Former Fashion Designer, Mom, Underperforming Perfectionist, Fitness & Diet Schizophrenic
The passing of the years has sharpened my aesthetic eye, but it also has increased the amount of "stuff" I own for tablescaping. Over this past year I have been trying to streamline and clean out … that includes the discipline of not buying more stuff.
I think ageism and sexism play a huge role, but there is another elephant in the room.
It was 1995 and I had been looking forward to a particular event for a while, even meticulously planning. I had made a hair appointment, and the direction to my stylist “Thteve” (he had a fantastic Chelsea lisp) was bold: make it fashionable and make it glamorous.
Like I was Cinderella and the fairy godmother had made a dress just for me. Wow, they were good: they never took my measurements but had the coat altered to fit me perfectly, I was ecstatic.
I was working for the company I previously blogged about that timed the frequency and duration of coffee breaks (even when you were working a 16-hour day). So of course since I was the rule follower then (as I am now), I decided running for my coffee was a good idea – need to keep that time out of office to a minimum! And yes, in my new platforms … why not?
I feel like this is just another example of the ugly side of the fashion industry. Nike doesn't care about them, the fashion companies don't care about them, they are perfectly ok with them going into debt for a look. Keeping people saddled down with debt so they cannot get out of their situations, because these kids have to have the coolest, newest outfit.
This was just a plain foreshadowing (truth in advertising?) of the illogical abuse that followed in the design houses. One day you were the darling, the president loved your designs and you could do no wrong. The next day
Pick your pieces well, and thoughtfully. You don't need a lot to look good or feel good. It’s worth investing the time and money to get those staples just right, so that you aren’t questioning yourself later on.
Do you remember those parachute material joggers everyone wore in the late 80s and 90s (often with pearls)?
Behind the glitz and glamour of fashion, there is backstabbing, lying, cheating and basically the kill-or-be-killed mentality if someone wants your job … or basically any reason at all.