Today’s post is super late because:
A) I have a super mega death cold and really needed to catch up on sleep and rest and over the weekend.
B) Today we had an appointment at the hospital as a follow up to a bad situation that happened last October that concerned my son. I wrote about it a bit here. I don’t really feel like talking about it, but even writing this much is, in my opinion, helps.
C) I’m working on some technical aspects of the blog which is also time consuming, like a proper About Me page and some other info.
and….
D) I’ve been nominated by Lexi at the Streets of Gold for the Liebster Award, so I’ve been working on answering her questions, which I will be happily posting next week.
Today I want to share various thoughts like:
k-os
Someone who has always make me think is Canadian rapper and rock musician k-os. I am a devoted fan of k-os, who, in his own words, is an “enlightened” rapper. He straddles multiple genres and is highly controversial because his music is positive and also critiques the rap world. Here is a link to a recent article written about him in February of 2013, in the article he’s being interviewed about the release of his double cd album.
One cd is rap music and the other is rock….the critics call him confused, he prefers to call it ”self-aware”, and I would agree with him.
In one of his lesser-known songs, Mirror in the Sky, he says “I’m all dressed up this evening, with no real place to go, and all these human beings, putting on a show”
I used to feel like this on a daily basis.
Fashion blogging is a strange thing, even stranger is referring to yourself as a fashion blogger. I don’t really consider myself a fashion blogger. I would say I blog, and part of my blog relates to fashion, but more than than, I talk about fashion in the context of life.
I come from the North American culture of shopping, of accumulating, of searching the sales for a find. But what good are things if no one sees you in them? And what good are things if you don’t feel comfortable wearing them out of the house?
Searching for Reasons to Dress
They say, that if you work at home or stay at home with children than you should get up, put on nice clothes and do your hair as if you are going to work. Obviously the people who are making these suggestions have never spent hours in front of a computer where no one sees you, or a day inside with a toddler who really wants to give you a hug after they’ve finished eating and their hands are gross and sticky.
When I realized that fashion wasn’t dead to me, and that I had every right to invest in my clothes and style, feel good about myself and go out, I started to search the web for inspiration.
I searched for outfits but more importantly I searched for the words “reasons new moms have to dress”, “reasons stay at home moms dress-up”, “why should I look good if I work at home?”, “is there any point to combing my hair when it’s under a hat?”, “is date night my only motivation to wear a skirt?”.
This was my reality, and this is why I called my blog Reasons to Dress.
At one point I opened my eyes and noticed that Italian women don’t create these problems for themselves.
They take every occasion available to look their best. Like Cecilia for example, who was looking good while taking her daughter for a walk.
Italians think “Oh why is today Vaccination Day? I’ll wear a skirt!” or ”I think I’ll go for a walk for some ice cream, what a perfect occasion to wear killer heels!” or perhaps “It’s Saturday, let’s go out for breakfast to a caffè as a family, I think I’ll wear that fur collar and paint my nails!”
Inappropriate
Now, not ALL Italian women or moms are like this. There is also a pretty decent segment of the population that scoffs at these women by calling them “essagerate” (exaggerated). But I think that they raise the bar, and I like that.
Sometimes this idea of having a “bella presenza” (nice presence…meaning well put together) is taken to extremes, but more often than not it is just about being feminine.
Recently one of my readers (and new friend) Erin, wrote me an e-mail, in it she stated that in her rural town in Illinois “dressed up” is considered jeans, runners and a sweatshirt. And that SHE was the rule breaker by wearing nice boots, skirts and dresses!
Well, that just sucks.
Why should she have to down play her personal style because all the women around her don’t put any care into theirs? Why should she be the black sheep because she wants to be feminine?
I know exactly what she’s talking about. I felt like I was “all dressed up with nowhere to go” in Canada, but in Italy I never feel over dressed. There is always someone in heels, or even a fur coat.
Just imagine, I have NEVER seen an Italian women wearing yoga pants out on the street.
I don’t know what’s wrong and what’s right, all I know, is that I’m grateful that I can still be seen.
In case you haven’t noticed I’m doing a giveaway for a $245 pair of designer earrings by the Paris brand Satellite. To enter, I’ve asked 12 different questions, all of which are optional. Please feel free to enter.
In one of the questions I ask if you would like to be featured in a new style section where I profile everyday women’s style. Don’t feel like you have to dress-up for the occasion, show me what you are actually wearing, and feel free to tell me why you dressed.
Send me an email to reasonstodress [at] gmail [dot] com and tell me your first name, what you are wearing and why you dressed.
I’ll be featuring one a month, unless I get a bunch of emails (which I am hoping for), in that case I’ll be featuring a few women.
This new segment will start in February and Erin will be my first!
Thank you to everyone that has filled out the survey/giveaway so far, I am really learning a lot from your answers and I love hearing from you.
