St. Louis

Our debate team is unusually photogenic:

Our team didn't end up doing as well as we would have liked at this debate tournament, but Webster University was very pretty (and the cold was a welcoming change. When we landed back in Houston, I literally changed from my wool overcoat into shorts).

Here are a few shots taken during the breaks in our hectic schedule: us exploring the campus, joking around in the prep room, and eating some of the famous frozen custard.

That's me in the pillow fight picture above---one of my debaters caught me in the freeze-frame, about to incite a pillow war. The feathery rampage that ensued from my first strike definitely became a team bonding moment and a great way to let out our rage after a long weekend.

Oh yes: our flight back to Houston was delayed for FOUR HOURS so my teammate Jarvis dressed up in his suit and I took his runway pictures in the airport waiting area. We must have been a bizarre sight: Jarvis sashaying down the walkway, whipping off his jacket, as I yelled "Work it!" and took pictures like a paparazzo.

I love my team: I can't quit them, and I don't think I want to.

The Reindeers' Last Stand

The first day of spring is supposed to be two months away, but Houston said "Screw that, I do what I want." So today is the last time that these two brave reindeer on my sweater will be able to prance around in the open air. They just aren't suited for the warming Houston habitat, and soon they will have to retire to a cool storage box in my closet.

They should feel special though; I am featuring them on my last winter outfit. From now on, I'll be posting spring transitional looks. I know that some of you on the East Coast (or let's be real, anyone that lives north of Texas) are still experiencing freezing temperatures, but trust me, I wish I could wear fair isle sweaters a bit longer.

This past week was awful. I didn't do my reading for a class and we ended up having a quiz on the material. I guessed on every question, with a sinking feeling in my stomach. (I kicked myself mentally for not doing what I should've done in the first place, which is read the summary on Google before class).

The funny thing is, the girl next to me was much more devastated by the quiz. As she was filling out her paper, she looked very worried and began chewing the top of her pencil. And when she passed me her paper to turn in, I saw that she had written "I'm so sorry I didn't do the reading. I've been very busy. I respect your class so much but I just didn't have time..."

I almost laughed out loud, because the professor isn't going to care that you were too busy; all they care is that you didn't read the book. And it's just one quiz grade, hopefully she isn't too depressed about it.

A blogger who doesn't pity the fool,

{Outfit details: Abercrombie reindeer sweater (sold out, another version here) // AE white bootcut jeans // red Converse sneakers // brown messenger bag (really cool version with "Keep calm and Carry on" quote}

Luxe Weekend

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm updating from St. Louis, Missouri right now. I'm here with my debate team to compete at the Gorlock Tournament. Our team has only been doing LD debate since last year, but we are already making quite a name for ourselves. I'm hoping that our team brings home some hardware (trophies) this weekend!

Being on the debate team has its perks; we get to travel on mini-vacations around the country to compete at tournaments (airplane tickets, food, and hotel fees are paid by Rice). However, the work is very grueling and we have to stay up late researching and crafting arguments.

Actually, my team is here with me in my hotel room right now to discuss strategy (we should be going to bed soon because it's midnight the night before a tournament) (I'm sneaking in this blog post before I have to finish my assignment---see how important you guys are?) But overall, I think all our effort is totally worth it when we get to cheer for our team at the awards ceremony and represent our school.

As for this outfit post: I took these outfit pictures earlier this week. I felt a little apprehensive about wearing a fur vest, because it's one of those items that I always see in magazines, but rarely see people wearing in real life. Same with this black floppy hat. And I'm sure no one dresses like this unless they are like me and have a blog to update. However, I couldn't help showing off my favorite pair of sunglasses, the ones with the unique "swoop" in the arms.

Do you approve of my luxe outfit, or should fur vests be restricted to the pages of magazines? I'm hoping you have a wonderful day and that I'll see some snow while I'm visiting St. Louis!

Pinterest Fashion is Boring

I love finding inspiration in different places, and Pinterest is definitely a place for style lovers to share their outfits and ideas. However, lately, I've been feeling very uninspired by the Pinterest section of "Women's Fashion".

Why? It's all starting to look the same to me.

These are all screenshots from my three latest Pinterest visits. I don't know if it's just me, but Pinterest does not seem to be the "fashion democracy" that I thought it was going to be. If anyone can upload pictures of clothes, so why do I see the same yuppie/preppy trends over and over again?

By now, I can summarize Pinterest's fashion inspiration in two pictures:

I'm not saying you can't find pretty clothes on Pinterest (because I'm definitely an active pinner), but there seems to be a lack of alternative fashion---I rarely see anything boho, grunge, or anything that isn't preppy and classic.

