4 posts tagged “rant”

Why is it that I can never find the clothes I want to wear? I'm tall with big hips, right? Thick thighs, big butt, the whole thing. (thanks, Mom :) ) Obviously, some trends are not meant for me, such as the brightly colored skinny jeans trend, the leggings-as-pants trend, etc. But I think I'm being oppressed by the miniskirt.

I used to have this really cute denim skirt. Stonewashed, straight until the knee where it flared out just a little, to give it a very polished look. I rocked this skirt to no end. Last year, after four years, I finally, reluctantly, gave it up to my little sister, because it no longer fit. Then I started the search for my next denim skirt.

None of the major stores were doing denim skirts. If they were, they were like 3 inches long and just barely  covered my behind. So I went online. Searched EVERYWHERE. Nothing. The only other style available was the pencil skirt, which I wasn't even going to try, for obvious reasons. I couldn't believe it: I was like " Is nobody making skirts for girls like me who don't wear miniskirts? Am I not a consumer worthy of catering to?"

Now, I understand that the miniskirt was part of the whole women's liberation, sexual revolution, whatever. It challenged norms, symbolized women sticking it to the Man, etc. etc. But why has it suddenly become a means of oppression to girls who are not a size zero? I don't have the legs for a miniskirt. People may disagree with that, but still, I am not a person who willingly shows off her legs to the world. I live in jeans, knee-length skirts, and the occasional long skirt. I know I'm not the only person with my body type. So why can't I find clothes for my body type at any of the stores? Isn't the point of retailing to provide the things that people want? I'm not a plus-size, but that doesn't mean I can rock a miniskirt without looking ridiculous. I'm a consumer - the retailers are supposed to be catering to ME. But they're not. They're catering to the small proportion of the female population who like to wear miniskirts. The retailers are pretty much saying if you can't wear a miniskirt, you're not hip, or trendy, or cool, and that's your loss.

Now, other women have gone all "Well, I'm jst going to make my own clothes." Unfortunately, I don't have that option. I'm a pre-med Biology major, trying to get into medical school in the US as an international - I don't have TIME to make my own clothes. So I have no other option but the retailers. And all they do is throw their damn miniskirts in my face and say "Wait till next season." My figure isn't "in" right now, so I get kicked to the wayside to make way for skinnier, leggier girls. 

Another thing: the skinny jean. How come the only skinny jeans available in the stores are "slim fit"? Did they never stop to think that girls with big butts would actually want to wear skinny jeans? They say that it doesn't flatter my figure, but I LIKE skinny jeans. As long as I wear a top that covers my butt, I'm fine. I can't find any skinny jeans that fit me, and if they do, they're plastered with Baby Phat or Apple Bottoms logos in sequinned lettering. I DON'T WANT SEQUINS ON MY BUTT.

I may be the only person in the world who feels this way, but I'm going to make enough noise for the world to hear.

 STOP CATERING TO THE FEW WOMEN WHOSE FIGURES FIT YOUR IDEA OF BEAUTY. MAKE CLOTHES FOR ALL WOMEN. A SIZE 12 MINISKIRT IS NOT THE ANSWER.

(On a side note, I'm moving to Wordpress. Will link you to the new blog soon.)

So I'm mad. For a number of reasons (a phone call, an encounter with someone I'd rather avoid at the moment), but I'm writing this post because I'm mad at this.

http://anthonydavidmusic.com/music.aspx

This is Anthony David. I discovered him thanks to the iTunes Store's "Just for You" box. They suggested him because I had a lot of R&B/Soul type stuff. One listen, and I was hooked. I don't know quite what it is that makes me love his music. I think it's the way he sings - he sings like a man baring his soul to the world. Lyfe Jennings sings like that. And he's a great songwriter. My favorite song of his is Heartstrings - you can relate to it. The only one I can find on Youtube is Words with India.Arie, which is great as well. The music just runs through you like water, and you feel like he's sitting down next to you, having a conversation. It's personal and it's real. This guy has talent.

