Deep Dive into the Next Subject

Brainstorming:

Things I want: To be better at crochet, to learn how to sew, more books, more jewelry, a haircut, more time to relax, more pants, a new lightweight jacket, a later wakeup time...

The Jury is Still Out: Could I pull off a pixie cut, are bell bottoms and flares cute, how much figurative language does it take for an essay to be cringy, are crop tops just a phase of my style, is my tendonitis better enough for me to do a workout, do I like Kendrick Lamar, how much do I like Star Wars...?

My Media and My Obsessions: How To Train Your Dragon, flowers, violin, Stolen, Mary Oliver, Alice Walker, Rick Riordan, crochet, plants, Hozier, The Beatles, art, jazz for stuyding, Nirvana... 

Things That Bother Me: When people think feminism is just for women and girls, people chewing loudly,  young people with their ringers on in public, procrastinating, gender norms, trying to decypher politician's intentions, when I cannot tell if my writing will be cheesy or not...

My clothing style has developed a lot over the past few years. Sometimes I wonder if I will see a photo of myself from 2025 and cringe when I see it in 2030. I know that style and trends are always evolving, but sometimes I think there are items I will never be interested in wearing. The variety of silhouettes, colors, patterns, and materials for clothing creates infinite possibilities, and I love trying new combinations. Flared leggings and bell bottoms are a particularly peculiar concept for me. I have a sweater with bell sleeves that I adore, but I do not know if I could wear jeans with the same shape. I always worry that flared pants would be hard to style and not very timeless. The curvy shape of bell bottoms and flared leggings is intimidating and unfamiliar to me, so I have yet to decide if I will try them.

Another integral part of an outfit is the hems of clothing. Where they sit and how they interact with other pieces of clothing can create an impactful effect. I started to experiment more with different lengths of shirts a while ago, and I still have a complicated relationship with crop tops. I think the right shape and length of crop top can look great, and I do not have a problem with showing some more skin. However, I do know that the shortened length of a crop top seems to offend some people or cause them to sexualize the person wearing it. Once again, I do not know where I stand. I certainly do not believe children should be wearing crop tops, because the short hem would not help a child play better or feel more comfortable physically. Sometimes I do wonder if not wanting younger people to wear smaller pieces of clothing that suggest that they are sexualizing pieces of clothing is by nature, or if it is just logical. I don’t want to believe sex has anything to do with specific clothing shapes, because they are just pieces of cloth that allow people to express themselves. 

Both these types of clothing are typically feminine pieces of clothing that accentuate specific parts of the body. I do not know the origins of these silhouettes, but I would imagine there is a reason why they seem to often be “in style” around the same time. Perhaps there is a message behind them?