Also, I really hate to say this, but I rarely see girls of color being pinned. For instance, all the girls featured on my Pinterest right now are white, and I think that the lack of diversity is reflected in the kinds of fashion being pinned. (*now I'm ducking because someone is bound to start a flame war in the comments).

Do you use Pinterest to help your style? What do think of it? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. Here's the initial pencil sketches of the two models above. For a behind-the-scenes look at my art and inspirations, follow me on Instagram!

Royally Red

{Red coat by Guess (a similar Calvin Klein trench coat here), jeans by Levi's, heels by Nine West}

As I'm typing this, the temperature outside is 73 degrees. Yep, Houston's "bipolar weather disorder" cannot be contained. Just last week, I was wearing this heavy wool red coat!

Speaking of this coat, it's one of my favorite items. My parents bought it for me as an investment piece when I became captain of Rice's debate team. Our debate tournaments often take place in colder cities in the wintertime, and my parents wanted me to stay warm and stylish.

I think the fact that my parents spent their money with intention and love makes this coat extra-special to me, and I plan on keeping it for ages. Honestly, it's a great feeling knowing that I have in investment piece for my future job. I hope to only buy what I truly need in the future, instead of overspending and shopping for clothes I don't need.

I hope your week is off to a good start!
Brittney

New Year's Resolutions Part 2: Stop Shopping

You're probably looking at your calendar, wondering why I'm still talking about New Year's resolutions. That's because THIS PARTICULAR RESOLUTION WAS REALLY HARD, OK? I've been "practicing" at it for a few weeks, wondering if I can actually achieve my goal.

I want to stop clothes shopping in 2013. Yep, that's right, I don't plan on buying any clothes this year.

"But, Brittney," you might be saying, "you're a fashion blogger. How do you plan on keeping your blog alive?"

In response, I will reveal to you that

1) maybe it's time to take a break from the computer if you're talking to bloggers through your computer screen, and
2) my closet is on life support, and it needs this intervention. In fact, my closet is so messy and unorganized that I'm not even going to show you a real picture of it, because then you'd lose faith in me as a human being. Instead, enjoy this stock photo of a messy closet.

 (Source).

How did I reached this sad state of affairs? Well, it all started with a pair of pants...

---

It seems stupid now, but back when I was younger, my family didn't have that much money, and I mostly wore hand-me-downs. One day, my mother presented me with a pair of pants that another girl had outgrown.

They were the perfect pants omfg. As soon as I put them on, I didn't want to take them off. They fit wonderfully, had a great flare, and were in a cool, dark wash.

Holy grail of pants. (Photo Source)

Some of the needle-eyed girls at school soon noticed that I would wear this pair of pants every day. They started marking my pants daily with a marker to prove that it was the same pair.

This irritated me, but because I loved those jeans to death, I would just go home and dutifully wash the marks off, and wear them again the next day.

By now, you are probably thinking that this is the lamest case of bullying you have ever heard of, but the pants were just the starting point. As I wrote about in my Esperanza entry, these girls would single me out for wearing "ugly" clothes or "weird" trends. They talked crap about me even when I was in the room, standing right next to them.

(Image source)

I was miserable during most of middle school, especially when I compared myself to these prettier girls, who seemed to have everything. Even though The Pants were not to blame for all the teasing and bullying that escalated later, they were always involved somehow.

For example, one of the girls so graciously sent me an email explaining why I was being bullied. Not surprisingly, her explanation consisted of calling me a "backstabber" and "liar" (which were the worst possible insults you could sling at someone in middle school!!!!1!!!1111).

Apparently, one of my reasons I deserved to be shunned was because I was lying about my family's finances and my limited clothing options:

Her email, quoted above. Click to see a bigger version.

Back to the present: I'd never really told anyone about this before (and now I'm telling the whole internet) but I finally realized how much of an impact that these girls had on my life when I recounted this story to my friends last week.

Because, as I was telling the story of The Pants, I suddenly blurted out "I just wanted to be like those girls. And that's why nowadays,  I buy everything I can get my hands on! Because I never want anyone to make fun of me for not having enough clothes, ever again."

And as soon as I said that, I felt a huge burden lift off my shoulders. As a child, I had never asked my parents why we didn't have enough money to buy nicer things, because my parents had bills to pay and silly things like clothes weren't as important as buying a home.

So the bullying I had struggled with silently all those years finally came out in that moment, and I realized the reason that I hoarded and shopped so much was because I wanted to look like those girls who had made fun of me. It was also a defense mechanism, because by accumulating enough things, I was hoping that the bullying would never return.

