Black Milk and the Beach

On the weekend, Kate (the gorgeous model with short blonde hair-- there are more photos and info about her in previous posts) and Thomas (my boyfriend) and I drove to Florida. I shared my Black Milk leggings with Kate and took tons of pictures.

We have captured time, so time made us all hostages without mercy

Triple post!

If you guess that the two photos below were taken on the same day, you get a gold star!

I thought about titling the galaxy tank top one Varda Elentári after the queen of the stars in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, but I realized that would be absurd because I look nothing like a queen in this simple outfit, and resigned to keeping with the Epica lyric theme. But yeah, I love Tolkien, so anticipate me talking more about that in the future.

Recently, I have been getting more involved in lookbook.nu, but I have also been thinking about its limitations. Most of the comments I receive follow a particular formula. They typically start with an adjective, such as "cool," "cute," "pretty," or "awesome", then include a noun which is a feature of the picture, such as my hair or an article of clothing. No doubt these comments are left in order to bring me to their own profile. I usually do reply and check back on the looks of people who seem to demonstrate the presence of a human brain.

Despite the abundance of "opinions," you will have a hard time finding one that points out a flaw, a poor choice, or something they don't like. If someone would comment on one of my looks saying that I am ugly and I probably found my clothes in a trash can, well I might just fall in love with that person on the merit that they are one in a hundred thousand. (?)

The forums are awesome too. They're teeming with threads that appear to be about a topic, but actually are just a vessel for a link back to someone's blog post. You can't start a thread for real discussion without someone feeling the need to embed their own look, maybe with a far-fetched explanation of why it is relevant if you are lucky. It's okay, your thread will be buried underneath the 73482374892734 self-promotion threads next time you check anyway.

However, I like lookbook because of the inspiration it gives me, the ability to document what I wear and interact (even if it is on a rudimentary level) with others who share the same interest, and the hope that someday I'll be able to get sponsorships.

The last one is what keeps me going the most.

After all, there are a lot of demonstrably intelligent and tasteful people on lookbook too, like Andre J, Cosmonaut C, Milla, Conner, and many more.

Now it's time to catch up to my most recent post.

Like my candy-cane hair? I'm addicted to Manic Panic!

 

 I love the shape of this jacket I bought at a local boutique. I don't have a lot to wear it with-- I'm not a believer in wearing blue with black unless there are multiple items in the same color blue, which is nearly impossible because this jacket is a divine yet hard to match cornflower blue.

Victoria's Secret and Pink Loves Consent

So far this has been a personal style blog, but now I would like to direct your attention to something important to me, ask for your help, and inform you about what you can do about it.

Imagine you're scrolling through your Tumblr dashboard when you see a post with thousands of notes, claiming that in order to change their image as a company who doesn't care about women, Victoria's Secret is beginning a campaign to raise awareness of what rape is-- that is, rape is all non-consentual sex, whether it be with a stranger, a family member, a boyfriend, or even a husband.

After clicking the link, you scroll through a page of panties worn by happy, beautiful, confident, sexy models of all sizes. The diversity of models is a welcome change from what we typically see. You read the words emblazoned on the thongs and boyshorts: "No means no,"Let's talk about sex," and "I love my body."

You view their about page, which declares that this line was created to encourage verbal consent between couples. When there is no communication between partners about their sexual needs, partners can be on completely different pages as far as what's acceptable. For example, the guy that you're dating might assume that you're going to "put out" tonight. He might have his hands squirming underneath your clothes before he finds out that you're not ready for this. Or he might never find out because you're too afraid and embarrassed to speak up. Or you might find the courage redirect his hands away from your body only to find that at this point he doesn't even care, and is going to have what he wants.

This graphic shows how Victoria's Secret panties previously seemed to support rape. The panties on the right display an equally sexy slogan that doesn't discount a woman's right to choose with whom, where, and when she has sex.

Of course, as many of you know, the website and its line of much-needed lingerie were too good to be true.

They were created by the organization FORCE in order to demonstrate exactly what is wrong with the message Victoria's Secret is sending. Unfortunately, Victoria's Secret has already succeeded in taking the website down by having lawyers contact the hosting company. But these were empty threats; the website was entirely legal under copyright and Fair Use laws.

You can see their suggestions on how to take action on what remains of the site here: http://pinklovesconsent.com/

Pink Loves Consent has created a petition asking Victoria's Secret to stop fighting. You can sign that here.

My original idea was that Victoria's Secret could get together with Pink Loves Consent and make these panties. Some people may think this would never happen, but I can think of at least two reasons why: money and good press. The internet's show of love for Pink Loves Consent demonstrates clearly that there is a demand for pro-consent, body-positive messages on lingerie, and therefore it would sell. Also, VS has rather a scumbag image generally. What does it say about their company and their confidence in their product when they shut down a site meant to show them where they fell short? I mean, I have never really looked into women's issues. I have never been a feminist activist. I am just a regular college student. I actually really like Victoria's Secret. However, reading about this issue has made me want to do something. My contribution will be to write to VS, and provide an example letter to others so that they will be encouraged to send a message as well.

