The End is The Beginning

I have been on a mission new for the past several years. A mission that has been a strain on every part of who I am, and who I have become.

During these past several years I have been learning so much in the running a business. Not only will I be able to apply my on the job knowledge of business management, I will also have a better understanding of the all areas of business management.

Since I have taken on the education with a bachelors degree in business management I have learned other skills that I wish to apply to the prospects of my own business ventures.

One of the things that I have taken on and learned about is sewing. I started out by sewing a couple of zipper bags. I have also taken on the construction of a couple of skirts. They might not be something that will be worn out on the town, at least not yet. The learning that I have done over the past few years has been refining my techniques and I will soon be able to construct works of art.

My latest course of study in the world of sewing is to learn the are of the pleat. Since there are many different types of pleats out there I will be working through them and learning everything that I can about them. Many of these will be worked into various articles of clothing. I however do not want to just leave it at clothing, I want to add to my collection of other crafting endeavors.

In my spare time, which there is very little I have started the construction of a new skirt, which is pictured above. The material that I am using is reclaimed which is a trend that I intend to continue. This skirt will be a maxi that incorporates box pleats. It might take a few more weeks to finish, not because making a skirt is difficult to construct, but passing my accounting finals is. After passing this exam I have just one more class left and that is my capstone project. 

The end of my bachelors degree represents that beginning of other promises that life will provide for me. Until then, have the most wonderful time...and never stop learning.

Beyond Black and White, The Painful Reality

     We chose clothing that fits our personalities. What we wear speaks volumes about who we are and many first impressions are formed by our looks. The messages that we send can change though out the day. Suits and ties or a nice button down blouse and midi skirt for at the office shows that we mean business. Jeans and a t-shirt or a mini dress that hugs every curve for clubbing at night.

     We also use color to manipulate how we are seen by others. I know that the ladies understand this concept very well, after all that little black dress can be irresistible to look at. We use dark colors to mean business and bight colors for fun and uplifting times.

     Rarely do we dress from head to toe with the some colors, but will use complimentary colors to provide variety and to make an even bigger statement, though that LBD is enough of a statement on its own.  Even in the office we layer our colors that is what ties a outfit together. There are layers of solid colors, patterned colors of every imaginable variety and we even will use stripes. Yes, I did say stripes.

     Stripes are not my favorite choice for outfits. In fact I prefer the basic solid colors and yes I have been referred to as boring and unimaginative when choosing outfits. Another fact is that I have a tendency to be challenged when mixing colors. I think certain colors work together that don't or certain colors don't work together that do. I can be forever grateful for the abundance of color charts that are available.

     I believe that I mentioned that I am not a fan of stripes. Wide stripes I can live with a little better than micro stripes. In fact the worst thing of all is black and white micro stripes. Who ever thought that micro stripes, specifically black and white micro stripes, were a good thing really does not understand the pain that is inflicted on society, or at least a segment of the population.

     Take the a beautiful woman and have her put on a black and white micro stripe dress and you have detracted from her beauty. Further more, she becomes painful to look at. The black and white micro stripes have too much contrast with each other and optically it screws with the eyes. Further more, speaking from experience, it can trigger migraines and yes there are plenty of migraine suffers out there that are plunged into a painful day. All because you wore micro stripes. Even if for some odd reason the migraine does not present itself a headache is definitely triggered.

     I suffer from migraines. I suffer from looking at micro stripes. Please help alleviate the pain that we migraine suffers face by leaving the micro stripes behind. Please remember that no matter how beautiful your are, you could be the cause of someones migraines if you choose to wear micro stripes.

     Yes, there is a reason that I inserted the picture at the end of the my writing. Just from the short time I took to edit the photo and to utilize it for my social media postings I have started to get a headache. I hope that you enjoy my short rant about black and white micro stripes and will have some sympathy for others by leaving the black and white micro stripes alone.

Now where's the pain killers!

     I have no scientific basis for and of the information provided in the text above. Everything written here is just my opinions that I have formed from personal experience, observation, and from others I have spoken to.    

   

Fainting Couches and Perfection

     Women have been pushed by society to become an object of beauty and desire to fulfill men's wildest dreams. After all men desire a beautiful woman at his side. A woman who not only can live up to his fantasies, but who also has promise of fertility allowing for his family name to carry on for generations to come.

