Archive - June 2016

Fashion

Three Tips for Surviving Wedding Season in Style

by Erin Gillespie

Summer is upon us, and if there is one thing you can rely on like the changing of the seasons, it’s wedding season. Depending on where you live, Wedding season starts somewhere around late May, and can last straight through to September. The height of wedding season however, is probably right about now; the month of June. Have you found yourself staring at that row of wedding invites lined-up on your fireplace mantle and wondered how on earth you are going to be able to afford to dress for the multitude of events you will be required to attend? Well, fear not gentle reader, because there are ways of navigating wedding season while being comfortable, stylish, and avoiding driving yourself into bankruptcy. Tip no. 1: Avoid Ultra Tight-Fitting Clothing Okay, yes…this is probably the...

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Fashion

Teen Schools Teacher on Hidden Racism and the Power of a Dress

by Erin Gillespie

When Makalaya Zanders decided to get a custom prom dress made for her for this year’s prom, she couldn’t have predicted the impact that the dress would have on her life. The back story is as follows; Zanders mentioned to a school administrator (who just happened to be white) that she was hoping to wear an African print dress to the prom, to which the administrator retorted that such a garment would be “tacky”, and that African print “really isn’t something that you wear” to a formal event such as prom. Really!? Understandably, Zanders was knocked-back a bit by the utterly tone-deaf and insensitive words of this school administrator. Racism comes in many shapes and forms, and I simply can’t imagine how even at the time, this administrator...

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Fashion

Gucci Embraces British Eccentricity for Their Unique Cruise 2017 Collection

by Erin Gillespie

Gucci has been creating waves with their new Cruise 2017 collection. It seems the storied Italian design house has been in the throes of an acute case of  “Brit bug” for a while now, the effects of which are really beginning to manifest in their collections. Creative director of Gucci Alessandro Michele as made no secret about being heavily influenced by a British aesthetic, and was recently described by In Style magazine as “a self-described Anglophile, obsessed with all things British.” While mentions of sartorial British influences immediately conjure images of fusty tweed, wellies, and the earthy tones of wax jackets and country heritage clothing, this collection was actually the polar opposite of that type of affair. At first glance, the collection looked...

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Fashion

The New Puritanism: Policing Women’s Wardrobes in 2016

by Erin Gillespie

Okay, have a look at the above outfit. Sure, it’s a bit…um… extreme. Yes, it is probably what I would call “questionable taste”. But in this, the supposed modern era, Americans are always droning on and on about “freedoms”, yet they seem more willing than ever to yank them away from women who choose to express themselves via the way they dress. Doubly so if there is even a hint of a body part showing. This photograph is of a woman named Maggie McMuffin (I’m guessing that’s not her real name). Maggie is a burlesque dancer, and just this week, she attempted to fly from Massachusetts to Washington DC on a JetBlue flight. Except when she got to the gate, the flight crew put their heads together and collectively decided (along with the pilot(!?)...

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Entertainment

Hollywood Directors Scramble to Keira Knightley’s Defense

by Erin Gillespie

This is a rather interesting story, and I mean that ultimately in the refreshing sense of the word. Early this week in an interview with British news outlet The Independent, Hollywood director John Carney decided to attack Keira Knightley’s talent in what felt like a kind of out-of-the-blue way. Carney directed Knightley in the film Begin Again, which also starred Mark Ruffalo and Adam Levine, and oddly, I think it’s been something like four years since the film came out. He was talking to the Independent because he has a new movie out called Sing Street, about an 80s band. Supposedly Sing Street is getting rave reviews, so the whole Keira thing seems even more off to me. You’ll notice that there are hardly ever any gossip stories floating around out there about Keira...

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