The "Do It Yourself Girl" Network
I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman. - Virginia Woolf
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I fell across a fashion contest the other day that myitthings.com was putting on. The contest description is as followed: “Do you have a Passion for Prada? Do you think you are more of a fashion expert than a humdrum Vogue editor? Wanna win $1000? Simply select your favorite fashion It things and write about them. Users will rate the top entries.” After reading the contest rules, I thought that this might be fun to write some on my "favorite fashion It things" and what "IT" means to me. Not to mention Santino from Project Runway was one of the judges, which I thought was pretty cool as it is no doubt he is very talented. Unfortunately, for me the deadline for the article submission was only one day away. I thought: How fabulous. I have the rest of today and tomorrow to write this! Well, it's not really fabulous; I was being sarcastic. So I was like, forget it. I don‘t have the time, nor an exact idea of what to write. Plus, I am not really much of a writer. Anyway, I put the contest out of my head figuring it was too late. I woke up the next morning (the morning of the deadline; May 31st, 2007) and in my e-mail inbox was an immediately request for some photos of my daughter in a new dress I designed for an author who was writing an article for me. I had to come up with a good photo, like NOW. My daughter and I had a whopping twenty minutes before she had to leave for school, so I quickly threw the dress on her, and we headed outside to take some shots. Skye (my daughter) loves any photo opportunities. She was doing her thing in front of the camera (just being her outrageous and crazy self) which I totally allow. I say "Do your thing Girl!" I feel, it’s good for her and it allows for a more natural look to the photos. I figure; she allows me to use her to model these dresses, so she should at least have some fun while doing this, right? I felt so "mother of the yearish" with this attitude. However, when I looked over the photos we took I was kind of..how do we say...at a loss. Somehow Skye holding up the peace sign with both her hands acting like she's a rock star didn't quite land me with the photo my writer needed that morning. Incidentally, our little, rushed modeling session did leave me with a photo I thought may have something interesting to say for that contest. Again, the title of the contest was: Describe your "Favorite Fashion IT Things." I will explain what the word “IT” means to me: I don't see fashion so much as a tangible thing, but rather as an expression of one's self, of one's personality and character. Whenever a fashion item is rated, I personally can't help but think of the person wearing it. I totally think someone/something should be seriously noteworthy (IT) because of the quality and not judged just on looks. A killer car gets serious praise not just because of its looks but also as to how it stands up under multiple testing. So when it comes to the best representation of fashion, I say; why not look at the inner quality of the person behind it. What really is important in life is NOT if we can afford new Gucci shoes, get real. That is so irrelevant. A person may be envious of the person with great shoes and want them, but they don’t respect and value the person because of them. Some people may go out and buy the same shoes because the shoes are fabulous, but they didn't purchase the shoes because they respect and value that person. People, in general, respect and look up to a great person, because of great character. If they do have great Gucci shoes: Nice! be good looking, fit and have great character: DAMN! Let's write about them "cause" THAT'S Hot!!! The whole package deal is so raw, so fresh. I say only give props to those who truly deserve “IT”. What’s Hot in Fashion is so ridiculously under thought; it's sad. I realize that this statement coming from a fashion designer, pattern-maker and dressmaker may not make a whole lot of sense, as a designer is typically thought of as a “slave to fashion.” But the reality is; we as good human beings naturally strive for the best; the best in people, the best in ourselves. We make our own realities. We totally control who and what we say it is that becomes “IT”. Personally, I’d like to see the IT factor (or attention in fashion) go beyond the clothes on a person’s back and go instead to the person as a whole. There really needs to be more intelligence to what we choose to be the deciding factors to what makes a person “hot“, fly”, “it”, or “in” in our thinking. Again, fashion is an expression of one's self. Who's to say we can’t choose based on “IT”, who should get the IT attention, and those who shouldn’t. We should be asking ourselves, are the people that represent these fashions a liar, a cheater, a user, a shallow self-serving ass? Are they weak and only cope with their life when totally f__'ed up? Or instead are they ones who have integrity, smarts, good standards, self-respect and self-control at just about any cost? Are they outspoken and have a great opinion? Do they possess a great style sense, because that to me is HOT, HOT, HOT and totally IT! It's completely worth the attention, not to mention a good role model for my children! Let's get back to my daughter's photo. You see, what I love about this photo is that it shows true strength in her character. It shows she’s confident, smart and makes known her boundaries (good, strong character traits an attractive female should not live without). This is the look my daughter gives someone that's trying to pull a fast one on her and she's stopping them dead in their tracks. Just by that fabulous look. In my opinion, it’s totally the IT factor and worth it's weight in gold. Especially when she's older and “Big Ben" keeps coming around. Females, you know "Big Ben" don't cha? The guy that really thinks he's something just because…you know…and you're sitting there thinking: "What psychotic delusional drug are you popping thinking someone like you and I will ever go there based on that self-aggrandizing comment alone?" For those who think why not? It’s called self-respect. Then, that fabulous IT look comes into play with the words, “Don’t even pull that guilt trip on me little man; I know what you’re after, and I already told ya, not interested. Come around again, and I’ll have papers served to ya." BAM! Totally IT! It's important to show inner strength, good character and pure charm. It's being a good person and doing the right thing even when it’s the hardest. It's learning to love yourself and finding the strength and resources to stay a nice person even though it seems everyone else treats you like shit. It's not using a guy (or girl) because they have material things or because it was done to you. It is not taking the weak way out by using drugs or alcohol to deal with life. It's being a good listener, an honest person who is trustworthy. Someone people can count on, lean on when needed. It's one who knows the boundaries (not taking shit) and maintains a great attitude. Actually..just pretty much thinking before acting or speaking. Now THAT'S hot, tough, and totally IT! My take is: We stop wasting time giving so much praise to people just because they have money and know how to dress, are a celebrity, or a rap, pop or rock star. Who cares if one has gold freakin’ grillz laced w/ diamonds when the only thing that comes out of their mouth is nothing less than disrespectful CRAP! Give props to those who deserve it, otherwise, it leaves a girl wondering does anyone in Hollywood or followers of what’s “hot” out there seriously take into consideration a persons character???? I‘d have to say the answer is yes more than no. Check out Wendy Pepper. I honestly don‘t think that woman can say her lack of character on Project Runway killed IT (and a lot more for her). Check out Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears, they may get some attention for what they wear or not wear, however they get a lot more attention for their lack of wisdom. Not a good thing. We really do care, it’s about time to show it. Here’s to giving character what it deserves. Stay strong! Thanks for reading. Renee Boley Renee Boley is a fashion designer, pattern-maker and dressmaker. She has been designing clothes and products for sale in boutique shops like the Secret Garden, Baby News, Jellybeans, the Children's Cottage, and the Children's Orchard. She currently is working on writing step-by-step Guides on how to sew and design beautifully fashioned items. You can check out her website at www.breakitdowndesign.com. Feel free to use the pictures there along side the article. Article Source: Article directory|Free content|Author submission|Health,Fitness & Fashion |
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