Rant | The Wardrobe Challenge

Rant

7:22 pm

8Apr2014

As always in this blog, these opinions are my own

Tags: blogging, personal, rant, reasons for blogging

(Suomeksi alla)

I haven’t done a post like this in a while, not since my fat legs rant actually. I just saw some tweets by both bloggers and readers a few days ago that woke a massive rage in me, and the need to rant and explain is here again.

The tweets implied to me that the plus-size blogging has become something that people do just to get free stuff, and that everyone looks the same and only says the same amazing things to get on brands’ good books. There was also some comments about how some bloggers have been raving about the boohoo plus range and not been critical about it. I have no idea if that was the real meaning behind the tweets, but I ‘got’ them as a small attack towards bloggers like me.

Seriously, ALL THE RAGE.

First of all, personally I am not in this for free stuff! I am in this to show that plus-size girls can be fashionable and trendy too, and I like showcasing my personal style to the world. Maybe that is vain, I don’t know, but I do enjoy my blog and hopefully one day blogging could be my job. I have the passion for this!

I know that I use a lot of positive words like ‘I love this / this is so adorable / gorgeous / lovely /…’ but that is because I actually LOVE those items. I don’t say those things to suck up to brands, I say them because I MEAN THEM. I don’t say a lot of negative things on my blog because I don’t tend to blog about things I don’t like. I mean why would I? I’m always honest in my reviews though, if the sizing is off I say it, if there’s something else wrong, I say it.

I don’t know if jealousy is a part of those tweets somehow, as some of us bloggers do get a lot of freebies, and some don’t. I know for a fact that it doesn’t all come easy though. Freebies are a nice perk, but there’s a lot of work when it comes to blogging, especially if you want it all to be nice quality! Personally I write my posts in two languages and take most of my photos alone with a tripod. It’s not always fun, but I want to make the effort for my blog to look as nice and professional as possible, and I believe the opportunities that I have gotten are hugely because of that, the passion, dedication, artistry and ambition. (By the way my blog isn’t perfect and I know I can do loads better. A new layout is in the works for example.) But at the end of the day the freebies don’t pay ones rent.. I know as I’m someone who is unemployed and on illness benefits at the moment, so I definitely feel the struggle.

But yes, I have also seen some bloggers around who seem to be in it for the free stuff and it is very visible what their agenda is. I can only hope that the brands can see through their crap as well and they’ll fade, OR have a long think and start over the right way.

Jealousy amongst bloggers has been visible when it comes to opportunities like shoots and features too. If you can’t be happy for your blogger colleagues and congratulate them, then complain to your friends in private. Jealous whining in social media is not a good look, and it can seriously bring the featured girls down, getting negativity just after they have accomplished something. Show some respect please!

So, got sidetracked.. Now my rant continues to the boohoo matter. You know what? Many of us have been raving about the boohoo range BECAUSE IT IS ACTUALLY VERY TRENDY! Why does there have to be an agenda behind it?! Can’t we just rave about the fact that FINALLY there’s a plus range that is totally on point trend-wise and has price points that most of us can afford?!

And excuse me, we all raised critisism too, we all said that the size range should be bigger.

I have also seen some comments lately about the plus-size bloggers forgetting ‘the community’ and ‘the fat politics’… WHY is it so horrible that some of us do this only for the FASHION and personal style growth, and not for the politics?! Of course I understand that in today’s society unfortunately every fat person who dares to be seen and be trendy is somewhat political. For me that is the ONLY way I want to be ‘a fat activist’, by actually showing that fat girls can dress well. I don’t want to TALK about it, it’s not my thing at all. And I want that to be FINE (as to me it is fine that some people feel passion towards the political side).

Nämä mielipiteet ovat omiani, kuten aina tässä blogissa

En ole tehnyt tällaista marina-postausta aikoihin, en sitten läskit jalat-postauksen itseasiassa. Jokunen päivä sitten näin Twitterissä kommentteja sekä bloggaajilta että lukijoilta, ja ne saivat vereni totaalisesti kiehumaan. Tarpeeni kiukuta, valittaa ja selittää on siis taas vahva.

