Oct
31
2014

November YMC Photo-A-Day Challenge: Fashion Edition

November Just Got Hotter!

November YMC Photo-A-Day Challenge: Fashion Edition

One of my favourite things about fashion and style is that it's constantly changing, and you can find inspiration just about everywhere. I regularly hit Pinterest and Instagram to get outfit ideas or find new ways to wear my favourite pieces.

I also blame Pinterest and Instagram for my outrageously overflowing closets. But I digress...

Style inspiration really is all around us. Sometimes when I’m out at the grocery or café, I’ll stop women walking past to ask where they picked up a great pair of pants or a gorgeous jacket. As much as I'd love to, I don't have a monopoly on great style and I'm inspired by fashionable gals here, there, and everywhere! Now, I’m asking you to share your favourite fashion tips, tricks, and secrets. But mostly, I want to see what you're wearing and how you're wearing it! 

Just like the our previous #YMCPhotoADay challenges with Melissa, you can take your photos with any camera (I'll probably use my iPhone for most). If you want to share your photos, upload them to any social media networkmake sure your privacy settings are set to Public for the photoand hashtag #YMCPhotoADay challenge. If you'd like to see what everyone else is taking, you should check out Tagboard and search #YMCPhotoADay. All the photos posted to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Google+ with that hashtag will be aggregated into one place. (Note: if you post your photo on your personal blog or Flickr, but then link to it on one of those social networks and use the hashtag, it will still show up on Tagboard.)

You don't *have* to do full #OOTD (outfit of the day) photos, either. You can simply snap a portion of your look, or take multiples and stick them together with Canva, Moldiv, or PicStitch. Be creative. Have fun. BE INSPIRED! I can't wait to see how fabulous you look! 

The prompts for our Photo-A-Day challenge are below. Let’s make #YMCPhotoADay the most fashionable thing to ever hit the Internet, shall we?

You can also follow me on Instagram for beauty and fashion stuffs: @imashleymi or follow #TheFrenziedFashionista

If you need a little inspiration, I've got a full-week's worth of ways to dress up your jeans, and the number one style essential you need to wear every. single. day. XO

Oct
21
2014

Teen Fashion Brand Believes One Size Fits Small

US-Based Company Sells Only Size Small

Teen Fashion Brand Believes One Size Fits Small

Brandy Melville USA One Size Fits Small

Imagine entering a store to look for your size and realizing that only one size, size small, can shop there. That's the reality created at Brandy Melville — a teen clothing retailer — otherwise known as the hottest teen clothing retailer in the USA. Yep. You read that right.

A store full of clothes made for one body type: thin.

And as if that's not bad enough, it's one of the brands with the fastest-growing popularity among teen girls. WHAT THE WHAT?

A quick flip through Brandy Melville’s Instagram account tells pretty quickly that the Brandy Melville girl is young, thin, white and long-legged. I CANNOT EVEN. But, you know, aside from that... this is a brand THAT ONLY SELLS ONE SIZE. ONE FUCKING SIZE.

I’ve been on the verge of an absolute rage blackout since learning about this one-size bullshit for a number of reasons… the least of which being that this is what makes me hate the fashion industry. This makes me hate society. It makes me want to lock my son up and never let him experience the ridiculously unrealistic ideals that hurt the young men and women in our society.

It’s brands like this that are the reason why I spent the better part of the last 15 years thinking about what size jeans I wore and how many calories went into my body.

Did you know that approximately 1.5% of Canadian women is living with an eating disorder? Did you know that the onset of disordered eating (which I still totally live with every day) and strict dieting usually sparks at age 14-15. Isn’t it a fun coincidence that this is the target market for a brand like Brandy Melville.

In an interview earlier this year, Jessy Longo — an executive at Brandy Melville — told USA Today that if customers can’t fit into the clothing, they can still buy an accessory.

"We can satisfy almost everybody, but not every body," Longo said. "The one-size-fits-most clothing might turn off somebody if they don't walk into the store, but if you walk in you'll find something even if it's a bag."

