Body Positive: Helen Anderson

I started watching Helen Anderson on YouTube a few years ago when I was researching how to bleach your hair (I never went through with that endeavor though I wish I had). She posted a lot of fashion, beauty, and tattoo videos are I loved her punky British attitude. As a rule I try not to look at the comment sections of videos because it can be a very nasty place. But one day I noticed that people were making rude comments about Helen's weight. I saw it on YouTube, tumblr, and instagram. I couldn't imagine what it was like to hear those things because I've never been in that position. Genetically, I'm built with a very small frame and a very fast metabolism; I'm the only one of my sisters to have this make up but my father and his father are the same way. So I can't relate to being fat shamed and I would never compare the comments I've gotten about having to eat more and about how it must be so easy for me to do things like shop, because it's not the same. My mother always tells me stories of her being bullied for her weight and how she can't wear things because people will make comments towards her. I've never known that experience, so when I saw this blogger that I thought was the coolest person being made fun of like that I got pretty angry. 

Helen has made videos about her weight and will sometimes bring it up casually during hauls. She is extremely body positive always telling her audience that if they are happy and healthy there is no issue with their weight. Helen is transparent when it comes to her weight journey saying that when she gets comfortable in her relationships she tends to over indulge in food, and that she has a slow metabolism which is quite agitating to her. Helen works out and even with that she has gotten some backlash. People think that by her working out she wants to be skinny and she is no longer their idea of what she should be. But she has said in videos that she was once a bit smaller than where she is now and she felt more comfortable at that size, and while she loves who she is, she enjoys working out because it makes her feel good.

Helen also loves fashion and one of the things that drew me to her was her "don't-give-a-fuck" attitude. She wears what she likes whether the fashion world tells her she should or not. She is loves crop tops and skinny jeans, big oversized jackets and skirts. Helen looks amazing in it all because she's happy, she's healthy, and she's being her beautiful unique self. I showed my mom one of Helen's lookbooks a couple years ago and she was so happy that someone was showing how beautiful you can be when you just love and accept yourself and your body.

Metal Head Hippie Chick

My personal style has evolved over the years but there are a few qualities that have always been consistent: I am a jeans, t-shirt, and flat sole shoe person. When I was very little I dressed with hand-me-downs, boys clothes from Old Navy, and other various graphic tees. During middle school I went through the classic emo/scene phase. Then through the majority of high school my style was old band t-shirts, flannels, with a dash of other more "beachy" elements (I'm a marine science major and used to wear seashells in my hair). It was an odd mash of everything I like. Today I wear mostly monochromatic items, graphic t-shirts, and platform shoes. If we are really digging into why, it can easily be seen that I started wearing black jeans nearly exclusively (only not wearing them for outdoor manual labor jobs) since someone I was very close to passed away three years ago. The graphic tees are just what I'm most comfortable with because it's what I've always been drawn to. I don't really speak up a lot so I can tell the outside world something by a print on my shirt. The platform shoes are just really comfortable in all honesty, that and I love punk music and that scene where styles like "creepers" came out of... as well as fulfilling my childhood dream of being a Spice Girl.

I don't think I necessarily have a specific style per se, but I tend to dress in a more "alternative" way. I don't think that it translates into other areas of my life though as one would imagine. There are certainly elements of it in for example my home decor because it is a part of how I express myself but the walls are not painted black at all. The way I like explaining it is that how I dress is how I allow others to perceive me, and how I live/decorate is how I perceive myself. My rooms are almost like the inside of my head, if that makes any sense. Both my room at home and my dorm room have mainly blues, muted greens, and grays around. I have a lot of books, nerdy collectables, and items I've collected from my travels (including rocks, sea shells, vials of sand, and a couple of leis). 