Nuo kyseiset tweetit ilmaisivat, että plussa-bloggauksesta on tullut juttu, jota ihmiset tekee vain saadakseen ilmaista tavaraa. Kuulrmma kaikki näyttävät samalta ja toistelevat samoja kehuja, ihan vaan pysyäkseen brändien hyvällä listalla. Näin myös kommentteja siitä, kuinka jotkut bloggaajat ovat kehuneet boohoo:n plussamallistoa ja eivät ole sanoneet mitään kriittistä. En tiedä mikä olisi ollut oikea tapa tulkita nuo tweetit, mutta minä otin ne hyökkäyksenä kaltaisiani bloggaajia kohtaan.

Oikeasti, KIHISEN RAIVOSTA.

Ihan ensimmäiseksi tahdon sanoa, et mä en bloggaa saadakseni ilmaista tavaraa. Haluan näyttää maailmalle tyyliäni, ja näyttää, että plussa-tytötkin voivat olla tyylikkäitä ja muotitietoisia. Nautin bloggaamisesta, ja toivottavasti jonain päivänä bloggaus voisi olla työtäni. Mulla on tähän intohimoa ja mulla on päämääriä!

Täytyy kyllä myöntää, että blogissani viljelen kehuja, ja käytän sanoja ‘rakastan, ihana, upea’ puhuessani vaatteista (joista osa on ilmaiseksi saatuja). Tämä EI ole brändien nuoleskelua, vaan ihan vaan minä kertomassa rehellisiä mielipiteitäni. Mä oikeasti TARKOITAN niitä. En puhu paljon negatiivisia juttuja täällä, sillä miksi bloggaisin vaatteista tms. joista en oikeasti edes tykkää?!? Mutta olen kyllä AINA rehellinen jos vaatteessa on jotain ‘vikaa’, tai vaikka on koot hassuja, aina sanon, että kannattaa ostaa normaalia isompi tai pienempi.

En tiedä onko kateellisuus syynä niihin tweetteihin, mutta epäilisin kyllä. Jotkut bloggaajat saavat paljon ilmaista tavaraa, ja jotkut eivät. Se tavaran saanti ei ole kylläkään helppoa, bloggaaminen käy työstä. Ilmainen tavara on kivaa, tietenkin, mutta sen eteen pitää työskennellä, varsinkin jos haluaa bloginsa olevan laadukas! Itse kirjoitan postaukseni kahdella kielellä, ja otan suurimman osan kuvistani yksin kolmijalan avulla. Se ei aina ole ihan kivaa, mutta tahdon käyttää aikaa ja nähdä vaivaa, jotta blogini olisi mahdollisimman ammattimaisen ja kivan näköinen. Ja itseasiassa uskon, että monet yhteistyöt ja mahdollisuudet joita olen saanut ovat tapahtuneet tämän takia. Blogistani näkee, että mulla on intohimoa, taiteellisuutta ja päämääriä. (Todellakin tiedän ettei blogini ole täydellinen, ja voisin tehdä monta asiaa paljon paremmin. Esimerkiksi uusi ulkoasu on työn alla parhaillaan.) Loppujen lopuksi se ilmainen tavara ei kuitenkaan maksa vuokraa ja laskuja kenellekkään.. Tiedän tämän itse raskaasti, sillä olen edelleen olkapääni takia työttömänä ja saan sairaustukea.

Mutta ovat ne tweetit jossain oikeassakin, sillä olen itsekin nähnyt joitain bloggaajia jotka selkeästi vaan haluavat sitä ilmaista tavaraa. Joskus heidän käytöksensä sosiaalisessa mediassa on niin läpinäkyvää, että toivottavasti myös ne brändit näkevät heidän lävitsensä ja heidän bloginsa hiipuvat pois. TAI ehkä miettivät kauan ja hartaasti, ja aloittavat uudelleen oikealla tavalla.

Kateellisuus plussa-bloggaajien kesken on ainakin täällä Britanniassa selkeästi nähtävissä, varsinkin jos on kyse ‘mallihommista’ brändeille tai näkyvyydestä medioissa. Jos et voi olla onnellinen kollegoidesi puolesta ja onnitella heitä, niin sitten marise kavereillesi salassa. Miksi se kateellinen iniseminen pitää tuoda sosiaaliseen mediaan missä kaikki näkevät? Moinen marina myös saa ne jotain ihanaa saavuttaneet tytöt tuntemaan olonsa aika paskaksi. Joku roti tähän, kiitos!