(Source)

Doesn't that sound pitiful? I felt really foolish after that realization. I was letting something that happened years ago define me and my future choices. I also felt disgusted. I never wanted to go shopping ever again!

After all, those middle school girls---who seemed to have it all---were not as happy as I thought they had been. Looking back, I can see that they had issues in their lives that I hadn't realized when I was 12. And now I am left with issues of my own that need to be resolved.

I need these shoes in every color, ok? (Photo Source)

To prove that I'm serious about this resolution, I even wrote a poem about the whole thing:

"I am sick of the things I own.

I am sick of the things in drawers, in piles

In stacks, in boxes.

The lip sticks, the blushes

The 24-hour-long-lasting-youth-regenerating-creamy-finish lipstick and glosses

The hangers in my closet with clothes dripping off their spiny shoulders

The boxes of Things I Will Eventually Wear Again in the corner, forming a mountain,
with handbags, scattered like boulders, at its feet.

(Source)

Every day,

I pass by my closet, my haven, the mecca of all my inspiration.

Each clothing rack inside is stuffed with colors, each pair of shoes is displayed proudly.
Each frill, each pair of sunglasses is perfectly in line

(I had six pairs of sunglasses, for heaven’s sake)

And each time I pass this altar to mass consumption, I think

What good is all this to me

When I cannot wear any of it?

If I were a child in a developing country right now, I would be dying because I would not have any clean water or food

What good to them is a new nail lacquer or a little bit of metal to hang on your ears?

(Image source)

Once, in my childhood, there were other girls who criticized me because I only wore one pair of jeans to school.

Who mocked me because I didn’t wear pretty clothes

They remarked loudly in class that my nails were dirty.

Those girls wore delicate makeup

They looked so carefree, flouncing around with new clothes, new boys, new gadgets, new things

I became certain of the fact that if I only had those things, I could be as weightless and beautiful and happy

Now, after years of collecting, like a magpie obsessed with shiny objects,

I realize that my life is a sham.

That all those magazines, tv commercials, blogs, and people

Have lied to me

I realize that, those girls may have had closets full of designer clothes and bags

But those things did not make them happy

Some of them are still not happy

And what’s even sadder, is that not many of them know why.

Now I know

That in order to purge myself of all my demons

I must first start with my closet

Now I know that

material things will not make me happy

Now I know that

You only really needed one pair of jeans anyway."

---

And that's why this new year's resolution is my commitment to letting the past go, to organizing and maximizing the clothes in my closet and the things I already own. You guys can help keep me accountable!

After all, it's really easy to have a fashion blog if you buy new things to post every day, but I think it would be awesome to show you guys how I'm using what I already have to mix-and-match new looks each week.

I think that's the kind of inspiration I want to bring to the world, and I hope you'll join me as I try to tackle this resolution!

Thank you for reading,

Brittney

Color Combinations to Try: Red & Pink

Once upon a time, back in middle school, a "frenemy" of mine asked me what color combinations I thought were pretty. Thinking about how lovely Valentine's Day cards looked, I replied "red and pink". To this day, I still remember the look of horror that crossed her face. She began explaining to me, very seriously, that red and pink should never be paired together, or else the universe would explode or something.

Well, I certainly hope that this friend/enemy of mine is not reading my blog today.

In your face, middle school!

Truth is, I love pairing red and pink together! The trick is to keep the rest of your outfit as neutral as possible (see my striped shirt, neutral pumps, nude bag above). Let the high-impact colors do the head-turning. As I walked through campus today in this bright outfit, I could hear the cracks in people's necks as they whipped around to catch a glimpse of me.

If they think this outfit gave them serious whiplash, wait until next week, when I break out my thigh-high leather boots. We'll see how liberal and open-minded Rice University is!

Prone to hurting fellow students with her fashion sense,
Brittney


This post is part of a series on fashionable, high-impact color combinations. Also check out:

• How to Dress Like a Parisian: Black and Navy Blue

How to Dress Like A Parisian: Black and Navy Blue

At some point in your life, I'm sure you wanted to live in Paris. The romance, the Eiffel Tower, the fashionable women! I've also had this burning desire, so a few weeks ago, I researched what fashionable Parisian women wear, hoping to copy their effortless style.

To my horror, I found out that trendy Paris girls hardly ever wear color, and that they are fond of monochromatic outfits (all black or all dark blue clothes). Of course, this advice was from American tourists visiting France, so if there are any French girls reading this blog, I'd love to find out if these rumors are true.

