Saccharine Sweetness

Shirt - Asos, necklace - thrifted, skirt - Forever 21, shoes - We Who See

I wore this on Monday for a brief excursion to the market to pick up some stuff to make japchae/chapchae? I'm not sure how to spell it properly. I was just in the mood to get dressed and wear something I hadn't worn in a while (this shirt). It ended up feeling a little too twee... these shoes are rather feminine, and this shade of purple? blue? isn't exactly bad ass when paired with such. I'm on a quest to find myself again. I feel like my style has become a diluted version of its former self, for which I haven't quite found a solution other than shopping. I'm determined to save my money/not buy so much, but I end up spending it on things like food and a new phone.




So, an entirely different subject: I'm a bit perturbed with Independent Fashion Bloggers' recent scandal. In case you missed it, here's a recap: IFB contributor Taylor Davies wrote an article that touched upon the lack of successful, high quality blogs written by women who aren't skinny. To quote:

"In order for a more holistic image of fashionable women to permeate the top tier of blogging as well as traditional fashion media, there needs to be a serious commitment to higher-quality content. Plain and simple – there aren’t enough insanely good blogs that are run by these types of women."

Taylor subsequently apologized, but what really irked me was the open letter response from IFB's founder Jennine Jacob. It was entirely dismissive, defensive, and even a tad elitist. I've always imagined IFB as a community that values input from its members, but going on to argue that any opposition is "bullying" is immature and unprofessional. Several people commented on the original post about the lack of the "other" in IFB's posts highlighting professional bloggers, and Jennine simply said the author never said the word "other." But it doesn't have to be explicitly stated; it's a sociological concept that is used to justify the majority's inequality against those who are different (the "other") - in this case, not thin, blonde, white.



I'm mostly just rambling, but I no longer feel comfortable supporting IFB. To echo the commenters, criticism isn't bullying. Arguing isn't bad. The fashion blogging community skews toward adoration and compliments instead of any sort of criticism. Even something as simple as "I'm not crazy about that dress you're wearing" will often be deemed unwarranted. But isn't the whole point of personal style blogging to keep it personal?

Just my two cents.

xox Catherine