Okei, nyt sitten siihen boohoo-aiheeseen. Tiedättekös mitä? Moni bloggaaja on kehunut mallistoa hulluna KOSKA SE ON OIKEASTI TOSI TRENDIKÄS! En tajua miksi siinä pitäisi olla joku taka-ajatus?! Eikö me saada olla onnessamme siitä, että VIHDOIN on olemassa plussa-mallisto joka on sekä trendikäs, että sopii lähes joka lompakolle?!?

Hmm ja anteeksi vain, kaikki me kyllä kritisoitiin sitä, että mallistoon pitäisi tehdä isompia kokoja.

Olen myös nähnyt joitain kommentteja viime aikoina, että plussa-bloggaajat ovat unohtaneet ‘yhteisönsä’ ja ‘läski-politiikan’.. MIKSI se on niin kamalaa, että jotkut meistä bloggaavat MUODIN ja oman tyyli-kehityksen takia, ei poliittisista syistä?! Tietysti ymmärrän, että nykypäivän maailmassa *valitettavasti* kaikki näyttävät ja trendikkäästi pukeutuvat lihavat ovat jonkinlaisia aktivisteja, sillä eihän lihavat saisi pukeutua kuin mustiin säkkeihin. Joka tapauksessa tämä on AINOA tapa jolla haluan olla aktivisti, näyttämällä, että plussa-naiset voivat näyttää hyvältä ja pukeutua trendikkäästi. Mä EN halua puhua politiikasta ja aktivismista, se ei ole ollenkaan mun juttu. Ja mä haluan että se olisi IHAN OKEI (niinkuin mun mielestä on okei, jos joku haluaa olla vain poliittinen).

11 COMMENTS

12:55 pm

23Sep2012

Categories: Personal. Rant

Personal: Why are my fat legs a problem?

Tags: Evans, facebook, personal, rant, Simply Be

Hey readers,

This will be a ranty post. Just a warning if you don’t want to read anything triggering etc. And I’m not writing this to offend anyone who feels opposite, I just want to get this out of my head and into my blog. I haven’t written personal stuff like this here before, but I feel it’s time now.

So, I have been very lucky that both Evans and Simply Be have featured me on their Facebook pages. I want to thank both companies for doing that, I feel really honoured that they want me as one of the examples on how to wear their items. I just hope that the negativity that my photos have brought in doesn’t put them off and they might want to feature me again someday. I did get lots of support too, and many people seem to like my style. THANK YOU for all of you who were nice and lovely :)!

Before I go to any detail I want to let you all know that these comments have NOT made me sad, they have NOT knocked my confidence, AND they have not made me feel less beautiful in any way. I have confidence in my style and I know what suits me and what is comfortable for me to wear. The comments have only made me laugh (some are just too damn funny), and they have made me annoyed. I will continue wearing stuff my way, because – like I said in one of the replies I wrote for the comments – I like what I see in the mirror when I dress this way, MY way. I wonder if any of those commenter ladies do themselves? They seem to think that ‘big women can’t do this and big women can’t do that’. WHY CAN’T WE?!? Who has made these rules? IS IT A CRIME?

Ok, let me show you the comments (although the rudest ones have been deleted by the Evans and Simply Be teams). Here’s me at Evans Facebook page. The FIRST comment (that has been deleted), freaking FIRST one, said something along the lines: ‘She should use fake tan!’ That honestly made me laugh. I have never been a fake tan person, I’m way too lazy to start doing stuff like that, so it has never even crossed my mind that I should. And WHY? I look tanned in the summer if it has been sunny, and pale if not. That’s how I like it. But does fake tan hide my fat legs? NO. But yeah anyway, after seeing all the comments so far, I replied: ‘Thank you ladies. And well sorry, I’m not a fake tan person. I show my pale fat legs happily :)’ To which she replied (deleted again) something like this: ‘Why do you post your pics here if you don’t want people to comment. Fool.’ I MEAN SERIOUSLY?!? Did I tell her not to comment? NO. Did I post my pic there? NO I DIDN’T, Evans did cos they wanted to feature me. And why is she calling me a fool? Was my reply rude? NO. I assume that she can’t really read, since my reply had no reasons for her to call me a fool.

