I could find. I would listen to her alone and in the company of friends and her music became the soundtrack of my life. I challenged anyone to not like Etta. Even the most die hard rockers and jocks would fall in love with Etta when introduced to her.
She had a universal and timeless appeal and yet remained somehow on the outer edges of superstardom, partly because she was a little bit unruly and unapologetically raunchy. Having had the unparalleled pleasure of seeing Etta perform in Toronto I can tell you she was a woman in touch with her sensuality. I am unable to choose a favourite among the too many great Etta James tunes so here’s one that demonstrates her unabashed sexuality:
Go to The Beheld for an interesting piece on Janis Joplin and beauty.
Dolly wrote “I Will Always Love You” in 1973 and Whitney Houston covered it in a huge way for The Bodyguard soundtrack in 1992.
Up-and-coming designer Abi Ferrin built her fashion label around a good cause, instead of adding it on later like many designers. The Freedom Project works to eradicate poverty by rescuing and rehabilitating women from the sex trade. By building her business around The Freedom Project, Abi commissions toggles, buttons, and other pieces from disenfranchised women, providing them with job training and restored dignity and self-worth.
Abi Ferrin’s designs are a symbol of the wearer’s commitment to the global community and helping those less fortunate. The Freedom Project is Ferrin’s charitable foundation that aims to eradicate poverty and rescue women out of human trafficking by providing alternatives to abusive employment. The idea was born through the vision of Abi’s sister, Kelly, who has dedicated her life to humanitarian efforts worldwide, focusing primarily on impoverished and at-risk women and children. Inspired by her sister’s work, Abi began commissioning disenfranchised women from around the world to contribute to every piece sold from the Abi Ferrin collection.
Abi Ferrin’s design collaboration began with the Guardian Village, a non-profit organization in an impoverished region of Nepal and has since expanded to working with Sak Saum in Cambodia. Both organizations counsel, train, and shelter women rescued from the sex trade and other abusive employment situations.
Through rehabilitation, fair pay, and training in their craft, a safe environment is created where they can live and build a sustainable life through their own efforts and accomplishments. Each Abi Ferrin design is enhanced with a special handcrafted button, toggle or other embellishment, hand-made by the women of the Freedom Project which serves as a symbol of freedom and empowerment.
“Not only will you look great, but you’ll feel great too, knowing that your purchase is helping to support women around the world through gainful employment that can help them escape oppression and poverty,” says Ferrin.
I missed the Golden Globes telecast but I’m posting Octavia Spencer’s acceptance speech because she references Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the past, I’ve wondered how a program that airs the day before MLK day could avoid mentioning the man at all? So, I’m glad she did 
Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.
Fashionista: Are Today’s Lesser-Known Campaign Stars Alienating Brands’ Target Customers?
Golden Globes red carpet walkers took on a challenge: wearing dresses and designs made using green processes. Refinery 29: Chanel, Valentino, YSL, Tom Ford & More Go Green at the Golden Globes
The relationship between strength and vulnerability is counter-intuitive. Daily Good: How Vulnerability Can Be A Strength
Via Already Pretty: Smaggle: How to Walk in High Heels…And When Not to
Youtube: Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus
I have let go of my inner critic. I don’t need her anymore. By Anika: I don’t need her anymore.
It’s not where we stand but in what direction we are moving. Marc and Angel: 101 Simple Truths We Often Forget
I’ve learned from Fashionista that Mia Wasikowska is the new face of Miu Miu for its Spring/Summer 2012 campaign. If you’re unsure, she’s the actress who portrayed the lead in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Wasikowska replaces 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld as Miu’s Miu’s muse, and the first look at Bruce Weber’s shots reveal a series of photos rich in sophistication and dripping with Old World glamour.
I love the textures and pattern mixing. What do you think?