My relationship with my clothes is as I've previously stated: how I allow others to perceive me. I wear things that express my interests when I feel I have no voice to express it myself. In a more tangible sense I was always taught how to care for my clothes with properly washing them and mending them. My family doesn't come from money so I only ever really got clothes for my birthday, back to school, and Christmas. I remember having a favorite pair of jeans in elementary school that started to wear down and get a huge rip in the knee. I was so upset and ended up getting a tank top that I was starting to grow out of, cutting out the graphic, and teaching myself to sew it onto the jeans to patch up the hole. My mom was impressed and then helped me with a few areas that I didn't sew all that well. I continued wearing those until I couldn't fit into them anymore. It was fun for me to DIY my clothes and is something that I continue to do and enjoy today. 

Shirt I made for my Halloween costume as Captain America.
Patches I made for my "cap" and my boyfriend's Tony Stark shirt.
(Shield, which is just out of frame, is made by my father)

Going through these questions from Women in Clothes made me think about all the things I've written about. While it didn't necessarily affect my perspective, it gave me a more solid one. Because I've never really thought about it before. When I was trying to think of a title, I was going through my Pintrest boards for clothes and homewears and that was my bio; I thought it was fitting considering my love for nature and hardcore music.

Cost Break Down: New York Fashion Week

All fashion shows range in price depending on location, size, designers, and the models walking. Even when focusing on just one, like New York Fashion Week, it is still difficult to say the exact prices. Many of the people involved don't talk about it: you wouldn't want to ruin the illusion fashion weeks tend to create. The website "Fashionista" pulled together all the data from various insiders for an article. What they discovered was that a venue can range anywhere from $15,000 to $60,000. The $60,000 space is the infamous Lincoln Center, but still venues could be less if a designer choses to have either a more "low key" showing or somewhere not as renown.  While some designers style their items on the models themselves or with their employees, others pay stylists to do it for them. Stylists can also range in prices depending on how much demand there is for them. Some ask for $8,000 a day (usually working for 10-14 days) while others can get $10,000 for their entire time working. 

Models, probably one of the most important parts of a runway show, are another expense brands have to consider. As with everything else, models pay ranges depending on status and their agency. Some models can get paid in clothes, or from $150-$1,000. So a brand might steer away from big names to hire smaller or even independent models to save some money. For hair and makeup brands are usually sponsored for, so instead of paying $5,000-$15,000 they are receiving that much. Saving that much doesn't get a brand that far though because they also like to populate their front row with big name celebrities. According to fashionista, "The amount a celebrity can command depends on a mix of how famous they are, how much their photos how much their photos get picked up, how good a fit that celebrity is for the brand, and whether or not the celebrity is attending other shows." Celebrities usually ask for around $15,000-$100,000 for an appearance.
Below is a breakdown of costs that fashionista assembled, they totaled everything out to: $200,000. But then they quickly added that some brands can spend at least $1,000,000 for a show.

#AerieREAL Showing Women as Themselves

Personally I don't really shop at the brand Aerie, but I do like the things that they sell. Aerie is a sub-brand of the larger brand American Eagle, which sells predominately denim, as well as other trendy items and basics. Aerie focuses on intimates and personal care products for women. The most recently Aerie has made their campaign #AerieREAL which is all about no retouching and loving your real, unique body. All the models have are in healthy shape, have cellulite, have stretch marks, etc. I love anything body positive so I think that this is a great that this huge company has this as their campaign. The way the images are portrayed are in a very fun and summery and has the vibe of wanted to confidently walk on a beach; Which is something a lot of women aren't comfortable with. They filmed video clips of each of their models for their website taking the "real" aspect a step further. Usually in ad campaigns the models seem inaccessible and just too different from who we are as the consumer. One of their models that helped to kick off the campaign is the actress Emma Roberts, known best for her tween movies and more recently the TV shows American Horror Story and Scream Queens. By using Emma Roberts they can gain more of an audience while also showing people that celebrities have the same "flaws" that we all have. 

“Partnering with Aerie was a natural fit for me because #AerieREAL is a message I personally identify with, particularly being in an industry that is quick to judge flaws,” says Emma Roberts. “I feel so honored to be part of a movement that reassures women that real doesn’t mean flawed – real is sexy, real is cool.”

