The small rant – Money vs Style

Since I moved back to Spain life is teaching me a vast amount of lessons. Lately I discovered Marbella. My sister got her first job as a nurse there and now lives at this town in the coast of Malaga. My dears, I have come across a completely different world. My beloved sibling lives in a town where people are not shy to ensure everyone knows they have cash… lots of.

Let me just clarify that the entire town is not like this. There are a lot of hard working people who barely make €1000 a month. There are also the ones that make a bit more but have a family to support.

I’m merely talking about the ones with obscene fortunes, ridiculously expensive cars and a overtly flashy lifestyle. The average specimen would be as follows: a man in their 40s-50s, with gelled back hair, tanned in excess and whose kids drive in sports cars given to them as hand-me-downs. Their wives wear Louboutins to go to the supermarket, paired with extremely tight blouses that parade their fake boobs to perfection. Their collagen lips shining as brightly as the Swarovski-filled collars on their chihuahuas.

You see, this kind of people are supposed to make me jealous and anyone could say that the lines that I write are the product of an insane envy. Of course I wished I had a pair of Louboutins and would love to own a sports car – in fact any car – instead of having to travel on crowded buses.

However, forgive me if this comes as a shock, but I do not wish to live with the constant need to prove others how much cash I have in my wallet, how much I spent on my body because I am so deeply unhappy with the way I look, or how much money I waste on my pooch, who doesn’t really care for jewels or expensive pet-food, and who just smells, craps and barks like any other dog.

And as much as I dream of Choos, Chanel and Dior, I get something these people will never, ever experience: the amazing buzz when finding fantastic looking shoes at a reasonable price. An expensive label doesn’t necessarily mean quality, so who’s been the fool now?

I also won’t spend my life uselessly fretting about my looks, because at the end of it all, no one wants to look like a rubber doll, at 80.

To end this post I’m just going to repeat the words of style icon Carine Roitfield “Fashion stopped being a matter of money a long time ago; it’s a matter of taste” (Source: Spiegel)

What do you think? Is the life of the rich and famous that good?

*UPDATE: Just because I really don’t aim to upset anyone with my writing, I wish to clarify something. This is not a judgement on anyone spending their money on what makes them happy. Marbella is a special case. Spain is deeply in debt, there are no jobs and the situation is about to explode. There are parts in the lovely town of Marbella where people with a lot of money have a very nasty attitude: the one that looks at you badly for daring to enter a designer shop, the one that looks you up and down when going in a trendy club, the one that yells at the girl in the supermarket till because she doesn’t speak a second or third language. There are a lot of illegal money and nasty affairs. What I write here is just a reflection on what I saw while I stayed there for some weeks, what came across when I talked to the people working and living there. 
I am not an envious person. I celebrate diversity. I may have had a tough year but I would never hate wealthier people for having more than me. I don’t believe in jealousy. I also wrote this with some sense of humour and I can only hope you will see that too.

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

What I Bought – Aviator Sunglasses

One of my pet peeves is shopping for sunglasses. What for a lot of people is a fun and painless experience, for me is sheer torture. It involves me cursing, walking out of stores in a huff, changing my hair style several times, finally giving up by day two and buying a pair that doesn’t completely suit me, but that will simply do the trick. I have one of those tricky faces… shades don’t like me even though I love them.

Imagine my happiness when I found not one, but two pairs of glasses that suited me in less than 48 hours. How did I do it? I stuck to a particular style that I knew would work, the Aviator. 

This classic is right now bang on trend and therefore very easy to find almost everywhere. Ray Ban does them all the time! I hear you say, but I sadly cannot own a pair. You see, I have the scary habit of throwing my stuff around with hardly any care. Spending more than €20 on sunglasses is a risk I’m not willing to make.

Now to my finds: the pair above is from Marks & Spencer (bought in Marbella, Spain) and below is my ugly mug modelling them for you

The Pros: the price, being M&S; low at only €11,95. The fact that they are entirely plastic, and for my clumsy persona, less delicate, which is good.

The cons: The plastic frame resulted painful to wear, and the glasses kept sliding down my nose. They were returned and I happily got my money back.

Then we have a pair from Topshop (also from Marbella), see above and below for pictures.

The pros: the frame is very pretty and the style is classic. Very wearable season after season.

The cons: the shade of the lenses is brown and I was aiming for black or something easier to wear. Additionally, the price, at €18 is a tad over my budget at the moment. I’m praying for some good luck on the quality side, they are Topshop after all.

The thing about sunglasses is that now almost every fashion brand sells them. We really need to watch out for quality and work out what we want our shades for before we part with the money. There’s really no point in going for cheap models if they offer no real UV protection or the quality of the lenses is so bad it gives you a headache. It’s all about trial and error, as with the style. Unless you are blessed with one of those face shapes that suit every type of sunglasses, once you find the brand/style that works for you, stick to it.

Now I need your help: What brands do you go for? As I only got one pair I appreciate any tips to make the next shopping trip less painful.

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

The Rant – Skinny no more

 

This in an open letter to The Daily Fail and similar publications. It is also aimed at anyone wishing to comment on other people’s weight.

