Public Service Announcement: Leggings are NOT pants

So I think the title of this post is pretty self explanatory. I know I haven't posted for a while, but this is something that has been on my mind for a long time.

First of all, I'm not really sure how this legging revival came about. Who is the evil being responsible for this? Seriously, it wasn't a great look back in the 80s. It wasn't a great look in the early 90s when I was five and had Fred Bare leggings with a matching big Fed Bare tshirt to go with them. At least I had an excuse; I was too young to know any better, and the early 90s was a confusing time in fashion. Does anyone else remember Blossom, with her big flower hats, and bands like Girlfriend? I rest my case. But I remember in high school when we would laugh at the librarian for wearing leggings. And now she's apparently society's fashion icon. What the...?

I do sort of understand the point of leggings in some cases. They sort of make sense under dresses. They allow you wear dresses in winter, and aren't as restrictive as stockings. And sometimes, when worn like this, leggings can look good. But please, for the love of god, do not wear leggings as pants! This is a particularly heinous crime that makes the baby jesus cry when it is footless tights that are worn as pants. Let me explain why. The whole point of footless tights is that they are tights. As in stockings, just with the bottom cut of to make them a bit more casual. But they are still made out of stocking material, which even though it may say 'opaque', are stretchy and ultimately SEE THROUGH. Let me take the opportunity here to explain that the point of clothes, and pants specifically, is to cover your nakedness and prevent the rest of the world from seeing all of your glorious self. Wearing see through clothing is actually counter productive to this.

Now, actual leggings made out of a non-sheer material are a step up from this, but still not great. Here is why. Even though people choose to wear skin tight jeans which may or may not be flattering on their individual body shape, at least denim is a thick material that does a little to hold everything in and cover everything up. Leggings do not. The tighter they are, the less they leave to the imagination. They really get up there and outline every crack, dimple and lump on offer. And this? Is not nice. It is also not improved by wearing leopard print or lace versions.

I do understand that leggings may be comfortable, and in some occasions are preferable to other forms of pants. But please, not in public. And if you feel you really must, at least wear something over it. And I don't mean a tshirt that only just covers your butt, still allowing us to see almost everything. I mean a dress that at least reaches your thighs.

I will admit, I have seen some girls who could wear leggings on their own and look perfectly acceptable. These girls are rare, and us mortals should not be fooled into thinking we will look like that as well.

So please, for everyone's sake, wear real clothes, and not leggings, as your only form of lower body clothing.

When something old becomes something new

So about that regular blogging thing... Hasn't quite happened, has it? If it's any excuse, my work schedule really hasn't settled down or become regular either. Things are still being organised at this point and I've been working a lot, and then filling in for people. So no blogging, but on the bright side, I'm not broke anymore. On the down side, I haven't had any time to go shopping with that money. Any suggestions as to where I should go on the next free day I have?

However, even though I haven't bought anything new, I do have a sort of new addition to my wardrobe. It's a cardigan I've had for somewhere between two to three years, and only worn once. It's one of those pieces that you buy, but then have to psyche yourself up to wear. Let me explain what I mean, because I'm sure you'll know what I'm talking about.

A friend of mine, Mel, and I have discussed this before, as it's happened to us a few times. You buy something, but can't wear it straight away. You really have to get into the head space to wear it. For example, with my cardigan, it's not that it's crazy, or out there or anything, but it is a little different to my other cardigans. It buttons up one at the bottom where it's fitted and ties up, and has really baggy arms, except at the end where it's fitted s well. And when I first got it, I did wear it straight away, but it just didn't feel right. Since then, I've pulled it out many times and attempted to wear it again, but every time I just couldn't quite work up the courage to wear it out, I didn't feel comfortable. This was partly because I wasn't quite sure how to wear it.

But then the day came when I was finally ready to wear it. The other week I put it on and it just worked. I can't explain why it's suddenly become perfect, but it is and I don't want to stop wearing it. Which is another reason I need to go shopping, so that I'm not wearing the same thing over and over again. My favourite new piece is one of my oldest.

I found a job... and with it, a new obsession.

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It's been quite a while since my last post. But I've been busy for once!

Good news, I have a job. It's very exciting to be employed again. So the last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic, but I'm getting myself together again, and will hopefully get back to regular posting.

My job is in retail, at a designer childrens wear store. And before you think that this sounds lame, let me tell you, it's definitely not. I am a complete childrens clothes convert. I have in the past spent a little bit of time in the childrens section of department stores, and not in a creepy, pedophile way. I have small feet, and can often find cute kids shoes to fit, and which are cheaper than adults shoes a lot of the time (this goes for Volleys and Converse, and even sometimes means more interesting prints). And, admittedly, I have bought some kids clothes before, like a jacket and a cardigan here and there. Before you wonder if I'm a dwarf or have an eating disorder, the definition of children is usually up to about age 14 depending on the store, and there are some tall/big 14-year-olds out there. And I am a leetle bit vertically challenged. There are some 14-year-olds who are taller than me.