And NOW? Now he's signed to a label, and they've given him some neckchains and some aviator glasses, and he looks like a Musiq Soulchild wannabe. See this is the point Bob Lefsetz makes in his blog, that I read fairly often. THE LABELS DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FANS! They don't care about people like me, who listen to this music on a bad night to make them feel better, they don't care that we liked him in his casual, scruffy outfits because we could relate to him, we felt like we knew him. I don't know the guy on that website. Bring me back my Anthony David.

I would say, for anyone who likes his music, go out and buy his old albums, 3 Chords & The Truth, and The Red Clay Chronicles. Don't buy the crap that Universal is trying to push down our throats. Because his new album, Acey Duecy (what the hell kind of name is that?) is his two older albums made into one. If you buy it, you won't be paying for his music - you'll be paying for the chains around his neck, the ridiculously expensive shades, and the white tee that probably cots 30 bucks. You'd be paying for the IMAGE, what Universal wants to sell you, not your music.

This makes me sad, because I love Anthony David. I should be happy for him now that he's signed to a label. But they're just going to ruin him. I only hope that they don't do the same thing to Dwele, who is the most underrated artist out there. He should be selling more music than Musiq Soulchild, but he flies under the radar. Maybe it's better that way.

I will say, though, that India looks gorgeous in that video.

I know I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy. I took on a bunch of responsibility this semester, so I'm almost overwhelmed. Sometimes I think "Why do I have a blog in the first place?" Well, because I think it's cool. Because I think what I have to say is important. Because I need some sort of outlet seeing as I don't dance anymore, or do anything artsy because I've decided to devote my life to medicine. However, now that everyone knows what my blog is, I can't really let out, because people will know that I'm talking about them, or will know who I'm talking about. I need a change. I need to let loose a little. I discovered a while ago that there are no extremes in my life. I do everything in moderation. Is that a good thing? Or do I end up slowly losing my mind because I keep myself in a straightjacket all the time? I think this is one of the reasons I want to take a year off and go abroad, to Asia. I want to do something completely out of the ordinary so that I can be different, I can be special, I can be cool. And also so I don't feel like I have to distill or reduce myself to my future career. This is why I have a blog. And this is probably the most honest post I've written here.

let them see what I write. Let them talk. I think I need to free myself from society's opinion of me, and just do what I think is good for me. I think it's part of being a Christian, not conforming to the world's opinion. it's part of being an individual, of being a free-thinker. It doesn't mean you're atheist, or liberal, or whatever. You just do you. What's important to you, that's what counts.

Ay yay yay. I'm going to go socialize, then plan for medical school. I need help, God. help me out. Oh, and Lolia, I wrote this post because you didn't include me on your blogroll. Thanks for helping me let it all out. I think I'm going to post more often this year.

Lataz.

HOW COULD YOU VOTE OFF WILL???? How could you eliminate the BEST dancer that has ever come to So You Think You Dance? The only explanation is that someone read the list backwards and put Will and Twitch in the bottom two instead of Mark and Joshua. The ONLY videos on Youtube right now from last night are Will and Twitch's partner dances, Will's solo, and Mark's solo. DOESN'T THAT TELL YOU SOMETHING???

Anyway, it's not that surprising. This is the same audience that kicked Jennifer Hudson and and Chris Daughtry from American Idol, and kept Sanjaya way longer than they needed too. People on the Fox forums have their own opinions about the audience that voted Will off, but I think one of the judges said it best that people thought Will was so great that he didn't need their votes. That's the other explanation. It makes sense, but I prefer mine.

Oh well. I guess it's America's Best Dance Crew now. Oh wait, they voted off Kaba Modern and kept Status Quo last season, and didn't even take the great dance crew/theatre company from Chicago past the live auditions this season. 

Reality TV sucks.

Anyway, check out this video of Kaba Modern at the Hip Hop Internationals last year. They came second, by the way. Daughtry, who got voted of AI, has sold more albums than every American Idol winner apart from Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken. Note, that Daugthry has released only one album, the others at least two. Jennifer Husdon won the Oscar, not Beyonce. Wake up, people, and open your eyes to the REAL talent.