Western Fashions I Really Dislike

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am no longer impressed with Western fashion and I prefer Asian fashion. I'm just basing this off what I see people wearing around me and on television, or the most popular Asian styles I see online. Below I will show popular Western fashions that I think prevent us from looking our most feminine best. I admit I have some items from the styles below but I want to get rid of them. A woman still look cute and feminine in some of these things if she chooses a feminine colour, body fitting size, or something that is atypically feminine (e.g., a pink hoodie with hearts on it). Some of these items can still work if they are paired with other very feminine items.

1. The overly casual look: I rarely wear jeans anymore because they just make you look so casual. I don't like baggy or boy-cut styles, and low-rise jeans need to be retired. This look includes wearing sweats, pajama bottoms, leggings, slippers, and just sloppy outfits that you probably should not be wearing in public. People with this style look like they just threw something on and this includes any looks that are a mismatch of patterns. Oh yes, I would place that ugly grunge look in this category. 
2. The hipster look: This look includes some retro styles, ironic t-shirts, over-sized glasses, scarves with everything, some androgynous items, and a weird mismatch of items.
3. The androgynous look: This includes wearing any clothing that a man would wear (in his size). It includes boy shorts, boy-cut jeans, dress pants in men's cuts, ties, pant suits, fedoras, men's style shoes, over-sized clothes, military looks etc.
4. The sporty look: Some women who wear this look play sports or just like the look. Some may identify as tomboys. It includes sweats and track suits, clothing with visible logos, hoodies, sneakers, ball caps, polo shirts, and sports jerseys.
5. The skater, snowboarder, surfer look: This is a variation on the sporty look that includes those awful skateboarding shoes, baggy pants, hoodies, boy-cut shorts, ball caps, and flip-flops.
6. The punk look: This look is meant to make women look tough, depressed, or scary. Most of the clothing is black and includes combat boots, spikes, skulls and chains. Oh and the piercings, makeup, and hair colours are horrendous.
7. The weird high-fashion look: I would describe this as the strange Lady Gaga, Nikki Minaj, and sometimes Rihanna look. Most people don't wear this look but it's the type of thing you see in Vogue. These fashions make you look nothing like the girl next-door. The look is meant to gain attention with really weird, uncomfortable looking fashions that make you look totally unapproachable. It includes all of those expensive designer dresses that just aren't as cute or pretty as they could be.
8. The sloppy hippy look: This includes loose, 70s style clothes and patterns, ill-fitting clothes that actually looks second-hand, and that boho-chic look. Just not cute!
9. The hip hop look: This is similar to the sporty look and included anything considered "ghetto fabulous". I don't want to look like I listen to hip hop at all.

These are the styles I see a lot of people wearing in Canada and on television. I don't like the styles and they bore me. Almost all of these styles incorporate some sort of "edge". I can't stand edge and it is so masculine! Something edgy would be a woman in a pretty dress and combat boots, or a cute pink sweater with skulls, or punk girls in tutus. It just ruins the femininity and cuteness. It conveys hostility, unhappiness, boredom, and a negative attitude. Being edgy is not the look I'm going for.

Pin Up Girl Style for Black Women

What do you think of you you hear the words "pin up girl"? I'm not talking pornographic centerfold, I'm talking about pin-up girls of the 40s and 50s  (and they were mostly White). Pin up girl makes me think of whimsical photos of curvy, rosy cheeked women in provocative and playful poses. Pin up girls are sexy because of their poses and form fitting clothing (no nudity), but they also appear innocent because of their big smiles. They don't appear to know they are sexy and they are definitely not trying to be sexy. There is an innocent nymph quality to the photos. This video can tell you a bit about the origins of the pin up art genre and why they are different from centerfolds and many modeling photos today. The video below is full of cute, feminine pinup art.

More videos: Slideshow 2, Black pin ups 1, Black pin ups 2, Modern pin ups,

Do you notice the difference between the pin up model and the two models in the photos below? 

It's the attitude! The pin up model is smiling and just being pleasant and feminine, and any sexiness is inadvertent. On the other hand, the other models (Christina Millian and Nikki Minaj) are not smiling, and they look like they are hungry for sex and want everyone to know it. You can like sex, but being sexually aggressive and advertising that is very masculine. Feminine sexuality is more subtle. The pin up girl looks friendly, playful, and approachable. But Nikki and Christina could scare off some men with their sexual aggression or attract the wrong kind of men. I'm not naive, I know that women will be thought of as sex objects by most men, the difference is that men will ONLY look for sex from women who pose like Nikki and Christina. Take a look at these Google images from King Magazine (images). Barely any of the models are smiling! Who took these photos? Men complain that Black women look mean but they take these photos and buy magazines full of women who look like this! Everyone should get some tips from Angelique Noire, a modern day pin up girl, who happens to be Black and beautiful. Her smile and playfulness is very reminiscent of the 1940s pin ups and she has great natural hair too! (Thanks for the link Black Girl int he City :)

The pin up style is great for Black women who have curves and even plus sized women. You can work some elements of the style into your current wardrobe. The key is that the clothes are feminine and fit your curves, but they don't have to be short or revealing. My favorite pin up style item is the pencil skirt (video and see photo below). They are appropriate for work, dates, or a night on the town. They make your backside pop and give you a sexy wiggle when you walk. I love to wear mine high on the waist because it makes my waist look narrower, my thighs look thinner, and they look great with feminine tops. Key elements of this style are kitten heels, curly hair, red lips, nylons with garters, and sheer undergarments. There are many videos on YouTube about pin up hairstyles and make up (by black women), as well as clothing options. This is a style befitting any EBW.

