90s Style

Going off of a tangent of substitution and compensation, I'm going to diverge off into the realm of music for a little...because I feel like it, but also because of its mild relevance in how it influences style. And I happen to be a kid of the 90s. That said...

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, TLC

Bel Biv Devoe, New Kids on the Block

What the heck WAS 90s style? (other than embarrassing) My sister when through a grunge phase. It's rather fun to haunt her with pictures from it. Developing one's style was rather hard in the 90s, what with the various popular music scenes (grunge, hip hop, pop - albeit pop happens to be dictated by the times always) and the very different resulting imagery. Very confusing times for the impressionable young thing I was, it didn't help that I had two elder sisters who were rather critical of the things I wore. On top of that, there were some aspects of 90's style that were so minimalistic that there wasn't much beyond a t-shirt and jeans. That most certainly was the boring aspect of the 90s; however, we did get compensated with some pretty awesome R&B and hip hop, even if the clothes were funny and the dancing was awkward, on the more independent college radio station here in town, they always tend to defer to 90's R&B. I suppose everything has it's time and place.

Substitution & Compensation

After a good number of months spent waiting, I've finally acquired something on my "must have" list:
Oh yes, you know what's coming -


I'm sure it's been mentioned once or twice that I've been eyeing Betsey Johnson's Little Bow Pleat Satchel. At first it was pure lust and impulse, but given that I've still wanted it after 6 months, there had to be more. Many style books seem to try to consolidate the number of purses one needs to have a fairly basic and functional collection. My old roommate use to say that a person only needs a black purse and a brown purse. A number of people suggest the two neutral formula with a couple extra. For the longest time I had bags of every color except black. It's not like I have anything against black, I just tend to be more scrupulous with neutrals and as a result, purses of other colors are easier to pick. As a matter of fact, lots of things are easier to pick than basic neutral pieces not limited to handbags.

Substitution is when you settle for something similar to what you wanted. Given that I couldn't think of anything to substitute for my ideal black bag, this is where the compensation comes in. At the time of the original impulse, I couldn't reason spending $160 on a bag even though it was marked down from $209. I just graduated, I didn't have money or a job, just a lot of credit card bills that resulted from similar impulse spending. I decided to wait it out until there was a better sale on it with the hopes that I would have a job by then.

It goes without saying that it's easier to spend money on things lower in cost than higher in cost without even really having to reason it in your head. I was able to buy things to make up for my wanting my handbag as a form of compensation, but it never really got rid of the "wanting" part. I probably spent much more than $160, probably even more than $209 while waiting for the purse to go down to the $130 that I paid for it (I got a job! Whoo!). After acquiring the purse, I haven't really had much of a desire to buy anything. Sigh. Waiting is the hardest part. In the long run, it would've been better if I just bought the purse earlier, but the best scenario would've been just to remember what I wanted the most.

Oh Barbie!

Barbie, is by far the most far reaching fashion icon in history. While I can't back this up with a thesis on the cultural impact that Barbie has had on American society, I can say from experience that before girls can even coordinate clothes for themselves, they start with a Barbie.
If you think about it, as girls, we can play dress up to some degree, however, that takes a fair amount of money just to see yourself in ill fitting clothes compared to seeing how clothes "should" fit on a Barbie. You see, at a very young age, we were color and fashion scientists. How does this fit? How does this look? A friend of mine says her mom gave her pieces of cloth and she made clothes for her Barbie. One day when I brought Barbies to school for my friend, all of the girls were huddled in a giant group waiting for our turns to dress her. I always got pissed when I lost a shoe.

With a few exceptions of gimmick Barbies, I've really enjoyed how her style has diversified while remaining vibrant, new, risky...overall, a perfect combination of the craziest fashions in a package that makes it work. She out-divas Lady Gaga and Madonna. It also doesn't hurt that, like me, Barbie has large calves.

Observe a more recent conception of Barbie. Sugar by Byron Lars. Who could wear a pagoda style hat that (when placed to scale is probably the size of an umbrella) completely covers a large afro? Barbie. Who could wear a safari style bustier on the outside of her blouse? Barbie. Who could get away with wearing THAT much blue eyeshadow? Barbie. Who could think up an outfit like this? It's like mixing all your watercolors together and actually getting something nice oppose to a giant breen (brownish green) sludge. Of course that would be the amazing Mr. Byron Lars. I'm sure Barbie is the best client to design for. For one thing, she can wear anything. Secondly, I feel that designers chosen to create collections for Barbie are more sought out because of a pure interest in their art oppose to their ability to recreate trends in their vision. It's free range, pretty much complete artistic freedom.

This was mainly inspired by the Barbie Fashion Show over a year ago. Were the designs awesome or what? It would be nice if designers could produce a Barbie line for the general public because seriously

I'd want to get married in this.
I'd want to just go out somewhere in this. Betsey Johnson really got it down!

Another one down!

Anthropologie Button Front, Adjustable Back Moth Sweater
Size L
Comes with an extra button.

I was finally able to list this sweater on eBay after years of not wearing it.

Let me just say that shopping after a break up is only a good idea if you keep the receipts. I'm normally a size XS to S, and somehow I convinced myself that I could make a large work, I'd just have to walk a certain way with a certain posture, but that's asking too much.