A Feather Frenzy

Dear Readers,

Forgive me for my blogging absence. Busyness is a primary cause, but more than that I have felt largely uninspired of late. I am having a difficult time with summer's fashions this year. I appreciate the Bohemian vibe and the throwback to the 70's, but few pieces strike me and/or would work on my figure. Both styles make use of billowy tops, dainty fabrics, and outrageous prints. Such accoutrements are not beyond me, but I've combed several stores in the last week as well as searched online and have come up empty handed. Meanwhile, I've made use of pieces I already own, which is probably better in its own right, but as a woman, I am only all to glad to add to my wardrobe. :)

My mother always keeps an eye out for interesting and controversial goings-on in the fashion industry for me. She came across an article about the newest rage - feather hair extensions. Made intensely popular by Steven Tyler showcasing them on the most recent season of American Idol, fly fishermen and their tackle suppliers are getting highly annoyed with women coming into their shops to buy the "hackles," the especially long tail feathers of a rooster. In an article posted on PETA's website, it is explained, "Roosters used to make these extensions are bred and genetically altered to produce long, luxurious saddle feathers (the ones on their backsides, which can take years to grow) before they are killed [euthanized] and de-feathered for their precious plumage." Needless to say, PETA sides with the fishermen. Recently, these birds have been killed in record numbers to meet the demand of fashionistas, desiring to make a statement.

My take on this situation:

I will not be adding feathers to my hair, albeit they do look pretty neat. They are rather expensive and only last a few months - not something I'm willing to put the money out for. (I'd rather get my next tattoo). :)

I do feel bad for the added number of birds who have died recently in the name of fashion; however, remember, this has been occurring for quite some time for fishing, etc. just not in this great a quantity.

As with any fad, the craze will eventually die out. Next season it could be peacocks! Actually, this would not altogether shock me. Why not peacocks!? They have beautiful feathers! But these roosters are already getting messed with by being genetically altered, so I will not be signing any PETA petitions.

 Nevertheless, since we live in the land of the outsourced and artificially fabricated, it would be nice if someone devised a way to create artificial feathers that looked great and did not cause a bird to die before its time. Oh look! China did! Furthermore, Amazon.com sells them for less than $10 with shipping. For that amount of money, I just might put them in. I could see my sister and I doing that together for the summer (*hint, hint*).


Your thoughts??????

The Quest of a Bathing Beauty, Part 2

So my quest brought me to Fashion Bug - on a whim, not really sure I would actually find anything, but I have found some winners there in the past. I tried on a few suits, finding only one potential possibility.  Behold...

I thought it looked nice on me. I liked the shirred sides, the shimmering color, and the skirt that served to minimize the girth of my hips and thighs. I tried two sizes - an 8, which fit albeit snugly over my thighs and a 10, which fit more comfortably over my legs without looking overly baggy in other areas due to it being a size larger. However, upon inspecting my back side to see how it measured up, I noticed with the size 10 that the fabric had pulled away from the center back seam. Now, in the past, I have had trouble with seams on items purchased from Fashion Bug, so seeing this occurrence sent up flags of alarm for me. Unable to get past this, and the $40+ price tag, I took a picture of myself in it and resolved to think about it for at least 24 hours.

I sent the picture I took to my sister - an always trustworthy 2nd opinion. She did not like it. In fact, she hated the skirt. She said it made the suit look like a dress. Her husband said it looked old ladyish, and my husband said it looked like it could pass for lingerie. Needless to say, I did not not return and purchase this suit. With my doubts regarding its manufacturing and such "glowing" reviews from those closest to me, I decided it wasn't meant to be.

I pressed on.

Today, I went to JCPenney. I tried on about 5 suits. I found myself getting highly irritated. You see, I fall in the middle. I am not small enough to pull off a bikini well, and I'm not large enough to require slimming add-on's like super spandex or boning. I took 4 pictures to bring before my committee. The results:

• One made me look almost pregnant - a definite NO! 
• One, upon review by Jon (husband), seemingly added about 40 lbs. to my figure - a resounding NO! 
• Changing the color of that style did not do anything for me; in fact, the picture I took of myself in color option #2 has been captioned, "Trailer trash." Eek! 
• I tried a bikini. The style wasn't bad, but well known to me, yet unbeknownst to my sister until this evening, I have a "funny hip," so exposing that much skin does make me appear a little odd. Indeed, my right hip actually sits higher than my left, throwing off my proportions. I've known this for years. It bewildered my sister.

I left Penney's discouraged and hating my shape. It seemed as if I would not be able to find anything. Not really an option for someone who hopes to travel to the beach semi-frequently this summer and whose suits from last year are 2 sizes too big. Thank you, Zumba. Nevertheless, woe is me.

This week, many department stores are having huge sales on all sorts of items. Specifically, swimwear has been discounted anywhere between 40-60%. So, I wanted to cash in while opportunity was knocking. So, later, I went to Kohl's. I perused their website beforehand to get an idea of which suits I wanted to try. I found these:





I really did not want to get a mostly black suit so bottom-right was my least favorite option, but at least armed with a few visuals I would not be searching blindly upon arriving at the store. I did not come across 3 out of the above 4 suits. Truly, I wasn't aggressively searching for them (except for the pink one; I liked that one a lot). I ended up in the fitting room with 4 suits again and repeated the process.

• A deep purple one - beautiful color on me, halter style, tankini. Tried on paired with 2 different bottoms. Close, but no. The picture of me in it was captioned, "Battling bulges!!!"
• One by Nike - the fit was not doing me any favors. It just simply was not me.
• The one pictured right - I didn't like all that black. I really wanted a print. It didn't look bad; it just was not what I was really looking for.
  
•  Top-right in the above table - turned out to be the one. This suit is by ZeroXposur - a brand that I had seen previously in my "research." I instantly fell in love with their overall look - athletic, yet not all brute and no class. I had seen similar suits in Penney's and Sears, but they were never quite what I was looking for (usually mostly black as in the case above). So, I was thrilled with this find. However, I was unable to purchase the displayed bottoms; they did not have them in my size. Instead, I purchased boyshort bottoms by Candie's (see below).

The best part about it was not only that I looked fabulous in it, but the top and the short cost $37.98 together, which is under the $40 I budgeted for this purchase. But, wait! :) There's more! Because they were on sale, I saved about $25 between the two of them! Major score! Now, I need only the beach!

I am happy to have closed this chapter in my never ending quest towards fashion greatness. (So is my husband).

My advice: don't settle. You know what you want; don't put out the money until you are 100% sure of what you are buying. It's not worth it. Furthermore, with everything online, your possibilities are endless; you must be willing to search for them, however. I've also heard that you love an item most in-store, so if you're not head over heels in love with it there, you most likely will not be when you get home. But I wish you all the best in your bathing beauty quests. Make sure you work with your body shape. I know it can be highly frustrating and even a little scary, but it is possible to find a suit that makes you look great and feel awesome while wearing it. Feel free to hit me up with some stories/photos of your journey. But until then, see you at the beach!