     There was a time when ladies would contort their bodies forcing them into shapes that would appear as if they ready to bear the fruits of life into the human race. They did this because that was what was expected of them in their social circles. I would imagine their bodies screamed out in pain as the laces of the corsets were cinched with a crushing force. There were many times that the image of a desirable body would break from the stress that corsets would apply to the bodies structure. Bones would break and breathing would become labored, thus the need for the fainting couch. A properly dressed lady would not be able to get enough oxygen to her body and while performing even the simplest of tasks would run out of oxygen and pass out. Why? So that she could live up to the societies expectations of how she should look and to be desirable enough to be selected to propagate future generations.

     The corsets left mainstream society and so did the fainting couch, but that is far from being the end of the love affair with the corset. Men desire the hourglass figure that can be obtained from the corset. The corset left mainstream retail to take residence in shops specializing in the fantasies and desires that your mother would not want to know about.

     Yet here we are today. Year after year. decade after decade. We have brain washed society into desiring that perfect body once again. We have been bombarded by media and the fashion industry into believing that if we do not have that perfect body then we are not desirable and run the risk of not finding that perfect mate.

     Women throw large sums of cash at the cosmetic counters in order to get the latest trends that they are told that they must have. They paint their bodies hiding any and every imperfection because they are told that it is not desirable to have even the slights imperfection. They colorize their faces in hopes that they will be noticed in a crowed, wanting to be more beautiful than a room full of beautiful women. They strive for the perfect eyes to draw in the right gaze and their lips cry out to be gently caressed by the right man. Why is that?

     Our social circles have changed. We are now influenced by advertising and the fashion industry, not so that we can be healthier person but so that the driving forces behind the industry of beauty can line their pockets with your hard earned money. They want you to coat your skin with their chemicals so that they can make money. Not all makeup is full of chemical, so you must do your homework before covering yourself with them. You must remember that your skin can and will absorb chemicals into your body and that is not really in your best interest.

     And back to the rest of the woman's body. A body that is still being crammed into the perfect shape as defined by society. Countless hours are spent at the gym working out, trying to nip at fat deposits in order to be comparable to the airbrushed models wearing the latest fashion trends...that are a must have. As the body can no longer meet expectations money is wasted purchasing body shaping clothing such as control hosiery and  yes, the ever famous corset is back.

     Men have been brainwashed too, into thinking that these unnatural beauties are to be desired and sought after. The expectation of having a beautiful woman on his arm is a driving force in his expectations of that perfect woman. Then at the end of the day, when in the privacy of the home environment, the make up comes off, the shape-wear comes off and reality comes to destroy that fantasy. Once again the mind wanders on to the next prize that the man can possess, crushing the hopes of truly seeing the natural beauty that lies beside him.

     Fortunately, the veil has been removed from my eyes. I still see the beauty as society defines it, but I desire only the beauty designed by nature. Even though I have immersed myself in a world of societies beauty I desire to call for change in how to define beauty. Fortunately, the industry is starting to take notice of this but it is slow and may never be fully realized. Only time will tell.

Please remember that what I have written here is based on my observations and opinions. I do not claim to be an authority on any particular issue that is written about in this article. I am not promoting any particular product. Take what I say and form your own opinions. 

     2018 is promising to be a great year. It is the year I finally graduate college for the second time. First time was an associates degree, this time I will have my bachelors degree in business management. I am excited to be done. Not just because it is finishing with something that I have been working on for several year, but because it will free up more time to do the things that I have not had as much time for. 

     I will be hitting the sewing room more working on new creations. I hope to renew old things into new things. I want to create something completely new for me and finally I am excited to learn new things in the sewing room. 

     Sewing however is not going to be the only focus for this new year. I will be working both in front of the camera and behind the camera, though mostly behind, to bring you new photographs and break  into videos. I also am looking forward to adding more blog postings and even some traveling to 2018. 

      Yes I said traveling! As of right now I have plans to travel to the Seattle area in late March and early April. I also am looking forward to spending the 2018 holiday season back home in Minnesota! There will be other short day trips or weekenders tucked in to my schedule but those are the big trips for this year that are planned as of right now.

     I hope that you can overlook my long absences here in blogging land. I have been really busy with college, working a full time job while maintaining some sanity with my wife, kids and myself. With college out of the way that will be a huge relief and I will not feel guilty for working on some of my side projects.