Here is my letter. Victoria's Secret has a message box here where you can share your concern. Feel free to use mine as a template.

Dear Victoria's Secret, 

I am a Victoria's Secret customer. I enjoy the scents and lingerie that I have purchased from your store, and I love watching the fashion shows! I have never really considered myself a feminist. I'm just an average customer. But when I saw the Pink Loves Consent website, it brought me to tears because of the much needed positivity of the message, and the beautiful women modelling it. It made me feel really happy and hopeful as I thought about which item I would want to buy.

 I was disappointed to find out that you did not create this website. I was even more let down when I heard that you had shut them down. What does it say about your company when you shut down websites that disagree with you?

I think that the next move for your company should be to correct all of the bad press by doing something that your customers will look up to as good and redeeming. I think Victoria's Secret should get together with the ladies who made the Pink Loves Consent website, set aside your past differences, and make that line of lingerie a reality. I, like many women, love Victoria's Secret, but as we saw from all of the online feedback and virality of the Pink Loves Consent website, there is a HUGE demand for products that actually promote respect for a woman's right to control her own body.Victoria's Secret could sell a lot of those panties, attract new customers into their stores, and the activists behind the Pink Loves Consent website will have made a positive difference. It's a win-win for both of you!

To take advantage of this opportunity to turn your image around while attracting new customers would be the rational thing to do. It is the most lucrative option, and the most advantageous for the promotion of your brand. I hope to hear that I can have faith in Victoria's Secret again sometime soon.

Love ❤ 

Morgan 

We are leaves meant to fall; there's a meaning to all that fades

I wore this on Thanksgiving. It had been a week full of stress and essays.

The title is a lyric from a song by Epica, a band I'm obsessed with. Their music is rich and progressive, Simone Simons is a wildly talented singer, and their lyrics are poetic expressions of real thought about issues facing the world. What initially drew me toward them was the fact that their music is progressive metal with an orchestra which produces this huge, gothic sound which can't be described more aptly than with the word "epic."

Oh and Simone is really beautiful, and happens to have her own fashion blog! http://www.smoonstyle.com/

I spent Thanksgiving Day with my boyfriend's family. On Friday, my family had thanksgiving because my aunt who works at a hospital had to work on Thanksgiving Day. So I enjoyed hearing about my wealthy little cousins on the night before shopping at Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, and American Eagle.

Not.

Seriously, they have so much money. They should spend it on something cool instead of going to these preppy stores where nothing has changed for 20 years.

This photo was taken at about 4 in the morning at Target on Black Friday when all of the crazed shoppers had already gone home to snuggle with their new TVs. I found that burgundy skirt at a boutique earlier that night, and my friend bought a matching one. 

I always love any occasion that gives me an excuse to run around in the cold all night laughing like a maniac.

Eaudaimonia

I'm so glad to have this blouse designed by the blogger Cosette Munch in collaboration with Romwe. She has been a great inspiration to me ever since I joined Lookbook. That is not to say that I try to copy her style, but more like that I have learned a lot about what you can do with tights, wedges, coats and berets. Her posts have really encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone with what I wear. Plus her writing style on her blog (crackcosette.com of course)is just so intelligent, real, and wonderful to read.

And the blouse itself is great too. I can not stress how sparkly this thing actually is in person!

I was having a sneezing fit the whole time these photos are being taken. Good thing I decided against including the shot where some entity is caught on camera flying out of my nose.

I'm serious.

Miscellaneous fall photos.

 I haven't posted in a while because I have been so busy with school and Etsy. Constant stress, to tell the truth. But I can get through it all. As far as school assignments go, I always end up finishing writing assignments to my satisfaction one second before they are due. I have motivation issues, I guess. Here are some photos I have taken recently to serve as a summary of the developments that relate to this blog.

 

 I got the Demonia creepers and added a ribbon for the laces! I was fortunate enough to get these galaxy leggings for free from one of the Romwe giveaways on Facebook ^_^ I'd like to invest in a black high-waisted skirt and some loong lolita-like socks in order to incorporate the galaxy pattern with more subtlety.

 

I really need to stop shopping so much if I am ever going to save any money. I try to justify it by saying I only buy cheap stuff, but one bazillion cheap things isn't really cheap anymore!

Here you get to see me looking insane riding the bull. lol

Some of my shoe paintings. I want to try new things with them, but there is so little time :(

 I got this blouse, which is a collaboration between by favorite blogger Cosette Munch and Romwe. I love it. It's a lot more sparkly in person. There is no good reason for the intoxicated look on my face in the next photo. It's funny how badly I can look in pictures sometimes.

I wish I was a famous fashion blogger and had people painting and drawing me all over the internet, but I guess if I want a painting of me, I'll have to do it myself. I'm working on rendering one of my older lookbook posts onto canvas: this is the beginning of my attempt.