It seems that I'm not cut out to live in Paris, for I'm too fond of bright color combinations. However, black and navy blue, a Parisian staple, is one color combo I can vouch for. I've always thought that black and navy together looked really city-chic, a color combination that the cool downtown girls would wear.

To complement my black and navy outfit, I needed a fancy handbag (the French are all about investing in designer bags that will last forever, supposedly). However, the closest thing I have to a haute couture bag is this quilted purse that I bought at Charlotte Russe. Charlotte Russe seemed to be knocking off Chanel's popular 2.55 quilted purse, but as you can see, this floppy jersey bag is nothing like the real thing.

I guess a real quilted Chanel bag is just another thing I'll have to dream about!

Brittney

Subscribe to my blog (using Google Friend Connect in the right sidebar) or on Bloglovin' for more posts on stylish color combinations that you should try!

Everyone Needs to Leave Taylor Swift Alone

If you don't already know who Taylor Swift is, a simple Google search will tell you that:

1) she is a famous singer who tends to write songs about her ex-boyfriends, and
2) she sure seems to have a lot of ex-boyfriends.

(Source)

If you dare to search further, you will soon find out that Taylor used to be known as "America's Sweetheart", but that since then, many have started slamming the pop/country singer as "a bad role model". My personal favorite insult is when someone called Taylor a "slut-shaming purity princess".

While I can't defend Taylor's "slut-shaming" (she does a pretty good job of making fun of the cheerleader in "You Belong with Me), there is one thing I'm convinced of:

Everyone needs to leave Taylor Swift's personal life alone. Why?

1) You Are Probably A Hypocrite

In the song "You Belong with Me", Taylor is singing to a guy who is dating a hot cheerleader, trying to convince him that although the sexually-liberal cheerleader may wear "short skirts" and "high heels", he actually belongs with the nerdy and modest bookworm. Some people have called out Taylor for trying to "slut-shame" the cheerleader, and I totally agree with them. Women can wear whatever they want, and we need to be free to embrace our sexuality. "Glasses-wearing, socially-outcast" virgins aren't better or more moral than the rest of the population. In this song, Taylor is basically telling young girls that it's ok to call other girls "whores" for wearing certain clothes.

(Source)

The original lyrics to "You Belong With Me".

So in this case, Taylor's critics might be right: it's hypocritical of her to claim to be a chaste and good role model for young girls, only to encourage name-calling. But then why do those same critics turn into hypocrites themselves, when they bad-mouth Taylor's personal life?

 (Source)

Taylor's many ex-boyfriends.

The problem that haters seem to have with Taylor is that she simply dates too many men. In 4 years, rumors have abounded over her relationships with Taylor Lautner, Joe Jonas, John Meyer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor Kennedy and most recently, Harry Styles from One Direction. And people have a problem with that. For instance:

---

Really JANUARY 07, 2013 | 2:33 PM

Disturbing to know she's been with so many guys. To the person that said she's only been with 6 of them, that's still way too many within a short time period, plus it was mentioned that she was "rumored" that she dated some of them. And how would you know? Are you her personal assistant? Whether she was intimate or not with these guys, I still believe she should take a break from dating and find herself. That's what some people do between the ages of 18-23.

Well, Mr/Ms. "Really", apparently even 6 boyfriends is too many. And how many boyfriends does the average girl have during their life? And who are you to decide that a certain number of boyfriends in 4 years is "disturbing"?

Moreover, while you are right that it is a great idea to take time off when you have relationship troubles, I believe I am correct in stating that most young people do not take 5 years out of their life and quit the dating scene, in order to find themselves. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that between the ages of 18-23, most people I know are in the market for a boyfriend/girlfriend.

---

ANAZITA    

"Taylor Swift must be terrible, lame and boring in bed. She can't keep a man."

 Oh, sorry, I didn't know that women are responsible for all the failings of a relationship. Also, didn't we have a whole revolution about how women are more than just sex objects that must pleasure men?

---

JRod3164 15 Fans

12:19 PM on 01/09/2013

How many guys does she have to bang before we start using the word SL-T

Um, how about we just never use the word "slut" anymore, period, ever. Allowing people like JRod3164 to villify sexually-liberated women and girls has spawned into a phenomenon called "rape culture". Oh, that girl was raped? Was she wearing a skirt? Was she frequently sexually active? Well, she was probably "asking for it".

Even in the workplace, men accused of sexual harassment will use a woman's sexual history against her as evidence that she "wanted it". This double standard is perpetuated each time we call someone a "slut", which promotes the outdated idea that sex makes a girl unclean or a bad person. Hey, if we are mad that Taylor Swift slut-shamed in "You Belong With Me", then why are we doing it?

