In response to a friend pt.3: The Conclusion and outfit post

And so concludes this lengthy discussion and feature on my blog. I wanted to return to the blog with ample to say. Next time I will not wish so hard for content. This month I start the 30x30 project in an attempt to challenge myself and my idea of creating new ideas with what I already have. February also marks Black History Month and I cannot wait to share some interesting stories of African Americans in fashion and art. This is outfit number 3. I was feeling sluggish and decided my comfy and square shouldered Maje top was perfect with this wool banded skirt I picked up at a flea market a year ago.

The book Couture by Caroline Rennolds Milbank

If you read my Twitter you know that I was very proud to finally have a living room after a few months without one. I use it to read fashion books...and take pictures of myself.

 Although this book is rare I highly recommend that you hunt this book down. 

The photos are impressive as well as Milbank's writing.

Metal headband: thrifted choker/ Necklace: gift from a friend/ Skirt: vintage wool

Grandpa stockings: H&M/ Shoes: Bass

To read the rest of the "In Response to a friend" series....

In response to a friend pt.1: Why do we buy?

In response to a friend pt.2: Why do we blog?

Life is beautiful, let's share a little. 

Joy D.

Friend Friday Exclusive!!! In response to a friend pt.2: Why do we blog?

Yay, It is time for another Friends Friday! Only recently have I delved into the world of the online blog event. I shied away in part because it took too much time out of my schedule for something I considered a hobby. A year later I have found a blog event to be apart of: Kendi of Kendieveryday.com's 30x30 which is described as a way to remix your wardrobe and think about how you dress. I thought that tying this blog post with the one from yesterday was a great opportunity. Now I can exercise my belief that the advertising and branding is something that can easily be surpassed if your ideas about what YOUR style is! While I have found my calling to make both a written and physical statement it is easy for others to look at a blog event and have a different agendas. Before reading up on this I had no idea that someone would put so much time and effort into joining and participating in one of these events in order to reap benefits of fame. I am not naive I just think that is a waste of time. There is a lot of us [fashion] bloggers. We all have lots to contribute. Why waste it on a small chance to be famous or reap unlikely financial rewards? This is what I will be discussing this week with some added surprise about my decision to not attend IFB conference. And with all this wordiness I have decided to add a photo from the 30x30 project that I am currently working on through the month of February. I will do my best to take pictures each day of what I am wearing along with my two cents.

 Bear necklace: vintage from an old friend/ Shirt: Maje

1. With all the blogging events out there how do you determine which ones to participate in and which ones to avoid? There are so many events whether online or offline and it is difficult to choose. There isn't a wrong or right event to go to but there is a wrong or right for your own blog. I have fallen in love with the idea that I can discuss fashion blogging and the fashion industry from different perspectives. Since this revelation of sorts I have realized that certain online and offline events may not help my blog in anyway. I chose Kendi's 30x30 project because it relates to my assesment of my own purchases and the control of fashion media on consumption. This is an idea, while reading Kendi's mission statement, also came through. To be an efficient blogger you have to go beyond what you think people will like and write about what you know or what you are learning.

Sadly, this season, I will not be attending the IFB conference. Life has stood in the way of my presence this season but I give hugs and kisses to those that will be there. I talked to a few bloggers in seasons past that felt that the IFB conference was useless and that bloggers don't really benefit. The same was said of other blogging events and meetups around the city. Call me crazy but I think the meeting of thinkers on the a new subject like fashion blogging is something I always want to be apart of as a blogger. Excluding yourself from the discussion is a little foolish however you blog what you know or like and if IFB or any other event doesn't fit that mold of your blog then it isn't foolish at all.

2. Be honest, have you ever jumped on the bandwagon of some blogging movement/event for the wrong reasons? How did that turn out? I have a strange fear of coming off fake or even worse that I don't care on this blog which is why my blog posts have gotten longer and a little more thought out. That said, I wouldn't involve myself in a project unless I was dedicated and had my own motivations. And my motivations always have to be pure because it would most likely come out in my writing. I have always been one to over analyze something and I think my blog is a good way to work out that issue and to really see if I have something to say or if I am just mindlessly ranting. So, to be honest, I would never jump on the bandwagon for the wrong reasons.