Even if it's a bag. How cute. Excuse me while I bang my head on a wall. "It's OK you're not a size 0. Just buy a bag, and you can be fat but well-accessorized." PLEASE. 

*RAGEBLACKOUT*

When I was a teen, the it-clothes were the ones that cost the most. The ones we begged our parents for and saved our allowance so we could buy just one thing for the new year. With Brandy Melville, you don’t need a lot of money – just a real low total body fat percentage. I’m so disgusted I could cry.

Of course, this isn’t the first brand to promote thin as the ideal body type (though it is the first I’ve heard of to offer only one size). Lululemon’s sizes range from 0 – 12. Abercrombie and Fitch essentially says fat women shouldn’t wear their clothes.  With approximately 50 per cent of teenage girls already skipping meals to try to fit into this unrealistic ideal, this all seems nothing shy of reckless. And it's fucking disgusting. I keep hoping our society will get its shit together, but I keep being disappointed. 

I’m sad that this post gives a brand like Brandy Melville any more publicity, but I hope that you will join me in inviting them to fuckRIGHToff for their blatant disregard for the hundreds of thousands of young women (and men) who are harming themselves to try to fit into a pair of $30 pants that only come in size 2. 

Don’t wear a size 0-2? That’s great! You may love this awesome company that believes beautiful bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Let's celebrate the oodles of different shapes, sizes, colours, abilities, and every other minute detail that makes one body different from the next with campaigns like this one, too. XO. 

Oct
15
2014

Follow These 3 Rules For Great-Looking Family Photos

Avoid the Ire of the Ages, and Look Great for Generations to Come

Follow These 3 Rules For Great-Looking Family Photos

This is the third year in a row that my son and I have done our family photos around the Thanksgiving weekend. The fall colours are so lovely, and when the weather cooperates, autumn is the perfect time to be outdoors. I typically spend a bit of time contemplating what we’re going to wear for our photos, and in 2012 and 2013, we both wore a lot of blue.

Six Tips For Better Family Photos

If, like us, you’re gearing up to do your family photos, I have 3 simple tips for you to follow for dressing for your upcoming shoot!

1. Coordinate, but don’t match:

Instead of putting the entire family in matching gingham shirts, make sure that everyone has a cohesive look by sticking to a similar colour palette. Avoid white, though, as you can sometimes fade into a backdrop and it may appear stark in photographs. If you are wearing white, top it with a coloured blazer or sweater. *F and I wore a blue and white pattern in both 2012 and 2013 (when we also wore similar Converse sneakers). This year we did neutrals.*

2. Skip graphic designs and busy patterns: 

They can distract from your smiling faces, and busy patterns can be confusing to the eye. Stick to simple or plain clothing (a thin, vertical stripe as opposed to thick, horizontal stripes) and remember the above tip to keep your family's look cohesive. *I put F in a blue and white patterned shirt in 2012, which was quite faint. In 2013, the plaid was more vivid, but the rest of our clothing was plain.*

3. Wear what you actually wear: 

Have you ever seen a photo of someone that looks so unnatural you can’t even believe it’s them? Don’t be that person! Wear clothing that showcases your personality—photos should be a moment preserved in time. Make sure it reflects YOU. *The dress I wore for my photos this year? I wore the exact outfit for my recent professional photos. It's my new favourite.*

Now, I’m not a professional photographer. I’ll freely admit to this. But I am pretty good at setting my camera up on inanimate objects (instead of purchasing a tripod, I use rocks or my car) and setting the timer and running like ain’t nobody’s business to get in the shot before the first *click* can be heard. When it comes to the actual photos, I stand by these simple rules:

5 Steps To Take The Perfect Family Photo

  1. Have fun.
  2. Everyone doesn’t have to look at the camera.
  3. Be yourselves!

My favourite photos of F and I are usually the ones that happen when we forgot that the camera was clicking, because they’re the photos that really show us. Sure, they might be a little blurry and one of us might have one eye half-cocked, but that’s OK.

Life isn’t perfect and our photos don’t need to be, either.

For tips on how to capture your family’s perfectly imperfect moments, follow my friend Melissa!