"The Meaning of Sunglasses" and Whatnot

I do believe that this is the slowest that I’ve read a book in a good long while. I’m quite a fast reader, probably due to how often I do read books, but this time around, I spent most of my time contemplating what is being said as well as the implications. It was quite like when I read philosophy and have to pause and reread in order to interpret meaning from it. And that makes this book quite different from any other fashion book out there, as well as making as far removed from the evil connotations fashion has picked up over the years. Yes, I am highly fashion obsessed. Yes, I monitor fashion week and read fashion magazines such as Vogue. No, I am not a childlike entity that has no free will. And yes, I am quite vain and arrogant, that does not making being aware of fashion a frivolous activity. It is a hobby, one that makes me quite happy so all the critics and jealous people can shut the fuck up. I am quite able to balance my intellect and self-awareness thanks.

ANYWAY, this book is highly amusing, utterly truthful, and a must-read for everything. In essence, this book is a satirical encyclopedia on fashion, the best kind of course. Hadley Freeman is able to capture audiences with her dry British wit and her intimate writing style. As the summary puts it she writes “with both insider’s relish and layman’s exasperation.” Perfectly put. Now go out and read it. I assure you that you will be highly entertained.

Oufit/Book Rec

My outfit today was inspired by Emanuel Ungaro RTW Spring 2009.

And as it is freezing outside because Seattle weather appears to like winter, my version is a little bit warmer:

Diesel blazer, Raw screen tee, Forever 21 skirt, leggings, Nine West Shoes

Now for the book rec:

The Meaning of Sunglasses (And a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable) by Hadley Freeman

This book is hilarious and awesome. It’s a satirical encyclopedia of fashion. The first thing on the inside jacket is : “Is the fashion industry one big nasty conspiracy to make women feel inadequate? Um, no.”hahaha It is a must-read for those in the know and those who scoff at fashion. And no, fashion is not some insipid cult that turns women into bimbos. I am sick of people thinking of it as that way. And thus the need for this book rec.

Full summary:
“In this satirical encyclopedia of fashion–the world that is, and the clothes that are–Hadley Freeman, deputy fashion editor and columnist for London’s Guardian, suggests that maybe women aren’t total idiots for riffling through fashion magazines or shopping at H&M. Fashion is fun, it’s a means of self-expression, and it is definitely for women–not for the men who love them. How else to explain skinny jeans?
From (C) Celebrities–when bad ones happen to good fashion–to (V) Vanity, Freeman has cracked the codes behind what we wear in a series of lightly philosophical and instructional mini-essays to gladden the heart of everyone with a slight to obsessive interest in fashion. How did Kate Moss ruin your wardrobe? What makes Karl Lagerfeld so nail-bitingly fabulous? Marc Jacobs, fashion-show etiquette, the perils of flats, the genius of H&M, and the subversive pleasures of ankle-high boots: all are subjects for Freeman’s satiric wit and qualified rejoicing.
Encompassing both the insider’s relish and the layman’s exasperation, The Meaning of Sunglasses attackes an dcherishes the joys, the silliness, and the occasional insanity of this relentlessly fascinating world.”