Oh...man...

I have to say, this is probably one of those pictures that would make my boyfriend scream like a girl.

This was years ago...I think I might have still been in high school actually. In all honesty, looking at it now and having seen tons of Asian pop stars cross dress as well, I have to say this kind of freaks me out. I do kind of...yes...look like a boy. I look like a school boy. A disheveled school boy. This was my sisters idea.

Part of this was an attempt to exaggerate qualities that I thought were overtly male: looking like I don't care, relaxed posture (because face it, when my posture is good, I have a chest), and having too much gel in my hair. Essentially, drag king-ing it. This does not seem too different from looking at a picture of a long haired Asian boy and just knowing that "I know it's a boy."

Personally, I don't think I look too bad as a boy and ironically enough, my hotornot male photo got a higher score than my female picture. Go figure.

I like menswear: however, cross dressing is not one of the primary concepts behind menswear for women. Women have to feminize and tone down the sharp lines because after all, we have curves. This was just straight up curiosity. And once was enough for me.

I like being a girl. There are just more ways to be cute and I don't have to think about being cool all the time.

EtseBay

Here is a little background on my clothes shopping:

Around the time I actually developed an interest in clothing, my upbringing led me to thrift stores and liquidation type places like Ross. Searching through places like that was relatively easy because the relative percentages of clothing my size were very low compared to size 8 and 10. This was during my awkward years around ages 11 to 14. I wanted to find clothes, but I did not always have the patience for the treasure hunting process that would be involved in the places mentioned above. It was tiring.

Around age 13, I got my first eBay account and while I was just messing around increasing my action figure collection, it would later occur to me that eBay would be the solution to my treasure hunting dilemma. I experienced the growth and development of the internet firsthand, as such I had to become more familiar with ways to use it effectively like using boolean search terms on engines. When applied to eBay, I had the environment of the thrift store with the convenience of a normal store and the treasure hunting became so much more convenient. Really, it was more like a consignment shop. I recall telling my computer maintenance teacher how I bought the vest I was wearing at the time on eBay and how it's so much easier to find clothes now. There was a convenience fee called shipping and handling, but it was still a good deal overall. This was around 2002-2003, about 9 years ago.

Fast forward to the present and I find that eBay is no longer the convenient market place it once was. I see more big label stores using an eBay store as an outlet. It's like a giant online Ross or Marshalls (that's not bad, but I'd prefer going to places like that in real life rather than online) I read complaint stories from sellers about the new policies for feedback. I mostly see a lot of mass quantities of "buy it now" items. I recall a time when eBay felt like a nice exchange between two people, not too different from a flea market even though those two people were on different continents.

I thought I was in the know when it came to eBay, but I haven't sold anything for two years. When I've talked to my sister about the selling on eBay (she's a more recent seller) here's her input:

"Buyers try to commit fraud saying someone jacked their account"
"Paypal doesn't want to reimburse my money"

Sellers can't leave negative feedback for buyers as it is viewed as "backlash" and retaliation.

I can understand that eBay wants to create an easier buyer experience and that's understandable, but it also creates the atmosphere for irresponsible buyers to develop. It also creates a very negative atmosphere for sellers. Who would want to sell in an environment where you have to send and item and wait 21 days to get paid? Even worse is how a buyer would file some kind of complaint upon receiving the item and result in you not getting paid for the item you sent and shipping you paid for. What kind of business is that?

I generally have a good reputation on eBay, but I'm not sure it is something that I'd want to maintain with this change in policy.

The second phase of my cloth buying habits involved my buying clothes that I wanted at retail prices. It's ok, but sometimes it's just hard to find exactly what you want and in my situation, right now that happens to be a rose (pink) colored leather miniskirt. The most reasonably priced retail one happened to be from American Apparel in their vintage stock and it comes with a catch:

American Apparel Vintage Leather Skirts

You can only pick a color scheme, but not the exact color of the skirt you want. If I pick pink, there's a 25% chance I'll get the skirt I want.Upon trying to email the people at American Apparel about this issue, my email had to try to send and resend to the email listed multiple times before giving up. I must say that the way clothes buying is evolving is really not my cup of tea.

Going back to eBay, I discover something that has been lingering at the corner of my computer screen. While just searching on google for the my elusive pink leather skirt, I came across Etsy. I have an account, a few of my friends have shops. There have been a few cool things I've found on Etsy but never bought (fiscal responsibility you know). Upon finding not only one, but two pink leather mini skirts at prices reasonable beyond what I've found on eBay. It's like my teenage convenient online thrift shop has been opened up again. I get the opportunity to interact with people again, practice great customer service again. I get to enjoy a more legitimate online marketplace where the business makes sense.

Timing Down Until the Close of Betsey Johnson

(sigh)

All of the Betsey Johnson Stores in Texas are officially closed. That's a bit of a depressing thought. I'd say about 95% of the time, if you'd go into the store, it would be cheaper than what is online, but now the internet is really the only option.

Betsey Johnson closing I've approached with the thought "wow, I may just be buying a piece of history." There's also something nice about buying something cool and when people ask you "where did you get it?" you know they won't be able to imitate.

I shall post up pictures of my finds later as this is a time sensitive posting. There are only three more days until July 22nd when everything officially closes. The website is odd, I know that. You click on all the links and at most one or two items show up. I'm not sure the reason for this, but what I do know is that they still have items available on their online eBay outlet, so why not on the website?

If you go to the search on the Betsey Johnson homepage and type in...oh "dress" or "skirt" there will be a full grid of what is still available which is definitely a lot more than what is showing up from the links.

Have at it. Buy something nice. Wear it proud. Betsey Johnson Store

Making a Basic Career Wardrobe During College #2

I've decided to test out my own theory from this previous posting on the bare necessities for college professionalism. Here is what I would have considered for my beginning career wardrobe.

Clothes:

top row (left to right) : Banana Republic tweed blazer, mandarin style grey silk blouse

bottom row(left to right): Yoanna Baraschi black pencil skirt, Banana Republic slacks, short sleeved Odille button down, Victoria's Secret New French Cuff Shirt.

Shoes: 

ALDO caul pumps

Total pieces: 7

You may observe that there is no suit. I've opted for a complete wardrobe of separates because a suit feels like too much of a commitment. You have to get both pieces dry cleaned together. What will happen if I outgrow one part but not the other? Living in Texas, I can honestly say that wearing a suit in the heat is a special kind of hell. I tried to make sure that my blouse tops would be fine without the blazer. As an extra heat precaution, the blouses are good summer fabrics like silk and cotton. I wanted a skirt for variety. The title picture shows a brown striped pencil skirt (you can't really see the brown though) which would have been my first choice.

(sigh) Banana Republic striped pencil skirt

I've out grown it. This is one of the main reasons why an initial career wardrobe should be small: your size fluctuates. Nothing really brings down the excitement of an interview like finding out your butt is exploding out of your pants. That sad truth aside, I felt that the skirt added a nice pattern to a primarily color blocked wardrobe. I cannot conceive where the idea that black and brown don't go together came from; my skin is naturally tan and I have black hair I like to think that I was not born tacky. Would you tell a Rottweiler they're tacky? 

Try telling this face he's tacky.

Anyway, how does it all turn out?

Generally, everything is mix and match. There's no confusion with the shoes as there is only one pair and the blazer is optional. It's a nice little collection. The mandarin blouse and the ruffled white button down offer some nice variety and enough quirkiness to keep me satisfied. Go have at it! Be discriminating. Pick versatile pieces. Nude pumps go with everything. A professional wardrobe does not have to be something you hate. Make sure everything fits and keep the weather in mind.