Just Don't Get It: Moustache Edition

Ok, admittedly, I'm not always usually ever the first to know about the latest fads.  However, often I can at least more or less "get" them and their appeal.  Cupcakes?  Owls?  Nyan Cat?  Sure, those are fine.  I can see how they might've become popular.  (I even like all three of those.)  This fake moustache craze that's been going on for years (?), though, I just don't get. 

How did this fake moustache thing even get started?  Does anyone know? All I know is that I've been seeing them with increasing regularity over the past year or so, and I think they're kind of gross.  Yeah, that's right, I said it. ;o)  Call me an old fuddy-duddy, but I'm not a fan.  (Some) real moustaches are ok, as long as they aren't hideous.  (If you aren't sure whether or not your moustache is hideous, please ask a trusted friend.  Either that or embrace the hideousness and try not to be offended when people look away with an ill-concealed expression of disgust... and possibly a little fear.) 

Again, to restate:
Real, non-hideous moustaches? Ok. 
Fake ones?  Popping up everywhere?  Next fad, please!

On a Lighter Note...

Ha!

"Abercrombie to pay 'Jersey Shore' cast to stop wearing its clothes."

"We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image. We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans,“ an Abercrombie & Fitch spokesperson said in a statement. “We have also extended this offer to other members of the cast, and are urgently waiting a response."

That's hilarious. 
It's even funnier when you consider that Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation, itself.

Sure, it's probably just a way to get some free advertising, but I'm still amused. 

Funny... I've never watched "Jersey Shore"-- never shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch.  (I don't know if there's even one anywhere in this area.  Maybe in one of the malls?)  So how do I know anything about either one?  Clearly, both entities have done a good job of getting into the news.   

Fashion Trends

Somehow or other I got started thinking about fashion trends I remember from my (K-12) school days, and I started jotting a list of them, just for the fun of it.  (I may have done something like this before, but I can't remember for certain...)

There's no real reason for listing them here, now, except that the thought occurred to me.

• t-shirt buckles-- We'd gather up the loose fabric on our long t-shirts and feed it through one of these plastic buckles, which were worn off to one side or the other.  
• acid-wash jeans
• slap bracelets-- Which were banned at some point...
• French-braided hair-- Not that it's completely out of the question, now, but I think it used to be more common...
• crimped hair-- I think we even had a crimping iron, but it hardly ever got used.  Probably not the best thing for the health of your hair, anyway. . .
• banana hair clips-- I seem to remember these things either hurting to wear or falling out.  Not practical for elementary-school-age girls with fine hair, I guess. 
• clip-on hair bows of all kinds-- At one point, we had a whole basketful of these.  Most were ribbons of various kinds and colors, but some were more bizarre-- like the ones made of a bunch of uninflated balloons. (Sounds crazy, doesn't it?  What were people thinking?)
• tie-dye tees-- But they've been in style since the 60's, I guess. . . more so sometimes than others, I guess.
• neon / day-glo colors-- particularly neon green and hot pink. . .
• high tops-- Tennis shoes / sneakers with a built-in cuff that went up over the ankle.  Oh, and there were all kinds of fancy neon shoelaces to go with them. . .
• Guess brand jeans-- Never had a pair, but they were definitely "cool" for a while.
• denim jackets-- Another thing that was temporarily so cool.
• "pop beads"-- Plastic beads made so that they could be "popped" together, taken apart, and popped back in different sequences.  Mostly they were just colorful round beads, but later they came out with hearts and all kinds of different shapes.  
• plastic chains and charms-- I think I had a whole necklace of these, for a while.  I'd love to look at that thing again.  I remember one charm was a bicycle, but I have no idea what all was on it. . .
• "jellies"-- Plastic/rubber shoes, many of them translucent with glitter inside.  They seem like torture devices, now, but I think some of them were actually fairly comfortable.  (Others, though, were torturous-- sweaty and sharp-edged.)
• jams-- I think these were mostly a boys' trend-- long shorts in bold fabrics.  
• pony tail worn on one side of the head
• Hypercolor shirts-- Changed color depending on the temperature of whatever touched them.  So, for instance, you could leave a temporary hand print on someone's back.  Kind of pointless, really, but kids were of course impressed.
• poodle perms-- I've never had a perm, but every so often in elementary school, a girl would come to school with startlingly different hair.  
• rat tails-- Ugh.  Why did mothers ever allow their sons to have those hideous things?  Not a good look.
• huge glasses frames-- When I see photos of my first pair of glasses, especially, I cringe.  The frames were huge-- even  more so on my small, young face. (I was in 5th grade, I think.)  But apparently that was an acceptable look back then. . . How long until we look back at our current smaller frames and die of shame over them? ;o) 
• huge / baggy / oversize sweatshirts & sweaters-- Some of my absolute favorite shirts, at certain times in life, were very baggy.  I remember two or three in particular.  One sweatshirt's bottom edge probably came down within four or five inches of my knees, and I thought it was perfect.  (Ok, yes, I still like baggy shirts, every now and then.  Maybe I secretly even want them to become fashionable again.)
• slim fit jeans-- For a while, I was obsessed with my jeans being "skinny" enough.  If there was hardly any spare, loose fabric in the jeans, I thought they would make me look fat, and if the cuff of the leg wasn't so small that it was a little of a struggle to get my foot through it, it was too loose.  I'm sure that if that me (whatever age I was... 14 or so?) saw me now, glorying in my comfy boot-cut jeans, she'd have been mortified.  (g)  (Tough luck, kid.)
• "grunge" fashion-- Flannel, plaid, etc.
• leather lace-up shoes

And then there was that style for which I don't know the name.  Fabric printed with jewelry-- chains, gems, pearls-- on animal print or jewel-tone colors.  Leather purses with the straps fed through gold chains. . .  I'm having a hard time finding an example of the fabric I mean, online, but I know it has to be out there somewhere. . .