3. How do you give your own flair to a blog event while still maintaining the general mission and purpose? A blog event online or otherwise is really what you make it. Since the 30x30 project is my first online adventure I would like to put emphasis on my small analysis on how and why we buy as fashion consumers. So maybe I am taking a more analytical approach? With an online event you can get pretty creative and as the month progresses I hope to potential grow this idea of fast and luxury fashion consumption. Plus, I always have to add humor to the conversation!


4. When determining the best content for your blog what criterion do you keep in mind? A lighter approach to discussing fashion, art, music, movies, etc. In this way I think I am set apart but it also proves to be a problem. I could have long lengthy posts about the relevance of one collection in Milan but that is neglecting 90 percent of the fashion world. I keep the resources in mind and how much information is out there about a particular subject I want to write about. If there is little to none in the way of information I am more prone to talk about it! I love drowning in resources and sifting through them like some old man in a library basement. With the way I go about discussing the subjects I do on this blog I kind of beg for it anyway.

5. While everything will not suit your blog, how do you try and support your fellow bloggers who are participating in something worthwhile but not your style? I post about what my friends are doing regardless if it fits into the content of my blog. I think support of my friends has always fit in my blog because I don't mind name dropping them and I really love what some of them come up with. Some of my friends are bloggers, artists, musicians, and great people: so why not? I have in the past snuck my friends into the features of this blog like when I had two lovely friends competing in the Sunglass Hut's Full Time Fabulous Blogger competition. I think that is one of my strong suits. Even with this post I managed to fit three posts into one. Don't worry I won't get to out of hand...

As a reader of blogs what do you think about online blog events? If you would like to see the long list of bloggers participating in Kendi's 30x30 project check it out here.
To read more about the wonderful Katy Rose click here.

And for good measure here are the Friend Fridays of the past:
Friend Friday: The Ins and Outs of My Blog
Friend Friday: What is authentic blogging?
Friend Friday: I can do anything you can do better.

Life is beautiful, let's share a little. 

Joy D.

In response to a friend pt.1: Why do we buy?

Brandon Acton Bond off somewhere jetsetting in the snow.

This is a rare for me to feel so motivated by another bloggers post to make a post in reaction to it. Brandon Acton Bond is the guy to break this rare mold. He is a reader of this blog and a great blogger who always finds something inspiring about his life to share with the reading public. Another reason I have decided to share my reactions to his post that can be read here. Brandon had a revelation as both a designer and a consumer: why do we buy what we buy and continue the consumer cycle? What a grat conversation to have! Which is why I felt it an important topic to bring up on the blog. And yes I know it has been about 3+ days for me to post about this (which is close to a few months in blogworld) but I wanted to write this when I had ample time to asses what Mr. Bond had to say as well as show you photos in a series for a project I am participating in.


Brandon starts with observing the blog commenter and the "I love..." comment. As bloggers we all get them and as blog readers, myself included, we post them. But think about it: Isn't that the same as fast fashion? It is not that we as readers of fashion blogs don't have ample to say but instead we enjoy, quoting Bond, "skimming through the outfit post for pretty pictures" and assessing them quickly. I could not argue enough that this is just a small evolution of the human brain to analyze information and to truncate it quickly. If you are a student at Uni you try to make ample use of this skill. And like Bond I am not a theorist, yet, or have interest in studying the brain. Since this is more of a response than a rehashing of the same arguments I suggest reading the same New York Times article that Brandon suggests which discusses these matters in more detail.

Me, after a week of being sick. Still dapper though, no?
Sweater: Land's End/ Pants: Juicy Couture onsie/ Shoes: vintage English house slippers

Next I would like to discuss the role of advertising in the fashion world. This will be short as the majority of you understand that it has and always will play a specific importance in the longevity and financial security of a brand or designer's fashion house. Since everyone is so elated over Tom Ford I will use him as an example. He transformed Gucci from a cliched fashion house into a viable fashion force to be reckoned with in a short time. While design and stability of the garment are about 60 percent of the process 40% can be attribute to marketing and branding which is the purpose of advertising. Bond argues that a brand is now, essentially, a dominate force in fashion media such as magazines and websites. The only exceptions are fashion blogs which can also be argued. Where does that leave the consumer? How do you know that the magazines editorial is not just a mask to promote specific brands and a photographer's work? I am sure you notice that the same photographers are used repeatedly and the same with designers. There is also a reason why most of the more successful designers and fashion editors are in their late 40s or older. The old elite will protect themselves and I don't want you to think I have a problem with it. This is fashion after all! The glamour, elitism is all apart of the game and it only hinders those that do not take time to understand that it is a business like any other. In this way advertising and branding controls what magazines write about and editorialize in their pages.