But now, dear readers, I am a complete childrens clothes lover. The collection in store now where I work is amazing. It's absolutely beautiful. I've discovered that kids clothes are so much better because they're made out of quality material, are really fun and are in much nicer designs than the stuff made for people my age. No skanky, body binding, revealing dresses.

Unfortunately it's probably still a little out of my price range. Unfortunately again, every person I know with children has boys, and this store only sells girls clothes. I can't even live vicariously through someone's children. Oh well, I guess it's saving me money.

And a lot of money does get spent on clothes. you'd be surprised how much people are willing to spend on clothes for their children. Obviously no one told these people that we're going into a recession. But as an employee, I'm sure not complaining. And I do agree that they're worth it.

So if you think you're about the size of a teenager, I suggest you start checking out the kids sections and stores from now on. You'll love it too.

The good, the bad and the just plain hideous

There's a trend at the moment that I both love and hate. I don't hate it because of the trend in general, but of the bad that can be done with it. What am I going on about, you ask? I'll tell you. Lace.

I'm sure you've all noticed the influx of lace on the streets of late. I think it can be a really pretty look, and I do love me some pretty. We'll get to the good side of lace later. First, the bad.

I have seen some serious lace crimes recently. I blame Facebook for exposing me to some of these atrocities. There are a couple of repeat offenders' whose photos come up in my news feed and these girls are always wearing some hideous interpretation of lace. Now, I blame myself for making the mistake of looking every time, but in my defence, the offenders are usually friends of friends, and I don't expect it. But still, I will take mercy and not name names.

The first lace crime is ugly lace. There's good lace, and there's ugly lace. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the difference. And if the design of the top is bad, inserting a lace panel will not suddenly improve it. This can be seen in the case of a black, halter-neck top, wore by fore mentioned offenders. It had an uncomfortably high neck line, and lace was inserted from above the bust and up. It looked kind of nineties, gothic, rocker chick. Not good. Then below the lace, it was a baggy, hanging mess, followed by a band of what looked to be stretch lace around the bottom. Urgh. Traumatising.

But it gets worse. The same girls (yes, girls, plural. They all share clothes, so each of them can be seen wearing the offensive clothing at some point), tried again with another lace concoction. This one was a lilac sort of colour (And I think may have possibly convinced me to steer clear of that colour at all costs), which really did not go with the lace design. It was a simple singlet top make completely out of lace. It reminded me a little of the performance outfit from the Lizzie McGuire movie. If you've seen that movie, you'll know the outfit's not good. But wait! There's more. Everything below the bust was see through. It didn't have a lining and you could completely see through it.

I'm sorry, but I don't understand wearing clothes that are see through. It looks cheap and trashy, and showing excess skin is a little bit inappropriate for anywhere other than the beach or the bedroom. It does not, repeat not, look good. But who can blame these misguided girls when celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow are making the same mistake. True, Paltrow's dress would be nice if only she'd wear something underneath. A slip, perhaps. But seeing her underwear through her dress did her no favours, and hasn't gained her any fashion brownie points.


On the other hand, there is hope. I've found two lace dresses that I love. One is from http://www.goshcelebrityfashion.com.au/. They have some adorable things on their site, so definitely give it a look.


The other, which I absolutely adore is a Camilla and Marc dress, by the name of Delilah lace dress. I came across it in a store on Chapel street called Phillips. They have some beautiful things in there. I also have to mention that when I was in there, I was served by a lovely shop assistant, who was very helpful. There's something to be said for good customer service. They have a website too, http://www.phillipsclothing.com.au/. But this comes with a warning. You may fall in love with everything on here, so look at your own risk. Also make sure to check out the Delilah dress online, because my photo does not do it justice.


I guess that's the way with trends, though. They can look fabulous, and then they can be used and abused in horrendous ways. As long as I'm not the fashion victim, or offender, I'll be happy.

So maybe I'm not always in style. Sometimes it's worth it.

I think I may have already set a record by falling behind on my posts so quickly. But it's been a busy last few days, so please cut me some slack.

This last week I started my job search training. For those of you in Australia, I'm sure you'll understand my pain. It's mind-numbingly useless most of the time, but every now and then they do give you something good. I shouldn't be so harsh, because I'm sure there are people out there for whom this course is very beneficial. But in the current environment where most of the people doing the course are people who have been made redundant, or at least have experience in the work force, most of the things we learn are things we already know. I have to say though, the consultants where I'm doing my training are all very lovely and helpful. And once you get past the basics, they do have some very beneficial advice to give. The other people in my course are also very nice, and make the whole experience more fun than it probably should be. So that's what I've been doing with my time. I also had an interview for a retail job, so wish me luck!

I did some fun stuff this week, too. On Thursday I went to see N.E.R.D's show, with Grandmaster Flash as the support act. So good! If you ever get a chance to see either or both live, I highly recommend it. Apart from how good the show was, it got me thinking about something that seems to be out of fashion: Manners.

At the risk of sounding like a bit of a grandma, manners seem to be on the decline and it really pisses me off. Rude people are definitely my pet peeve. The reason the show made me think of manners, was that there are always people at shows who have no manners and seem to make it their purpose to be inconsiderate to others. This isn't just a case of someone who comes of as being rude, but had no intention or no idea that they were being so. This is people who not only want to benefit themselves in some way, but make it their goal to ruin the show for others at the same time.