Well, anyway, that's enough of that. 
Did I miss anything important?

Wanted: Fat Pants

Pants that fit me last year no longer want to button comfortably (or, in some cases, at all). I knew I wasn't exactly losing weight, these past several months, but neither did I think I was (still) gaining it. We have a bathroom scale, of course, but not being a fitness-geek, I never step near the darn thing. (Well, would you, if it kept insisting you were getting pudgy?!) I prefer to ignore concrete numbers whenever possible, but now my own once-beloved pants are turning on me.

(sigh) This means I have to figure out some way of losing weight-- meaning some way that I can actually stick with long enough to see results. We're coming up on what is universally acknowledged as the peak seasons for weight-gain (festive meals, desserts galore, cold-weather cravings for all sorts of goodies-- and that holiday feeling that you really deserve to indulge), but if I ever want to wear half my wardrobe again, it has to be done.

Why, oh why can't typing/mousing, TV-remote-pushing, and page-turning be aerobic exercise?! Those are the types of things I want to do in my free time-- not sitting for hours on the bike or (shudder) running. Cruel world!

The most irritating thing? Knowing that no matter what I do, I'm not going to be able to slim down noticeably in time for all those holiday photos. Nope. The 2008 "out of shape" me will be captured forever in untold numbers of digital photographs. Oh well.

(Hey, you family photographers out there? If you could, whenever we get ready to take those pictures, please tell me how to pose so that I at least don't appear to have too much of a double chin. You know, "lower your chin a little" or "angle yourself more to the right" or "wrap this scarf around your neck". ;o) Please?)

If When If -- Ok, let's be optimistic here!-- WHEN I lose enough weight, I'm going to take a gazillion photos of myself to look at and show off when I'm old(er) and gray(er) and have earned the right to not care so much if I put on a little extra weight.

In which I turn "fashionista". . . Not! ;o)

(Forgive me for the "not". I just had a flashback to the 90s. . .)

Last night's dreams involved a woman who decorated/painted her house so it coordinated well with her personal coloring-- specifically, with her flame-red hair.

I wonder if anyone actually does that? I suppose it makes sense, in a way, but it still seems odd to me-- not to mention vain. Besides, I'd rather have colors that I like to look at-- which aren't always the ones that are most flattering for me to wear.

I remember that in one of the Anne books (I think), a character makes sure that the bed linens complement each guest's hair color and complexion. . . And Anne herself laments that she won't ever be able to wear pink (because she's a redhead). And then there's Pat, who can't wear. . . green, was it? (Must be time for a re-read, because I can't remember, exactly. (g)) Then there's the Little House books, in which Ma chooses which ribbons Laura and Mary wear based on their hair color.

Fortunately, I don't worry much about those types of things. ;o) I just wear any color I feel like wearing, as I think most of us do, these days. Of course, we may put less thought into the colors of our clothes because they're often cheap and nearly disposable. When someone from Laura's or Anne's time bought a dress (or fabric to make a dress), she knew she'd have to make it last for years, so naturally she gave it more thought than I do when I choose what color tee-shirt I want.

Yes, this was particularly pointless. (g)

Vintage fashion and children's books--

I was wandering around Flickr looking for quilt-related inspiration photos (which I hoard away for future reference), when I came across someone's collection of vintage sewing patterns.

Take a look at these patterns using towels. Here are a few photos from the set to tempt you:

The flowery one? Straight out of Mrs. Roper's closet. (Extra points if you know who in the world "Mrs. Roper" is. ;o)) And the yellow one looks like someone just sewed fancy fringe along the short ends of the towel, then cut a hole in the middle for the head to go through. Très chic!

Then we have several stylish options for the young lady in need of a terrycloth poncho (or jacket):

And finally-- these look more like dresses to me, but they're labeled robes. In any case, I actually kind of like these-- especially the turquoise one. I can't imagine wearing clothes made of towels, though. . .

There's lots of vintage/retro stuff on Flickr. There are more patterns, magazine ads, cookbooks, etc. than I care to sift through, honestly, but it's a fun way to spend a spare hour.

Art Enthusiast's photostream is full of things that catch my eye. There's a collection of advertising and ephemera and children's illustration (from books, magazines, paper dolls, vinyl, etc.!) and signs-- and more! Among the Little Golden Book collection, there are a few I recognize-- such as Things in My House and Mary Poppins-- ooh, and Old Mother Hubbard. There are even a couple scans from A Day on the Farm, which I remember very well. When Mom would read this one to us, we'd get her to substitute our names and the names of family members/pets for the names of the characters.

Here's just a sample of Art Enthusiast's ads to entice you (g):


Tiny Muffin's collection of vintage illustrations is fun, too! Some very cute images.
For example:


Here are few links to some scans (sometimes just the cover and a few pages, sometimes more) of a few vintage children's books:

• I Can Fly (and more)
• Just a page from Miss Lollipop's Lion (one that Mom liked, I remember)
• Here's Once Upon a Wintertime. I don't think we had this book, but I remember seeing the animated cartoon version.
  
• Anyone else here read those Choose Your Own Adventure books? I used to check them out from the school library, mostly, but I also owned one about unicorns-- Magic of the Unicorn? Ah, yes, here it is! Isn't it amazing what you can find in under a minute, these days?!
  

While looking for Choose Your Own Adventure books, I stumbled upon this-- Lost in Austen-- some sort of CYOA book for Austen fans. Could be fun, for the non-purist. Maybe the library has it. . . It seems a bit too iffy to spend money on, I think.

Well, that's enough time wasted for one day, I guess. . .