Sidenote: (I figured I would post this winning picture of me dancing, when posing I get antsy.)

Times are rough and yet we still spend on material goods that don't really benefit ourselves. One could argue they benefit us emotionally and I say YES. But another argument could be made that staying healthy, giving back to the community, and many other activities could achieve the same goal. Do you see where I am going with this? As Bond says: fashion blogs and magazines make us feel exceptional for our obsession with fashion and content feelings on shopping. The Business of Fashion shared an article a few months ago about the lowered interest in luxury fashion to the rich. Instead the article talks about how middle class and mildly upper class individuals spend on luxury fashion. The whole notion that you buy rich things so people can think you are rich is silly and foolish but has some truth. However, the make and tailoring of a garment is equally attractive to someone who is conscious of quality clothes and is willing to spend on them. I know several and I know for a fact Bond is one of them. This idea of buying clothes because they both look good and are made well is an important one.

Next time I will tell you why I have decided to morph into a personal fashion blogger for 30 days in order to prove that both fast fashion and luxury fashion should not matter when it comes to style. If you were able to get through this post I applaud you and would love to hear what you have to say.

Life is beautiful, let's share a little. 

Joy D.

Favored Opinions: Tom Ford S/S 2011 Collection

Here is a new feature on the blog, yes another one, where I give praise to or politely disagree with the fashion business. And where else to start but the newest Tom Ford menswear lookbook for the Spring/Summer season. Where do I start with this one? I sincerely love the Palm Springs, Casablanca, Cuban pimp aesthetic but....

Let's start with my favorites. Sheer admiration goes to the days when wearing wingtips and mini polkadot ties were in style. Those guys were a dime a dozen in the 20s, 40s, and even the 50s and 60s. But what happened? Maybe we, the consumer, got a little too lazy. Maybe we ditched the idea of looking good as an idea of narcissism. That makes sense because it is a little narcissistic to worry about what plaid goes with what shoe or which suit jacket to wear with that particular tie. But I digress to say: I love that stuff! And the model gives off this air of young man in grown man clothes. I have a problem with that and will come back to that in a bit.

As I truly examined each  garment in the collection I started to notice why it was so appealing. These are feminine cuts! Tom Ford has always been heralded for getting the female shape down to a science but I am not sure where he is going with these shapes. It is also a little obvious that he loves making his own point about garments and the fashion industry from season to season. Even when he did consulting with the infamous Carine Roitfeld they liked to inject some kind of confusion in sexuality in their work. The slender form of the trousers to the right give me heart palpatations; this is a good thing!

 Ok, so the models. Do they have to have Corbin Bleu hair? This fact alone would make me want to turn the page on this collection. I did mention he is supposed to be a master mind at the editorial yet the laissez-faire poses and apathetic expressions are over used. I am not quite sure the fashion vocabulary but the pulled blazer collar has been done, Lanvin anyone? However I am a fan of the flamboyant bow tie, I would love to pick up one of those.

Yes: it is Spring/Summer. Yes: I love purple and satin pink. But no, Tom Ford and Etro, and even Lanvin: I do not want to see little pool boy Gigolos. It is not fair to want all menswear to be masculine but I am not always a fair person. Plus, the pieces individually are amazing but together they look like a thrift store compilation. There is a ray of sunshine: check out the watch-gold chain combo! This is another accessory I would love to have in my closet. So far, I am lusting after the jewelry, the bow tie, the shoes, and the high waisted brown trouser. What do you like/dislike about the collection? I always love your responses.

PS. If you got the scrilla check out where to buy: Tom Ford Store Finder

Life is beautiful, let's share a little. 

Joy D.