Fashion & Beauty

Have you ever thought about how many products you wear on you every day? How many of them have scents? What, really, is the point of something having a scent if it’s just going to be thrown into the mix anyway?

Earlier today I passed by one of those warehouse sales, and having a little spare time, went to go check it out. There were a bunch of women crowded around a few bins of discounted supposedly-designer clothing, fighting to squeeze through and aggressively picking through the piles.

Just for the sake of seeing what all the hype was, I pushed through one of the crowds and got a glimpse of what was being offered - well, let’s just say it wasn’t my style. The first thing I noticed after trying to get through the big crowd was that firstly, it was hot. Secondly, it smelled bad.

The strong scents worn by all those women were all mixed together, it was disgusting. At one point I was shoved into the back (and long hair!) of someone else and could easily tell the scent of the woman’s perfume and the shampoo. I wanted to get out of there so bad, as soon as I could get an idea of what was in the bins.

People wear so many products each day, on their body, on their face, in the hair, and on their clothes. It got me thinking, how many scented products do I use? Here’s a list of them:

• Shampoo/Conditioner
• Body Wash
• Shaving cream
• Facial Cleanser + Moisturizer (though the scent in those aren’t too significant)
• Lotion
• Deodorant
• Eau de toilette
• Fabric Softener on clothes

And occasionally:

• Sunscreen <- EXTREMELY REPELLING SMELL 90% OF THE TIME
• Hair Mousse, Gel, or Hairspray
• Foundation

I realize that in half of these products, no one can tell until they are really close to you. But still, it’s a lot of scents, that will all eventually fade away or be jumbled into a mix of other scents that clash with it. How many chemicals do they use to make all those scents?!

After my previous post about my dislike for the big, baggy Roots sweatpants I consistently see girls (and guys) wearing to class, I decided to make a whole post about the clothing choices that I see around school.

1. The big, baggy sweatpants. See the link above. I don’t mind normal sweatpants, but don’t get the ultra-baggy ones. In a nutshell, they’re ugly, they turn your butt/legs into an odd-shaped balloon shape (if that makes sense), and they look slobby.

2. Super-short black shorts . Also known as yoga shorts or dance shorts, they are characterized by their very short, or sometimes even non-existent, inseam. I wear them for yoga and fitness classes. Seeing people wear them in public upsets me greatly. These shorts were never made to be worn to school or the mall or the movies. Basically, they cover the butt cheeks and not much else.

[above] A classic example of the super-short black shorts, by Lululemon. Great for running, dancing, yogaing… not for the mall or for class.

3. The back of the bra . Bra straps I’m okay with, but the back of the bra? No, no, NO. If you’re going to wear a backless top, semi-backless top, or even a weird-back-design top, please get a weird-design bra for it, or a clear back bra. Most people don’t, and so, it looks tacky. Unless you can pull it off tastefully (which I’ve yet to actually see in reality), please hide the back of the bra and spare me the knowledge of what color bra you’re wearing today.

4. Your thong. Or any underwear, in fact. I realize that this “trend” has long blown over, but just be careful when bending down or bending over. I don’t want to know what color your underwear is, either.

5. Super-tight clothing. This goes for jeans, leather pants, tops, everything in the book. If you’ve gained a couple pounds since you bought it, or the garment shrunk in the wash, or it just happens to be a tad too small, well, that’s normal. If you wear it and you notice glances and cringes around you, or if it’s uncomfortable and you can hardly move in it, it’s probably too small. For pants, you should be able to walk and sit down. For tops, try twisting your waist or the “hugging yourself” exercise. If you can’t do these basic exercises, it’s too small. So don’t wear it (in public, at least). It’s probably killing your circulation system anyway.

By not wearing (or showing) the above five - you’ve made the world a better place. Thanks, and have fun picking out what to wear tomorrow!

The title says it all.

But I will elaborate.

[I am not trying to be the fashion police here. I don't own a huge closet. I hardly even shop. Please read to the end of the post]

At my high school, many girls like to wear sweatpants. I’m actually okay with that, perfectly okay. I’m okay with pretty much any clothing choice as long as it doesn’t make you look like a) a slob or b) a slut. That being said, I absolutely cannot stand that style of big, baggy sweatpants that many, many like to wear. I cannot.

Sure, they’re warm, they’re comfy, etc. But really, are there no other “warm and comfy” pants to wear? And even if you really love the warm, comfy feel of sweatpants, there are straight cut ones that actually look like pants. The big, baggy sweats are unacceptable. You may have seen them - they’re generally grey and Roots is well known for making them. I wish I had a picture of someone wearing the ones I’m talking about. That’s okay though, because here’s how you know:

They make your butt and legs look like one giant balloon.

These pants are only good, I guess, for those that have really ugly legs and want to live off this trend so they can hide them. They basically kill any shape your legs had. To be honest, I’ve seen girls who show off their gorgeous long legs in the summer with shorts and at parties with good jeans - and wear these ugly sweats to school. How unfortunate for these mindless trend-followers.

I know that these pants are comfy and that they’re warm, and sometimes that matters more than what people like me think. School is a place to learn and shouldn’t be a place where one has to constantly be focused on what clothes are in/out. That being said, THESE PANTS ARE A TREND. Trends are when you and your friends are all wearing the EXACT same pants from the EXACT same store. I apologize in advance for the caps lock overload. Seriously though, if these people have the time and money to follow and buy the trends, they can buy a real pair of pants that at least show that the wearer has legs. I’m not saying it’s necessary to get all dressed up - these sweats just happen to look rather slobby (is that a word?).

It’s not like these pants are cheap either. There are probably cheaper ones that have a similar style, but the ones I see everyone wearing are about fifty dollars. Fifty dollars for these ugly things.

No, I don’t hate sweat pants. I have them too. I have big warm cheap sweat pants that I wear when I’m cold or I feel lazy, but only when I’m at home or getting the mail, with the rare exception to like when I’m making a midnight trip to Shoppers Drug Mart to go buy some Tylenol.

I’m not going to give the speech about dressing decently for class to show respect for teachers. I just think it’s common courtesy… something more decent. I will make exceptions, however, for the occasional days when people woke up a bit late, all other clothes were in the wash, or on that extremely cold day. It just annoys me when people wear them to class from September to June, whether it’s negative 25 or positive 25, and pretty much every other day!

I’ll just say it. I hate it when people wear big, baggy sweats to class.

(Too bad this is an all year thing, they just wear the cropped ones in the summer. I’ve always wondered though… aren’t the cropped versions made of the same warm material? Don’t these folks get hot?)