(Source)

You want an example of how Taylor Swift's critics are "slut-shaming" her? Just take a look at the reason why Harry Styles and Taylor Swift broke up. Radar Online reported that:

Harry Styles dumped Taylor Swift after growing tired of her “asexual” ways...“Taylor is so concerned that the public will think she’s a wh*re because she dates around, that she doesn’t put out,” a pal close to the...singer told RadarOnline.com. “What she doesn’t get is that the guys keep dumping her because she’s being a prude.” 

This just sounds pitiful! Here is a girl who has been criticized so heavily for her boyfriends that she doesn't even allow herself to be sexually fulfilled for fear that someone will use that info against her. And the fact that she doesn't allow herself any sexual liberty is driving away all the men! Damned if you do, damned if you don't, Taylor.

2) You choose your role models

A photographer for the Jonas Brothers recently attacked TSwift for being a "bad role model". He said:

"How many break-ups is it going to take for you girls to realize that Taylor Swift isn’t a good role model unless your dream in life is to die alone? And if you’re going to defend her for her music, let me tell you now that saying you believe in any of Taylor Swift’s lyrics is like saying you trust your accountant because he’s been accused of tax evasion nine times."

Ouch, Mr. Jonas-Brothers-Photographer who is apparently an expert in relationships. Let me first point out that your "insult" doesn't even make sense. So if we believe in Taylor Swift's lyrics, then we are being tricked? Um, Taylor Swift warns girls against men ("I Knew You Were Trouble"), tells us to rise above haters ("Mean"), show us the importance of saying sorry in relationships ("Back to December") and helps us believe in the possibility of love ("Starlight" and "Sparks Fly"). She's not tricking us, she's trying to be our mother.

(Source:)

Taylor Swift imparts her wisdom to us in the form of catchy, 3-minute gospels.

I'm not even her fan and I found these uplifting messages in her songs in one Google search. How is she like a "tax accountant" that's tricked us nine times? Just because she breaks up with guys 9 times doesn't mean that she was misleading us or that true love is dead: if anything, her songs tell us that true love takes time ("Love Story") and that relationships take hard work and commitment ("Mine").

Besides, who said we took her as a role model? I don't think any teenage girl I know aspires to be like Taylor Swift, who has unfulfilling relationships with men who get tired of her after 6 months.

I'm sure Mr. Jonas-Brother-Photographer could argue that tween girls will see any pop star as a role model, but to that, I just have to say, I think Taylor's a much better role model than Rihanna, who is still dating the man who beat her up, or even Katy Perry. The lessons we learn from Taylor Swift? Work hard, do what you love, create your own content (more on that below), and aim for the top. Pretty good lessons, if you ask me.


3) We all kinda wish we were Taylor Swift

Now, the last reason that I can't take the "Taylor Swift dating police" seriously. Imagine if I were Taylor Swift. I'm blonde, 5'11, model-skinny, and worth about $70 million. I'm winning awards, and walking red carpets in diamond-encrusted gowns (and her everyday closet is pretty killer too).

(Source)

If I were Taylor Swift, my manager would have to lock me in my hotel room every night for me to not go to glitzy parties, flaunt my mile-long legs, and date A-list actors and pop stars. And I truly believe the same goes for most of you. (Although some of you might disagree. Don't worry, I like to spend nights in as well, but if the Golden Globes are calling...)

Because at the end of the day, I'm Taylor Swift. I write songs about what I know: boys, breakups, and teenage angst. After all, I'm only 23---did you expect me to pen singles like "Honey, the Mortgage Rate is Too High"?

What's even more impressive is that I write my own songs, and they are so darn catchy that half the country can't stop singing them. Do you know who writes Beyonce's songs, or Rihanna's songs? Middle-age male music executives, that's who.

So sure, hate me because I'm breaking hearts. The fact is, I'm breaking those hearts because I'm pretty, successful, popular, and because I am able to make my own decision about boys. You may hate my songs, you might think I have emotional problems, you can call me a hypocrite for slut-shaming. But please don't be a hypocrite yourself: stay out of my personal life and stop judging me for doing what girls everywhere are doing right now: looking for someone we can stay with forever, taking a chance when dating them, and struggling with the end of a relationship.

As they say, you have to go through a few frogs before you find Prince Charming.

<3 Taylor Swift Brittney



Aw man, now that the post is over, I have to stop pretending to be Taylor Swift and go back to being boring old me. :(