Oh well, moving on.. to me at Simply Be Facebook page. This outfit is actually one of my favourites ever (see the post here if you haven’t already), and I’m kind of shocked how LOVE or HATE the response is at SB Facebook. Does that mean that I’m trendy? Fashionable? POPULAR? Usually that kind of things people either hate or love, that there’s no middle ground. Anyway, some of the negative comments are just silly.. for example someone is saying that the wall behind me needs more paint. WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE OUTFIT?!?! I seriously laughed when reading that, and for that commenters information, I rent a room in one of the three flats in this house. Believe me lady, I have NO authority to say anything when it comes to painting the house :D. But yeah, I want to do a kind of ‘Q&A’-type of thing about some of the main issues that the negative commenters seem to have with this outfit/me/my style.

‘Why do you post your pic here if you don’t want comments’
Well AGAIN, I didn’t post it, Simply Be did. They actually think that I look good in the outfit. Imagine that! *shock, horror*

‘Skirt is too short and she should wear flats, this makes her knees look fat’
You know what, my knees don’t just look fat. THEY ARE FAT. But like I said in one of my responses, I prefer to show my wobbly knees RATHER than look short and stumpy. We all have out own preferences and our own insecurities. I personally don’t hate my fat knees, but I hate looking short, since my legs are really short to begin with. And OBVIOUSLY shorter skirt and heels make legs look longer. So I choose to do the one I like more. Which is showing my knees. Sorry if that offends you people.

‘Skirt is too highwaisted, looks like her boobs are resting on the waistband, she should wear the skirt on her natural waist’ ‘the skirt makes her look like a barrel’ ‘she looks much bigger than she is’
OH BUT THAT IS MY NATURAL ‘WAIST’! I wish these people would have gone to see my actual post before commenting, YOU CAN SEE from the side that my belly is huge, and that the narrowest place of my body is just below my boobs. I wish I had an hourglass-body, don’t we all, but I don’t, and I’m trying to make the best of the body I’ve got. So I wear my skirts just under my boobs, end of story. And do these people know me in real life? DO THEY KNOW HOW BIG I REALLY AM? I actually think that I dress quite well to flatter my shape, and I look smaller in those leather-skirt pics than in real life (not that it matters, but for these people it seems to matter.) I might look like a barrel, but that’s cos I AM. If these people could see what it looks like if I’d wear this skirt where my waist would be IF I was an hourglass, and if it’s below my knees.. OH WAIT. I CAN SHOW THEM. I’ll do better, I’ll add flats too, AND a looser shirt (yes there was comments on the shirt too)!

OH MY ACTUAL GOD. If anyone actually thinks that THAT is more flattering on my body than this below.. well let’s just say that they need to go and have their eyes checked.

Yeah, case closed. These pics just TOTALLY convinced me that I know how to dress my body. Now I just need those whiners to see this..

I did have a point in this rant though. People have their own ways to dress, and bodies (ESPECIALLY plus size bodies) are all different shapes. What works for some shapes might look totally horrible in some. That’s one of the reasons why brands like to use us bloggers as ‘models’, and post our pics on their sites, for customers to see how the item might look on them and their body type. So the point is, don’t assume you know the persons preferences and what parts of their body they are confident and not confident showing. What YOU dislike about your own body might be someone else’s favourite part of theirs. So if you want to say something offensive, think about this fact first and reconsider. It’s different giving constructive criticism than thinking that someone else might have same insecurities than you. Some of us fatties don’t mind our fat knees! Aaaaaaaand rant over.

Oh by the way, like you all can see, that skirt is not ACTUALLY short, it’s just short on me, since my ‘waist’ is so high. So don’t blame Simply Be for doing short skirts (like some people did on the comments).. it’s just short on a body shape like mine. Which I prefer anyway ;)