Normal

I'm always looking for an interesting and unusual outfit to wear, but Josh suggested yesterday that maybe for me, normal is unusual. So I tried to wear a normal, neutral-colored outfit, without any bright colors or crazy shoes. I couldn't resist a hat, though. (I never can.) Or an Army jacket.

This coat is one of my favorites. My dad picked it out for me last year when my family was in California for my brother's college graduation, at a fun shop called Elsewhere Vintage. I wear it all the time, but this is the first time I've photographed it for the blog because whenever I wear it I look like a football player. In these photos I don't look too beefy, but that's because I chose the most flattering out of about sixty pictures. It's been a great winter coat - since it's over-sized, I can wear bulky sweaters underneath to stay super warm.

Brown shirt: Kohl's

Green Army jacket: vintage, gift from my parents, from Elsewhere Vintage in Orange, CA

Jeans: Levi's from Urban Outfitters

Beige wedge boots: Urban Outfitters

Hat: from my dad

Bracelet: H&M

Winter and spring

This floral skirt was my attempt at bringing a bit of spring to this winter-ish outfit. When I bought it last year at a thrift store it was mid-calf length and looked frumpy, so I cut it to what I thought was a more flattering length. When I put the skirt on before sewing the hem I realized it was uncomfortably short, so I added the black fabric at the bottom to make it less scandalous.

Beige sweater: Target

Blue shirt (under sweater): Sears

Floral skirt: thrifted and hemmed

Black boots: Urban Outfitters

Black belt: thrifted

White bracelet: H&M

Gold watch: free from a family member

Yellow tights: H&M

Engine 17

I've worn this outfit several times the past week, because it's just so easy to throw on when I'm in a rush. I don't think I've ever worn this cardigan on the blog even though I've had it for years, because it only looks good with jeans, and therefore doesn't allow for much variety in the way it's worn. I wore this to free scoop day at Ben and Jerry's on Tuesday! (I also wore it around the house, but that's not as interesting.) I'm a big fan of ice cream, but I have to admit even free ice cream doesn't have much appeal when it's forty-five degrees and rainy out like it was on Tuesday. Get back to me when it's hot outside - I eat ice cream just about every other day in the summer.

Also, I'm aware that I overused the word "I" in that paragraph, but I'm too tired to try and change it into something that sounds less narcissistic :)

Beige cardigan: Anthropologie

Jeans: Levi's from Urban Outfitters

Brown boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: gift from my dad, from a hat shop in York, England

Earrings and rings: free from my aunt

Brown belt: thrifted from Goodwill

Florals

I'll be honest - even though I wore these platform heels around the house, I had to change into the flats (pictured below) to walk to this photo location. (And then yes, I changed back into the platforms for photos, but only after Josh insisted on snapping some photos of me wearing the flats - you know, for a touch of reality.) On flat ground I can handle myself in these heels, but we live in a neighborhood with a lot of hills, and trying to walk down a hill in these shoes is equivalent to asking for a broken nose. The only time I can wear them is at home, or if I change into them after driving somewhere in flats.

I loved the combination of florals in this outfit! In fact, it felt so fun and comfy that I think it's a combination I'll be wearing several times this coming spring.

Floral peplum top: H&M

Floral skirt: thrifted from Village Merchants

Platforms: Jessica Simpson Dany heels from Macy's

Hat: from an antique show

Necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Gold leaf cuff bracelet: In Pink

Stairway to heaven

This is hands down my new favorite outfit photo location. The only downside is that this stairway is right next to a very busy road, so I felt like everyone driving by was watching me. I'm used to a few people walking past whenever we take outfit photos near our apartment, but it felt awkward knowing that probably a hundred people saw us taking these on Saturday.

I wore this outfit for a lunch date to Five Guys, and a stop at Powell's Books and Target. It probably would have been more sensible to wear flats for all those errands, because after two hours of standing and walking, my feet were killing me in these heels. But I have rarely been known to be sensible when it comes to shoes. (Case in point.)

Today I'm linking this post up to Monday Mingle at Mom Trends, Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style, and at Watch out for the Woestmans.

Purple sweater: Target

Striped skirt: Urban Outfitters

Red trench coat: Calvin Klein from Costco

Blue boots: Steve Madden (Carnaby heels) from Zappos

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Gold necklace: Dress Barn

Belt: Scandinavian Midsummer Festival in Astoria

Israel bans underweight models in ads

Image source

Did any of you hear the news that Israel has banned the use of underweight models in ads? My initial reaction, when I read about this a few weeks ago, was approval. Models in Israel now have to provide proof that they are not malnourished by the World Health Organization's standards, which states that a person with a body mass index of below 18.5 is malnourished. I think it's wonderful that Israel cares enough about its citizens that it would try to do something to prevent the development of eating disorders in its girls and women. Plus, I think we’re all aware of how prevalent “thin worship” is in the media.

But when I started to think about it more, I decided I’m not totally on board with the idea. For starters, a woman who is a dedicated runner could have a BMI below 18.5 and still be considered healthy. Now, it’s not likely that a marathon runner is going to want to be a model, but you never know. If this law was passed to promote health in Israel’s models and citizens, then maybe more attention should be focused on the condition of the models’ bodies rather than their weight. A chain smoker could be overweight and extremely unhealthy, whereas an avid marathon runner who eats well could be underweight by this standard, but still healthy. Yet only the former would be allowed to model in Israel.

Also, there are women in the world who are naturally skinny, and try as they might cannot gain weight. So even if one of these women wanted to be a model in Israel, she would be turned down because her appearance could inspire anorexia in young girls, even if she doesn’t have anorexia herself. “Skinny” is just as valid a size as “overweight.” Some people try so hard to make larger people feel good about themselves that they resort to making skinny people feel bad about themselves.

In the article I linked to above, they give an example of a woman who is 5-foot-8 being considered underweight if she weighs less than 119 pounds. If you weighed 118 pounds at that height, you couldn’t be a model. If you weighed 119 pounds, you could. One pound is not much difference, and is almost certainly not an indication of increased health, and yet that’s all it would take to get a girl a modeling job that had been previously denied to her because of her weight. Since “thin worship” is still an issue, I don’t think these models are going to try to exceed the required weight. In fact, I think they’re going to try very hard to weigh as little as possible while still meeting the requirements, because “thin” is still what people want to see. Most models wouldn’t be willing to weigh 130 pounds, even if it would be healthier, if they could still get jobs at 119 pounds. Changing the law isn’t going to change the way people think, and if they think “thin” is what’s attractive, then that’s what models are going to strive to be.

I would really love to hear all of your thoughts on this issue! Do you think the law is a step in the right direction? Do you think it’s misguided? And how do you think people in your country would react if they tried to pass a similar law?

Two-minute outfit

This is what happens when I only have two minutes to throw together an outfit. To be fair, some days that would result in a t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes, but the other day it resulted in this, which I was pleased with.

Floral dress: Target

Black sweater: Target

Black tights: American Apparel

Black wedge boots: Lulu's

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Necklace: purchased in China

Silver bracelet: won in a giveaway

Ring: In Pink