The main culprit? People who push in front of you on the floor. I realise that yes, this is the floor at a concert, but if we've been waiting in our spot since the start of the show, what makes you think you can come at the last minute and push in front? Some common courtesy would be nice. They also do not consider whether or not they have now blocked your view or if they're talller than you. If they are, what would've been so bad about standing behind? They could easily see over you, and then you could still see as well. This makes sense to me. Apparently not to everyone else. There was one girl in particular who stood out the other night. She and her boyfriend (both very tall), literally shoved my friend out of the way and stood in front of her. There was no open space there, but they decided that they deserved to stand there more than she did. What the..? They did this repeatedly. I don't undertsand how someone could be so selfish. Though, having said that, he WAS wearing a flannelette shirt and she was clearly of the trashy moll variety, so I guess you can't expect those people to have too much common sense or manners.

Another concert manners crime I've expereinced is having seats taken by other people. I understand if someone moves to a better seat because they think no one's sitting there, but once the rightful inhabitant of the seat arrives, you should leave. Some people don't. This happened to me when I took my little sister to a show for her birthday. We got there jsut as the first support act was starting and some girls had taken our seats. So we asked them to move, and they refused. We asked nicely and explained the situation, and they refused and upped the attitude. Now again, these were teenage girls of the too much eyeliner wearing variety, so what did I expect, right? That maybe they'd be decent human beings? Ha! I'm so naive. Unfortunately for them (and my sister who just wanted to hide), I don't back down very easily when I know I'm in the right. I got security. All they had to do was say, 'Our mistake', and move. But no, they decided to argue with him too. I don't know if they thought it was funny, but everyone else around them was getting pissed off because their view was being blocked by the commotion. Eventually the guard got them to move, and I ended up not feeling bad about the surrounding people because most of them were in other people's seats as well. But it's an example of just how rude and frustrating people can be.

Is it so hard to be considerate of other people, to not take what isn't yours and say please and thankyou? I am hanging out for the days when manners come back into fashion. Until then, I'll just have to be out of fahsion, because this is one trend I'll love forever.

There are much more unhealthy obsessions I could have

Good news! I found some yellow bags. And they're not expensive. Still outside of my budget, which is all of zero, but not an unattainable goal.

I found these two cute bags in Aldo.
This one is patent leather, smaller in size, though still practical.


The other is a bigger, more casual bag that looks like it'd be handy for carrying around your whole life. And it has cute bow details on the side.

Which brings me to an obsession of mine. Bows. This is not a recent obsession of mine. I've had a thing for bows for a few years, it's just grown more intense in the past couple of years. It first started with anything that tied up. Wrap tops, tie up jackets, dresses with ties, I loved them all. But now I want a more exaggerated bow. Bows on pockets, or on shoes, or on the front of a dress. As long as it's an obvious bow, I'll like it.

Luckily for me, Melbourne has also embraced the bow. Every store I go into has something with bows on it. The cutest bow items I've come across recently are belts. I've found different types of bow belts. There was a brown, skinny belt that buttoned up and looked like the end of the belt was tied in a bow. Then there are the stretch, waist belts with bow buckles. Sportsgirl has a big, bow buckle belt instore right now.

But the one I love the most I found in a store on Sydney Road. It was of the stretchy waist variety. The buckle was a cut out bow shape with the detailing filled in. This sounds like every other bow buckle belt, I know. What made these differnet were the colours. They came in bright, rich versions of red, yellow and blue as well as brown and black. So very pretty. Just another thing to add to my wish list.

Blogs and bags

The first blog post. It seems so daunting facing a blank page, or blank blog. I've only done this a couple of times before, and even then it was for school projects, but I'm going to give it a go.

I don't have any strict plan or goals for this blog, but I thought it could be a place to just put down my thoughts and observations on what's happening in fashion and give me the chance to practice my writing.

I was never really into blogging, but recently came around to it. It suddenly seemed like such a good idea. It's strange how that happens every so often, when you are so against something or really dislike it, and then all of a sudden, literally overnight, you have a complete change of mind.

This happened to me recently with something else. All of a sudden, out of no where, I wanted a yellow bag. I have no explanation for this phenomena, but I can explain why it's so strange. I am not a yellow person. I have held quite the grudge against the colour for years, for two reasons. The first is that it looks awful on me. I tried on a pastel yellow top once, and was quickly told that I looked ill. Now, I know that with a lot of effort I probably could find a tone of yellow that might possibly look ok and not make me look like I died three days earlier, but there's more.

When I was much younger, my friend was telling me how her mum hated yellow and how onetime when she saw someone wearing yellow she asked if that person was blind. Yikes. That kinda put a negative spin on yellow for me. It's funny how these things stick with us way past childhood.

So that's why I always hated yellow. But now, suddenly, I'm desperate for a yellow bag. And I have a blog. I never saw it coming, but I think I'm going to like it. The blog, that is. And the bag, if I ever get one.