Summer Wardrobe Essentials

So I know not everyone everywhere has been experiencing the glorious weather I have been.  80 degrees and sunshine, could life get any better?  But when I can wear flip flops outside, it reminds me of summer, and knowing summer is close (and yet so far) excites me.  I loathe winter, partially because I can’t handle the cold but also because of the clothes I am forced to wear.  A giant overcoat that practically swallows me, no thanks!  Layers upon layers of shirts that I eventually have to shed because of the heat indoors, ugh!  Clunky Ugg boots that make my feet sweat, ew!  Summer is calling me, and I’m ready with my wardrobe.  Hope you are too, and if not, I’ve got you covered:

 

1.  Dress Up Your Feet!  I wear anklets year round just because they remind me of summer.  But summer is the only time your feet can be fashionable with anklets and toe rings and painted nails.  So let your feet know flip flop season is almost here.

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2.  Black short shorts.  These bad boys go with anything and everything.  Plus, you can either pair them with a T-shirt for a casual look, wear a blouse to dress ’em up, and you can even wear stockings under them in case it’s not warm enough to expose your bare skin.  

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3.  White is in.  And because white goes with anything…why not own a pair of white pants?!  White’s a blank canvas, so your own unique style can shine through.

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4.  Strapless dresses!  There’s nothing like exposing them shoulders, and you certainly cannot do that in winter without getting frostbite.  Summer’s about showing skin, so go get a cute dress!

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5.  Sun’s out guns out, baby!  The classic tank top is an essential summer staple.  You can throw a cardigan over it, layer them, or just rock one by itself.  And they come in a plethora of colors.  I’m pretty sure I own the color spectrum.

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6.  Toms, Toms and more Toms.  But, go for crazy patterns and bold colors because white is in and white goes with anything, and your black shorts, will as well.  Make your Toms loud and proud.

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7.  Graphic Tees never go out of style.  And especially band tees because we all know summer is the time for concerts galore.  Warped Tour is only 118 days away.

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Cheers to sun, sand, and summer!

 

 

 

 

Self Expression Cannot Be Banned

 I came across an Alternative Press article that discussed how the state of Arkansas passed a bill, banning certain tattoo and piercing procedures, specifically scarification and dermal implants.  If you are interested in reading the article just click here!  After reading the article, I became pretty enraged for multiple reasons, the number one being: who is the government to tell me what I can or cannot do to my body?  Now, I am not looking to get any piercings or any more tattoos, but the idea of banning self expression highly bothered me.  Because as mentioned in our country’s Declaration of Independence, we have “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men….”  The pursuit of happiness is the point I’d like to stress because if getting a tattoo or a piercing makes you happy, then why can’t you pursue your happiness?  AND on top of this, the government is supposed to protect my right to pursuit happiness, and in the state of Arkansas the government is doing the complete opposite.

For those that are unaware, scarification is the art of creating designs in the body through the use of scar tissue and the process has been around for centuries, originating in Africa.  It’s similar to a tattoo; however, the main difference is that no ink is involved in scarification.  There are two types of methods: cutting and branding.  Cutting is exactly as it sounds, one is cutting the skin to create a tattoo, and branding is also as it sounds, one is burning the body to create a design.  And, dermal implanting is the process of embedding jewelry underneath the skin.  The body then heals and one can see the design protruding out from the flesh.

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Arkansas’ concern and reason for banning the procedures was increased infection resulting from such procedures.  However, after doing some research, I’d have to argue that if Arkansas feels the need to ban certain tattoos and piercings then shouldn’t the state ban cosmetic surgery as well?  Those types of surgeries: removing wrinkles, breast augmentations, and nose jobs are much more intrusive to the body and run an even higher risk for infection and something going wrong.  And let’s be clear, tattoos are about self expression; whereas, cosmetic surgery is solely about appearance.  So if you cannot get scarification in Arkansas why should someone else be allowed to increase their breast size?

 

After the public voiced their opinion, the bill in Arkansas, upon entering the House, was amended so that the specific ban on scarification was removed from the bill and is to instead be regulated by the State Board of Health, and dermal implants were more specifically defined to ban only subdermal implants, fully enclosed by the skin, rather than microdermal implants, which protrude.  Nonetheless, in my opinion, there shouldn’t have been a ban at all, period.

Girl World

It was recently brought to my attention, that I am not like most girls, or at least insanely girly girls.  A list was begun of reasons why I am unlike most females.  For starters, I do not wear a lot of makeup.  I do not know how to put on blush or coverup; I simply wear mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick or lipgloss, if I even feel like it.  I do not spend hours on my hair.  I never blow it dry, and some days I just roll out of bed without brushing it.  At college, I didn’t bring my entire wardrobe plus another with me.  I brought the basics and I wear them often.  I did not bring an array of dresses, skirts, shoes, tees, and blouses.  I do not even own a blouse (this may be untrue, I think I have one…), and I didn’t bring any fancy clothes to college, such as a cocktail dress.  I typically dress for comfort, and sometimes I leave my dorm not looking my best because I do not feel like it.  I’m not big into accessorizing; I own a limited amount of jewelry and I only packed a few necklaces at that.  It does not take me an hour or more to get ready in the morning, some days all I need is a solid fifteen minutes to start the day.  All in all, it was summed up that I act more like a boy in the appearance department.

At first when I was told this, I didn’t think much of it.  My friends who discussed it, offered advice, told me to go shopping with some girly chicks, stop wearing my favorite pair of lime green sunglasses, have my mother ship me more of my clothes, etc.  I took the comments lightly because I knew I was not going to change, but after thinking about the statements more and more, the thought popped into my head why are girls so obsessed with their appearance?  Sure, maybe most of them simply like looking nice, but who are they getting dressed up for?  Themselves, or the various people they will see in passing by, or a crush, or a boyfriend?  And, do these girly girls who spend hours prepping and putting on makeup and trying on clothes and doing their hair, how do they feel during the day?  Girls have a tendency to compare themselves to other women.  I admit, I am guilty of this.  There are days I wish I had another’s girl’s eye makeup, or her skirt, or her wavy hair.  It happens, but to be honest, I do not have days like those often.  I don’t want to sound braggadocios, but all in all I’m pretty happy with who I am, how I look, and I have confidence in myself.

I wasn’t thinking when I was being told to act more like a girly girl, but now that I’ve toyed with the topic, I’d like to say no thanks.  Not all girls dress like they are ready for the runway, and that is perfectly okay if one does.  But, I, on the other hand, am content with how I dress, how I act, and how I look; it is what makes me special and attractive.  I like to think I’m a breath of fresh air from perfumes, mascara, hair spray, and Hollister scented clothing.  I am comfortable in my skin, and in girl world that is pretty hard to come by.  The way I dress and present myself speaks to my character: I appreciate the simple, little things in life, I am laid back, I am not looking for people to impress me, and I do not put up a front.

And for good measure, I’d just like to say, as a girl I prefer men’s oversized hoodies because I think they’re comfortable; I enjoy wearing my soccer shorts and a V-neck even if I am breaking the rules of fashion, and I only learned how to curl my hair last year.

 

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