Many of you have probably seen modern pin up models. For some reason people thought that new pin up models needed some sort of "edge" so now they have tattoos and piercings and aren't often smiling in their photos (I prefer the old style). There is also a store called Pin Up Girl Clothing that sells this style of clothing exclusively (notice the tattoos and almost no one is smiling). 

Videos
Ashanti - Good Good (showing modern pin up style on a Black woman, love this song)

Kreesha Turner - Don't Call me Baby (towards the end of video, she's Black, love this song)
Kanye West - Goldigger (lyrics are negative about women, not enough smiling so the women don't look innocent and playful)
Katy Perry's style

Articles
Modern Pin up photos
20 Classic On-up Girls Before and After (fascinating! They made the waists smaller, hair bigger, and bodies curvier)
How to Dress Like a Pin up Girl
10 Ways to Look Like a Pin Up Girl

B- Lifestyle in Japan

I just read a fascinating article on Clutch Magazine called "B-Style: Japanese Youth Reject Convention in the Pursuit of Blackness". You must watch the video below!

For Hip Hop News & Entertainment at DimeWars.Com

Here are my thoughts about the article and video:

1. It makes me happy to know that some people think Black women are so beautiful that they want to look like us. In Japanese society (and many others) where pale skin is the epitome of beauty, some people think dark skin is more attractive and healthier looking. It was amazing watching the video and hearing the women say that Black women looked so good and cute. The B-style women use dark tanning just like light-skinned women in North America who tan and prefer their skin to be dark (just not as dark). They also like Afro-textured hair and braids (unlike some men over here). I didn't hear any of the women saying the Black women looked hard or unfeminine, they think the Black women look beautiful, cute, and pretty and that our styles look good. 
2. I think that the Japanese women wearing the styles are still cute but it does make them look harder than the kawaii girls (I'm not a fan of the piercings). But they still look feminine don't they? Would a Black woman dressed the same way still appear cute? I did notice the women in the video were smiling a lot so maybe that's the difference. It didn't seem like they were swearing or speaking in a harsh, masculine manner either. Wearing hip hop fashion is not the same as acting ghetto and hard. Wear it, don't be it.
3. I wish they would not use tanning beds. I just can't cosign anyone trying to look Black if it would endanger their health. Self-tanners are the best option. It would be horrible if some of these women ended up with skin cancer in 20 years because of a fashion trend they liked when they were young and innocent. Are they doing blackface? I don't think that is their intention and it's different from White American kids having those offensive hip hop costume parties. The people at those parties were making fun of Black people not appreciating them. They were putting on costumes not embracing a fashion trend. Tanning beds exist to make skin dark, the Japanese are just going extra dark. Now if they started painting their lips white and putting on Amos and Andy routines that would be another story!
4. I wish that people around the world did not think that hip hop culture was synonymous with "Black culture". I cringed when I saw the women watching 50cent's Candy Shop video. Do they even understand his degrading lyrics? Are they pumping more money into the rap industry that actually degrades all Black people? I think they just like the beats (as do I), don't understand the lyrics, have never lived the dangerous street lifestyle (most of us haven't), and just like the fashion. I can't fault them for that because the hip hop industry likes it that way and goes to great lengths to promote it as the only   "authentic Blackness" today, even for other Black people! I hope that they don't start accepting the degradation of women, using the n-word, and thinking drug dealing and gangs are cool. I want Black people to stop liking those things and it would be better if the Japanese did not embrace those things either. Am I offended by it? No. They have been sold a commercialized music/fashion style just like everyone else. I think that fashion is fashion. I like Japanese fashion and prefer kawaii to hip hop fashion :)
5. Someone commented that they thought that some Black men would prefer an Asian woman acting Black to an actual Black woman. I wouldn't be surprised if that was true, even if the woman had a bad attitude and was a golddigger. Anyone who excuses the same behaviour in one person or "race" over another just has a preference for that person or "race" period.
6. It was interesting hearing the comments of the B-girl's mother. The mother said that the girl was in school and healthy so the unusual fashion was okay. She knew that when her daughter got older she would give that all up and dress in a mature manner. That's exactly what Black people have to do! You have to put that aside after a while and grow up, tone things down, speak properly, and live a respectable (non-criminal) life. For some reason, young Black people are so immersed in hip hop culture they can't act in any other way. It's just a fashion, not an inherent part of your personality or DNA as a Black person. Giving it up or never liking it in the first place does not mean you are not Black.
7. I didn't like Dime Wars' spin on the video. They entitled their article "Dang! When Black Women are Trying so Hard to Not Look Like Themselves, Japanese Women are Trying to Look Like Them". What a backhanded compliment! Instead of just looking at it as an appreciation of Black women, the writer had to criticize Black women for wearing hair extensions. While there are some Black men who like our style there are many others who hate it. You can't please everyone nor should you bother trying. I bet if the Japanese women started wearing wigs and hair extensions (they already do actually) they would be given a pass because they have long straight hair underneath. It takes a real talent (sarcasm) to turn that video into a criticism of Black women.

Articles:
NajaBarbie (MUTE your computer if you are at work :) Take a look at the photos. Do Black women look cute when the wear the same things? Is there a difference? Honestly, maybe it's because they're thin so the clothes look better on them the way high fashion is made for skinny models. Clothes just don't look as good if you are bigger. Is that it? Plus, a lot of them are smiling.)

Tokyo Ms. Kicks (Wow! You have to see this blog!!!)
Gyaru Gal Styles
BGal tumbler (photos!)
Surprisingly there are many blogs by Black women and White women who love this stuff!
Videos:
B-Gyaru Love (view this on mute because music is horrible)
Tokyo Sera Toujours Tokyo
Top 15 Japanese Fashion Styles (yeah, they had a style called blackface...not sure if it had to do with Black people though)
B-Gyaru and Rasta (speechless...look at the hair!)