A REFLECTION....

A few weeks back, I noticed that the Anthroholic blog link was not working. It was stating the blog had been made private. Not being an Anthro-blogger, and only a casual fan of the line and site, I mentally shrugged and removed the link. Little did I know of the massive shit-storm that had struck the blogging community.

While browsing another fashion blog, the author made reference to Kim and their IRL friendship, and how devastating what Kim had done was to her personally. "WTF? Kim from Anthroholic? Fraud? How can I find out more?" Googling 'kim anthroholic scandal' unleashed a plethora of posts and reactions.

The basic gist: she had set up a "personal shopper" service through her blog, where she would purchase Anthropologie items and ship them to help individuals defray shipping costs to their countries, or by hunting out difficult-to-find items for them. For a fee. Now, this practice isn't completely unheard of in the blogging community, particularly with Anthro-bloggers. The vast majority of fashion bloggers are warm, friendly, and generous to a fault. And that's why Kim's actions caused such an uproar.

She'd pocket the money, and use whatever excuse possible to put off her clients for as long as possible. Reading the accounts of her victims, and believe me, they are indeed victims, she acts like a middle schooler who's trying to con the teacher into giving her more time to complete an assignment.

From the information I've read, I'd classify her as suffering from oniomania, or shopping addiction. Let me stress that I am not a qualified mental health expert, nor do I know Kim personally. I'm just saying, as a casual observer, if she isn't intentionally defrauding these individuals, then oniomania makes sense. I have had episodes of oniomania, which I turned to as a means of easing my depression, which could have spiraled rapidly out of control, had I not sought the help of medical professionals.

As a member of the fashion blogging community, I can't help but think that the materialism and flippant use of words like "need" and "want" can contribute to this disease, or even feeling like keeping up with the Jones'. I will make a point of being real with you readers about my spending, lusting, and manner of obtaining the items I present on here. This scandal has bothered me greatly, and I hope the best for Kim and her victims. May they recieve restitution, and may she find the help she needs.

U(h)O(h).

URBAN OUTFITTERS (UO, for short) has found themselves in a nasty bit of business.


It seems a month ago, some public outrage was stirred up over one of their "ironic" and "edgy" T-shirts. That shirt read "Eat Less" and was modeled by a pin thin girl.



Photo Courtesy of Cele|bitchy. You can read their article from the link.


It seems UO attempted to cover their ass back then by pulling the item from their online store, but kept it available in stores. Actress Sophia Bush found out about it and wrote a scathing open letter. I completely agree, and am adding myself to the "Boycott UO" movement. You'll please note, that I've removed their link from my site.


In fact, I'm starting the "Embrace Cake" movement. If you wish to join, then embrace your just desserts.


(kneeslapkneeslapkneeslap)

EDIT:

For her utter and egregious lack of self-awareness, I am also boycotting Demi Moore. Not hard, since she's done nothing much since marrying Ashton Kutcher other than Twitting and dieting and modeling, I think. Whatever, her whole stance of holier-than-thou I-am-an-ageless-wonder just pisses me off, considering all the work she has definitely had.


Team STFU!

TIME TO GET THE PARTY GOING

And by 'party' I mean 'tanning lotion'.


Confession: dear readers, I am pale. I never really cared, I figured it was only normal, since I rarely spent time out during daylight. Family members teased me about being white, and not-so-subtly suggesting I get a tan.


I get it, being pale in Florida is supposed to be for the tourists. Living within walking distance of the beach should be taken advantage of. I finally changed my mind, not because of a desire to enhance my coloring, or keep natives from being condescending jerks when I go to popular spots, but because of a greater vanity.


I have stretch marks. Fresh ones.


I've always carried my weight in my hips. However, most of my life, I was underweight. Putting any weight on my frame was a struggle. As a youngster, I was heavily involved in soccer and track. I didn't start to gain weight until puberty hit and I ruined my knees during the late soccer season. A few years of maintaining a decent, if low, weight changed when I developed anorexia and exercise bulimia between 18 and 20.


It was a long struggle to overcome those disorders and slowly get back to the 120 I had been. Then, last year, my dad had a massive traumatic event which almost severed his right hand and ripped out the upper arterial arch in his palm. In the hospital, he would only eat if I did. Between the stress, fear, and multiple meals I brought him, we both filled out.


One year later, and I've finally reached the average healthy weight for my height. However, the thirty pounds, rather than distributing themselves evenly, went strait to my belly, thighs and butt. While I always had junk in my trunk, the added twenty pounds did their damage.


A tan would make them less noticeable, and that is my stupid motivation. I hate myself for being that shallow, but I'm also annoyed that I can't wear my shorts without the stretches peaking out from the hem. Lemme tell you, I love my body, I love the extra oomph in my strut, I love the curve and belly pooch and lush femaleness of my body. The only thing I can't stand are these damn red lines.


Bleh.



(And that's the end of my whining. I know that as a woman, stretch marks, bad hair days, fluctuating water weight, yo-yo dieting, and period drama are our lot, but, damn it, I don't have to like it.)

I AM OFFICIALLY SKEEVED OUT

Despite the name, and my deep love for it, Forever 21 predominantly caters to teen girls. Probably even tween girls.


So, why are they now carrying a maternity line?


Granted, they branched into a kids line a while back, but this is something waaaaay too close to PedoVille. I guess it's kind of less creepy since their Love 21 line is the one carrying the maternity wear, and the line is described as "offering a more sophisticated, modest fit than FOREVER 21" but they advertised it on the Forever 21 main page! Is MTV's 16 and Pregnant show in that desperate of a need for teen mothers?


Am I the only one offended by this?