My Closet Inventory

   

Through this experiment I discovered that in my closet I have 90 articles of clothing. I began making an Excel spreadsheet of their country of origin but very quickly began to realize that most of my clothing was made in El Salvador, Bangladesh, and China. From just my hanging clothes I owned only four items of that were made in the USA. 

I have a pretty varied combination of clothes in regards to if things were bought new or used. I'm the youngest in my family and have a lot of hand-me-downs; When I do by things new it is usually at a concert where I know the merch table workers and I can get discounts, and I like to find unique items at thrift stores because it's more environmentally/economically friendly. But things like black denim jeans that I wear everyday, well those I like to have new. 

Other than black jeans, I love to wear t-shirts usually with a graphic for a band or some pop-culture reference on them. Most of my money for clothes is spent on concert merch. I like to support bands directly rather than going to a chain store to get a shirt for a band I like. Because of this I was a bit surprised with how much I own. Also I don't wear a lot of color so I tend not to shop for it. I'm pretty good about shopping, mainly because I'm a broke college student and can't afford it, but also because I hate large crowds. I usually buy things when they start to wear down, and only then do I go into stores, especially for things like jeans and white shirts because I like to try those on.

Pauline Newman: Feminist Hero

An American activist that played a large role in the garment industry was Pauline Newman. Known as the "East Side Joan of Arc" she was a passionate woman that fought for the rights of others. From a young age she was a fighter, striving for an education with the odds stacked against her for being a Jewish woman. After getting involved in the Socialist Party she was able to lead in activism for woman's suffrage. In 1909, women left their sewing machines to stand strike. With the help of Newman's connections she was able to talk to wealthy and influential women about the issues of the work place. Gaining their sympathy, and having them stand together police brutality was cut down. Newman was one of the first to organize the International Ladies' Garment Worker's Union. After the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burning she became even more invested in getting these workers unionized and making sure that their safety was a priority. Newman's work began to gain the respect of political figures, and working conditions began to improve. She also promoted health care, negotiated the minimum wage, safety codes, industrial hygiene, and restrictions in child labor. Later in her life she wrote and lectured to young women. Now Newman is hailed a feminist hero.

To me Pauline Newman was an exceptional woman. She saw that change was needed and made strides in getting it done. Her involvement with the garment industry started when she began working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory at 11. Even at that age she was disturbed by the working conditions, and rightfully so. If she were alive today I think she would be just as passionate about sweatshops across the globe making our clothes. Newman would also be leading feminist rallies and trying her hardest to make a difference. That is something that is very empowering to me, inspiring me to want to speak up more about things that are wrong in our world today.

Fashion Spotlight: Dita Von Teese

When she is not on stage doing her burlesque show in pasties and a Swarovski covered G-string, Dita Von Teese dresses quite modest. Known for being elegant and glamorous she presents herself with an air of nostalgia for the late 1940s. She is very open about doing as much as she can DIY (she does her own hair/makeup for shows and most photoshoots, and she doesn't have a stylist) and loving shopping vintage. While she does have tricks to still looking great while running errands or going to her pilates class (slicking her hair back, wearing big sunglasses, and gliding some red lipstick on), she never for a moment strays from her beloved aesthetic. Dita is proud to not own jeans, sneakers, or nude lipsticks. When asked how she is able to be so confident Dita replied with, "You can be a juicy, ripe peach and there's still going to be someone who doesn't like peaches, so you can either submit to someone's criticism of you, or you can get on with the business of being your own amazing self who attracts other like-minded people that appreciate you." 

Dita leaving her pilates class

"glamping"

Dita Von Teese has created herself into this image. She was born as Heather Reéne Sweet in a small Michigan town. She was amazed by film stars like Betty Grable and Marylin Monroe, and grew a fascination with lingerie. Dita started working at a lingerie store and slowly worked her way to LA. In her 20s she started dressing in her infamous retro style. This is so important because now the burlesque star has her own lingerie line as well as her own clothing line. Dita has also written books, created her own lipstick with Mac, and her even adhesive nails that mimic her own iconic red with half-moons. Her fashion is ingrained into nearly everything she does: it is her passion.