Dear all of the above,

I’m a woman, half Brit, half Spanish. Brunette, dark eyes, fair skin. In terms of size, I would be classed as thin. Sometimes I’m bony. Sometimes I have a cute pot belly. Generally, I’m slim: 1.65m high, weigh approximately 53 kilos, depending on the time of the year. I wear a UK size 6-8 (US 2, EU 34-36). I also have huge feet, but that’s beside the point.

I’m thin and I didn’t choose it. That’s just how “the factory made me”. I don’t starve myself, in fact at times – who am I kidding, most of the time! – I eat like a pig. I actually feel jealous of my boyfriend’s servings (he’s quite taller than me and he is a runner, hence his bigger dinner plates) and want to eat his food too. I stay thin due to my body’s natural inclinations and the fact that I walk my dog twice every day and continue to walk almost everywhere as I don’t own a car.

The point of this ramble is that I am a tad bored of reading newspaper articles, tasteless gossip magazine headlines, or editorials by so-called fashion columnists, accusing certain girls of promoting an unhealthy lifestyle and using the term “skinny” left, right and centre. It’s not only the media: some family members use it, certain “friends” use it. And let me tell you one thing, just this once: it’s not nice.

The term “skinny” is offensive. It’s as simple as that. I can assure you that hardly anyone is happy to be labelled in such a manner. Just like bigger girls may dislike being described as fat, big-boned, “piling on the pounds” or whatever label they are given. Because talking about other people’s looks is impolite. It lacks class.

I have no intention to gain weight so certain ladies can be happy. I’m healthy, I feel good and I will not go up a dress size to please the crowd. I’m not a bad example, nor is any woman my size, a size bigger or a size smaller. We are not on this planet to serve as an example to others. There is no such thing as a “normal” sized female. We come in all dimensions and shapes, just like there are other skin colours.

I’m thin. She’s thin, oh and look, another thin woman just went by. Get over it, get on with your life, move on and quit the b*tching. The world is made of people of all sizes. That is basic general knowledge, but I guess some “journalists” were never taught that at school.

*UPDATE: I’d like to thank everyone that has commented on this post. I wrote this because I felt hurt every time I heard someone jokingly telling me to “eat more”, every time somebody looked at me with pity and said I was “weedy”. I know there are a lot of people that struggle to lose weight, others that want to gain it. Some are lucky and have bodies they adore completely, others have physiques they wish they could improve. I also know there are girls that would kill to have my dress size. I hope this post doesn’t make me come across as a moaning cow. I just wanted to say “stop”. Enough with the offensive labels. We all have feelings. It can hurt. Yes, we are all different and that is… simply great.

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

What I’m Wearing – Spring Beach Stroll

Currently listening to Please Don’t Leave Me by Pink

Top: Gap

Skirt: Zara

Leopard Wedges: H&M;

Bag: Vintage by Beyond Retro

Rings: Topshop, vintage from Portobello market

Bracelet: Kabyle ornamental bracelet

Sunglasses: Topshop

How was your weekend? I just got back from spilling a huge frappé on myself… and on my poor dog who was peacefully lying under the table, taking in the sun. Being clumsy is an art that I have mastered to perfection, don’t you know? This is what I wore before the catastrophe.

P.S: Dog has been cleaned but now refuses to lie under or next to wherever I’m sitting.

Finished this post listening to Is There Anybody Out There by Maroon 5.

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

The Rant – Summer peeves

Summer brings all sorts of body-related issues. The less layers of fabric to cover our flaws, the more insecure we feel. I love wearing opaque tights in winter, simply because I hate baring my legs during the warmer period. They are white – of quite the “dairy” nature –  not long and the cherry on top are my knobbly knees that I’ve learnt to, more or less, accept. Then it’s the “cute” pot-belly and its dimensions right now depend on how successful my post-Christmas diets were. Winter allows us to shape our selves with flattering coats, jackets, high-waisted trousers and so much more. I love covering up.

So… thinking about bikinis at this point becomes a cruel form of self-torture. In a year where having a back injury means I can’t really exercise, my body confidence is quite low and at this point I’m seriously dreading a stroll by the beach. I also had to make it harder for myself by moving to the coast – feel free to hate me. What are my options? Moving back to the north of Europe? … NOT happening!

 

Maybe find the perfect bathing suit? Daisy Lowe is continuing with her Peacocks collaboration and will be launching a collection of swimwear with a very 60s vibe. They are quite pretty, will probably hide all the ugly bits, but I do wonder about quality. I’m also eyeing this cute H&M; ensemble below, and with its high-waist it may be a good option.

 Retro bathing suits and bikinis work beautifully with:

• cute wedges and especially rope sandals, aka espadrilles. Very beachy but ensure it comes with a good sole, or you may end up having sand for breakfast.
• skirts – add a mini to the mix and you can go from the sand to the bar in a fabulous manner

So either I find a cute retro bathing suit that makes me feel comfortable and sexy, or I replicate fashion icon Sarah Jessica Parker’s possibly laziest look ever, and yet, unsuprisingly cool (Sex & The City season 2, ep 17) teaming a bikini top with the biggest beach shorts I can find… However, I do fear it may be one of those looks that only work for Miss Bradshaw.

Stills property of HBO

Are you worrying about your beach body too? Do you care much about how you look at the seaside? Or once the sun shines you are out and about in shorts and sandals like there’s no tomorrow?

Pictures: Peacocks, H&M;, HBO