Cassential Links, 1/19/14

On my radar:

What does it mean to be a dad?  A black dad?  Gay black dads?  Societal notions of gender, race, and fatherhood examined by the reactions to these two families.

Showing some local love for these St. Louis bloggers

While I love having fun with new trends and enjoy breaking trends down on the blog, I'm in full agreement with Amanda about not following trends.  Fashion is way more fun if we don't all look the same and wear what truly suits us.

As women, we are often taught to apologize for being who we are, explaining our way through life for not following the norms.  Time to be who we are in all our glory, unapologetically.

The Curvy Fashionista just turned five, and Marie is looking fierce in a satin jumpsuit and gorgeous make-up.

The internet exploded with hateful critique of Gabourey Sidibe and her Golden Globes look.  She offers the best response ever.  Gotta love her attitude!

So, Lena Dunham is airbrushed in Vogue, like EVERYONE ELSE, and Jezebel pays $10,000 to get the unretouched pics?  The story has made the blogging world abuzz this week, but the best response was this fundraiser started by blogger Nicolette Mason and musician Brad Walsh.

And the controversy over Mindy Kaling's gorgeous cover of Elle.

While body diversity in modeling has increased some, plus-size models are getting skinnier.  Plus-size models are smaller than their target demographic.

Love this cool retro-inspired outfit - leopard spots, black and white leather, and pops of red.  Gabi nails it.

As a poor/working glass white girl, I certainly didn't have many of the benefits of my middle class peers, but over the years I learned how my race afforded me opportunities and everyday privileges.  Good article for explaining white privilege.

Just as everyday women look sexy in our skivvies, so do men.  :-)

Style Cassentials, 11/11/13

 This art project looks at the ridiculousness of Disney-fying female role models.  Does it go too far?

Sexism in advertising is nothing new.  How far do you think we have come from these sexist ads? 

Quality, price, range of sizing?  Are consumer demands reasonable? 

Halloween may be over, but these amazing costumes are making me plan for next year!

Gorgeous gold detail and over-the-knee boots.  Chic and fabulous!

Cool and classic with a bit of edge....Konstantina gets black and white is oh so right!

The images we see in magazines and on billboards are disturbingly altered, as this short video clearly illustrates.

So, you say you're not a feminist?  Are your reasons misguided or reasonable?  This article explores why many famous women deny being feminists.

Wendy's outfits are always inspirational!  Beautiful mix of textures and color.

St. Louis Fashion Blog Awards Official Nominees and People's Choice Awards

Source:  StLouisFashionWeek.com

The Official list of nominees for the St. Louis Fashion Blog Awards is in, and I'm nominated in three categories!  Thank you to all of you who nominated me!

You can vote at http://www.saintlouisfashionweek.com/bloggers/st-louis-fashion-blogger-awards/ for People's Choice Awards winners in each category!  

Please take a look at the nominees, and if you think I'm the best in my categories, I'd appreciate your vote!

Vote once a day through September 16th.  

Meet the bloggers of St. Louis Fashion Week here.  Many of them are nominated!  It's always great to discover new blogs.

One Year Prospective - What's Coming!

I have spent the last several weeks reflecting over my blog and the direction that I would like to see it go in the future.

Boyfriend jeans:  The Limited (Available here)

Fashion has been a lifelong passion, and I have been having fun continuing to evolve my style over the last year.  I will continue to offer lots of outfit posts, between 3-4 times a week - sometimes more, sometimes less depending on what is going on in my non-blogging life.

I would like to take some of my time though to move the blog towards my larger goals of promoting body confidence and discussing clothes, fashion, beauty, etc. as they relate to the culture-at-large.

I've always wanted my blog to be more interactive and more multi-focused than just "what I wore today."  As much as I love discussing and showing my fashion and having people actually care about what I wear, I've also struggled with feeling like doing so was a little too ego-centric and shallow.

Blouse: Outback Red by The Limited (old)

Purse:  The Limited (old)

Starting later today, you will still start seeing a regular Saturday feature, called "Cassential Links."  I have been inspired by a couple of my favorite blogs which have a similar feature.  Weesha's World and Already Pretty regularly provide features that link their readers to varioius content.  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I am very sincerely imitating this idea because I think it's a great one.  Expect to see links to other bloggers of all shapes and sizes rocking cool looks, links to body-positive articles and content, as well as links to socially-oriented content that relates to fashion, gender, body image, and other relevant topics.

At least once or twice a month, I will also be writing my own socially-oriented content.  I questioned myself a lot in posting "Loving Myself:  The Path to Self-Acceptance" and "Mod Squad" and even more so in posting "Grrrrrrl Power."  I worried that I would alienate readers or cause friction by incorporating my politics and social views into my posts.  It turns out that my worries were in vein as I've received nothing but positive response to all of these posts.  Also, those posts were among my most shared and most viewed posts.

I'm very inspired and validated by the responses that I've received to that work, which tells me that I have hit on something relevant.  In the end, I have also realized that I am willing to lose readers if it means that I am able to offer content that is authentic and that allows me to focus on my larger goals.

Bracelets:  The Limited

Shoes:  Target

I hope you will enjoy these new additions to my blog.  I look forward to the next year!

P.S.  Today starts Denim Week!!!  I wore this outfit last weekend to the movies.  The man and I watched "The Heat."  The movie was hilarious, and it was awesome to see a buddy cop movie featuring women!  Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock were a great combo!

St. Louis Fashion Week - Blogger Nominations

Hope you're all having a great evening.  I have fall fashion on the brain and am loving all the fall fashion on Style.com and in the glossies.

In local fashion news, St. Louis Fashion Week is right around the corner!  I've been to a few Fashion Week events but missed the shows last fall and spring.

Since Fall is this fashionista's favorite season - for fashion and everything else - I am definitely looking forward to attending to see what talented local designers have to offer!

I'm also looking forward to sharing the shows with you!

If you're so inclined, please consider nominating me for the St. Louis Fashion Blog Awards honoring St. Louis area bloggers. 

Here's the link:  http://www.saintlouisfashionweek.com/bloggers/st-louis-fashion-blogger-awards/

Thank you!  :-D