Dualite On Hiatus
Dear readers of Dualite,
I wanted to announce that my blog will be on an indefinite hiatus from the fashion blogging world. I am in fact not sad at all for discontinuing this wonderful blog. I’m actually very glad that I was able to share my thoughts in the blogosphere about the fashion world. This blog was in essence an adventure into the unknown. I had started with nothing, with only my thoughts and my computer to type out my voice over the internet. And over the course of two short years, I had gathered an incredible amount of information, had met some great individuals, and attended more than my fair share of fashion events that I had once thought were closed off to me.
But through my exploration, I came to the realization that there are a lot of underlying issues in the fashion industry. From a designer perspective to a business perspective, I have learned, loved and loathed many things about fashion.
I never thought I would make it this far to be honest, to be invited still or emailed still about fashion even if I don’t post as often as other bloggers have. I appreciate everyone who have left comments on my blog and I wanted to thank those who have given me an opportunity to write about fashion to a broader audience.
This isn’t to say goodbye completely. My new job in Industrial Design or Product Design as Online Communications Officer has allowed me to explore another world of unknown. I perhaps still use Dualite for other blogging ventures, though that would require domain change, a minor detail.
Anyhow, the world of fashion will continue to roll on, but I’ve said my bits when I believed they had mattered most. Now is the time for change and new challenges.
A bientot!
Warmest regards,
Dahlia
Hervé Léger of BCBG quality
Known to most fashion fanatics, the luxury label Hervé Léger is owned by BCBG’s Max Azria since 1998, but wasn’t relaunched until 2007 with now epitomous body con bandage dresses. I wasn’t in the slightest surprised that the BCBG label had a few bandaged skirts in its collections, but what I didn’t expect was the quality that lied within them.
I have a wedding to attend to at the end of the month and instead of spending money on yet another dress, I figured a more versatile combination of a skirt and top would still be appropriate. I came across BCBG’s bandaged skirts at their flagship location downtown in nice stretchy rayon with a nice thickness to them that I liked very much. Priced at $179.
Then I went upstairs to look at dresses to see if anything picked my fancy. Nothing was of interest except the bandaged dresses in the middle of the room. Hervé Léger dresses in fact. I had not come across them very often (the other place that carries Hervé Léger is Ursula B. in Les Cours Mont-Royal), so I perused the racks of last Spring’s discount sales. I then realized upon touching them that the dresses were made of the exact same material from the bandaged skirts one floor down. It dawned on me that Hervé label’s top notch dresses and skirts were no different than the much less expensive brand of BCBG, yet its prices were at least twice more expensive were they not on sale.
Also, Hervé Léger is Made in China. Naturally.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m in love with Hervé’s body con dresses and I find they flatter the figure if one has the figure to wear them. But at the same time, I’m offended. Yes, you’re paying pretty much as much for the label as for material. But considering that Hervé Léger is supposed to be a “luxury brand” there was nothing of that sort that made its rayon dresses and skirts superior to BCBG’s skirts. Shameful.
If one looked carefully, I’m quite sure that BCBG will have its own body con dresses made of the exact same material at the fraction of Hervé’s prices.
Ladies, you have been duped.
I walked away with my first fashion purchase in 3 months. A royal purple bandaged skirt with a nice little black top I got on sale for $50, and a sequined clutch on sale at $90.
I may not be able to afford Hervé Léger, but even if I had the money, I would not stand to be duped into forking out $1000+ over a dress I could get for much less made of the same company (and factory).
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Consummation and Creation
After spending two years covering fashion and reading about many facets of the industry. It’s come to my distinct belief that I’ve been living in a far too consuming lifestyle. I find it fitting that after my 2009 trial of tracking my spendings on clothes, I’ve realized that not only have I gluttonously spent on clothes, but also on a lot of unnecessary knick knacks that I buy for myself like books, CDs, DVDs, keychains, etc.
Ever since I’ve had a kitten in my household, I’ve stopped shopping for clothes altogether. And what a difference in made in my life! I’m talking about the endless shopping bags that somehow pile up in my living room and bedroom. And the shoe boxes…where do you put shoe boxes in a tiny apartment?
I really want to change my lifestyle for the better and consume less. Spend less. I know, it’s unhealthy for many businesses not to have my money flow into their pockets, but that’s only because there is an overwhelming overstock of stuff out there that nobody needs. And this overstock is only fueled by the fact that everyone has “particular taste” and want to be individuals. So people end up making over hundreds of thousands of different dress styles, in the hopes that it will cater to only a handful of individuals that like a certain style. Then, at the end of the season, creators have an overstock of supplies and must liquidate by having sales. It’s a waste of resources. Perhaps people should be making their own clothes and repair them when they’re worn out.