     I hope that you can join me for my 2018 adventures and...

Happy New Year

SKIRTING THE ISSUE, PART 3

     Why skirts? Because wearing pants contradicts the message that we have been preaching about our health. The unfortunate part is that if a man in today society (here in the states especially) their health can be compromised by physical and mental bullying. This is the stigma that must be changed in order to safely move forward with male freedom.

     Time and time again men hear that they should be wearing boxers instead of briefs. What good does this do? It is fine if your walking around your house in your boxers without pants on, but put a pair of pants on things start getting cramped down there. There is some relief if we stand up but still most pants are a little snug. We have a tendency to spend most of our waking hours sitting down at a desk. That leads to a continuous shifting and trying to be comfortable. Yet there is still no great solution.

     Through out the world you see cultures where men are wearing everything from vashti in India to a sarong in Sri Lanka. There is also the hakama from Japan and the kilt from Scotland. We should also not forget about religions. Look not farther than the Catholic and Lutheran churches. Their priests and pastors wear the cassock and alb. Wiccans and other neo-pagan religions are also known to wear ceremonial robes. Yet (in my opinion) some of the most vocal critics of the male skirt come from religion.

     As you remember from my previous posting. I am not advocating men to raid the women’s departments at your favorite clothing store for the perfect dress. If men started wearing something other than skirts there would have to be a specific market designed around those articles of clothing. I am also not advocating the wearing of anything that would restrict our movement. Sorry guys I am not interested in seeing you in pencil skirts. It is very important for men to maintain freedom of movement so that we can continue to be the protector of our families and property. That is what was bred into our being to be the hunter and gatherer and protector.

     

I hope that men can finally be freed from the restrictive clothing that we have just become so accustom to in the western cultures. Allow us not to be cramped when sitting and give us a better reason to be wearing the boxers that we often told to wear for our health.

SKIRTING THE ISSUE, PART 2

     One of the ways we show our identity is through the use of clothing. We define our own fashion to fit our individual personalities. The problem is, if we fail to dress like the mainstream society thinks we should dress then we get negatively looked upon. Will how we dress really affect how we perform our jobs?

     When was the last time you saw a gothic individual running a board meeting in any company? Most of the time if these individuals are seen at all in a business it will most likely not be in an office building where the attire is socially set and set by the policies of the company. A few years back a directive from a place that I worked stated that we were no longer able to wear black on both the top and bottom at the same time. Black pants required a different color shirt and if you wore a black shirt a different color of pants was required. This would prevent our clients from being uneasy with us.

While being goth in the business world is not acceptable it is even less acceptable to be, dare I say, a “crossdresser”. I am not saying that I really want to slip into a long gown for the next formal event I go to, or that I desire to march down the isle in a beautiful wedding dress. Though I might be able to pull it off if society’s thinking was different. Actually, no even I have my limits. I would not be able to get that fit just right, even if I worked out and beefed up my chest. Seriously, there is a limit to even where I would define women’s wear and men’s wear.

     I would like to see men be allowed by societal standards to wear a skirt. Nothing more. Some men have tried to bring this to mainstream society but have failed. Other cultures allow for skirt/dress like garments to be worn so why can’t we bring this to the United States? Could a man ever feel safe walking down the street in a skirt? It can happen but it is going to take a fundamental change in societies thinking.

     

Stick around for part 3 and I will explain why it makes sense to change our ways and if men could just get over this stigma of being different then things would change and different would become the norm.

SKIRTING THE ISSUE, PART 1

     In today’s society we brainwashed into thinking the way a normal society wants us to think. We are made to think that society’s normal must be our normal. I believe that these barriers that are holding us hostage must be destroyed and we must work at recreating a new normal.

If one decides to go against the societal norms they are considered to be outcasts and substandard citizens. Society has a fear that if we accept these individuals into our realm then we will become like them.

     It is time to make a change. A time to stand up for our differences and a time to stand up for others who are different. How do we do it? How do we change the way society thinks without becoming outcasts ourselves? The problem is that changing the way society thinks is not something that can be done from the bottom up but must be changed from the top down.

     There is so much talent that is wasted in this world because of the outcasts that fall outside of the societal norm. Let us not be afraid of what we do not know and learn about our fellow humans that we have removed from our normal society.