So instead of giving into mass consumerism and forking over thousands of dollars on luxury, albeit very well made, products - I’ve decided to make my own clothes.
No. I will not be one of those emerging designers in the hopes of changing the fashion world. The industry will continue to cater to those types of people. I am not a person who courts mass people, not even to mingle. I will be making clothes only for myself. It’s time for me to hang up my shopping bags and really get down and creative and start making my own clothes in the styles and colors that I want.
Food
I know this has very little to do with fashion, but food consummation goes through the same process as fashion. We have retailers (grocery stores) who sell generalized and often very bad products for the public to consume. But because of our all consuming lifestyle, families and individuals have found less time to cook and prepare. This is especially true for me as I’ve been living on an unhealthy diet for the past few years and have been lucky to still remain as thin (and alive) as I have thanks to genetics. But I know that a steady diet of Pepsi, pizzas, and frozen dinners is not going to cut it for me in the long run. I need to learn how to cook pronto.
My desire to improve my lifestyle has grown significantly over the years, not just in consummation but also mentally about many other aspects of my life. To desire change is one thing. But to actually act upon it is another. The latter I believe many people have difficulty doing so - changing your state of comfort for something else is an act that few people are willing to endure. But I believe that I’m ready. And it’s time to stop thinking about it and simply go forth with it.
The People of Walmart - The Politically Incorrect?
I’ve recently pondered the culture of appearances. How the way we look affects third party judgement and that fashion is an intrisic part of human appearances.
It’s especially bizarre when you compare the two polar opposites of fashion.
On one end, you have the fashion magazines and runways who supposedly dictate what is beautiful and ideal. However, the extreme of the fashion magazine industry is that it is TOO ideal, to the point that models are photoshopped to death and look like stick figures without an ounce of flesh on them. They end up looking human-like but not in the sense of a real person. A fantasy so to speak.
On the other end, you have every day people who can’t afford to look like models, nor the designer clothes that they wear. Yet, they go to a far extreme that decency seem to fly out the window. What does one do when one is severely overweight? Many of them love to show off how fat they are by wearing little clothing. Or some people simply enjoy offending others with graphic tshirts, but these are just attention seekers looking for a reaction - any reaction. I just keep wondering what goes through their heads before walking out the door.
The reason I bring this up is because of this site, The People of Walmart, a daily photo blog of people shopping at the venerable super store. While ignoring the image captions, it’s unfathomable to me how some people can walk out of their homes wearing torn tshirts and jeans, or extremely revealing clothing that they believe to be acceptable. I mean if you can afford a car and chips, you can afford to buy new clothing (and Walmart does have a clothing section that’s entirely affordable). And it wouldn’t kill the women to buy clothes that actually covers them decently, or the men to wear a tshirt that isn’t shredded to reveal the top of their bottoms like Joe the Plumber.
Decency isn’t about dressing like a nun or to be without personality with your clothes, decency is having courtesy to not offend the people around you, and the children who are in the store. But it seems that respect for others in terms of fashion is “up to the individual”. Yet there’s only so much a person can take. You’re living in North America, you’re not in a third world country, and honestly even people in third world countries don’t dress as dowdy as these people. There’s no need to show off just how offensive they can be just to get a reaction from others.
It’s difficult not to judge people by the way they dress, we unconsciously associate certain looks with certain social status, with a certain background. But even the rich often make poor fashion choices. Regardless of social status, it all boils down as to what consists of “normal” and what consists of “too much”. I think everyone with a modern mindframe can guess that to be respectable in their looks is to go by unnoticed or at most, to be complimented and admired. But some people really take it too far to get noticed.
There are those who are proud of their round figures. Good for them! You love your body and you won’t succumb to the marketing slogans of the world. But please, put some pants on. Please, put a top on. Even if a slim person who walked into a Walmart in a bikini top or with boy shorts would be deemed indecent even to me. Maybe I’m just being prude. You can be attractive with clothes on. Seriously.
Whatever happened to good manners? Whatever happened to having a respectable appearance? I know it’s a general term to have a “respectable appearance,” but is it too much to ask to have at least your breasts and your bottom covered? Magazines aren’t helping, that’s for sure.
Image credits: People of Walmart
