{fashion focus} Something for the imagination

For once in my life, I got an e-mail regarding my last article. Woo hoo! So I thank you, Nate Watts, for your thoughts.


Though Mr. Watts did send me some love in the inbox, I got many a reader who talked to me personally about the sentiment of saggy baggy pants on women. And since I love each and every one of you who reads my column every other week, I will write shortly about the issue of showing underwear among femme fatales.

Let me first say: Let's not let that happen, Ladies. I mean, come on! Do any of us really think it's attractive to show off what doesn't need to be seen?! Wear a belt. One that fits. My seeing your choice of underwear is totally unacceptable, including classlesss. Yep, I said it. Sure, it happens to me and I get totally embarrassed. I mean, I should buy some extra belts, too, ya'll.

I will say one thing as a woman (I have this urge to stand on my soapbox so here we go): We as ladies cannot give men reasons to disrespect us - whether in action or in dress. It's easy for them to see us as property or easy targets for hormonal pleasure, but we are so much more than that. We are daughters of a King who wants us to love ourselves, our bodies, and who we are as much as He loves us.

I am saying this much, Beauties: tight clothes and low-rise jeans do not need to define who you are - be you and love it. Any man who wants you because you dress or act a certain way is worth as much as my faux Tiffany bracelet (and that was free, OK?). Here it is - fashion is something that I like to pride myself on; we all do. But as my mom says, "It doesn't matter what size it is, it matters if it looks good on you."

I'll admit that I'm not the skinniest lady in the world, nor am I built the best, but I know who I am and I love it. The man of my magazine dreams may walk on by and not glance at me once and it's OK. I don't have to impress anyone with how I dress, what perfume I buy, or how many times a month I get my toes done (though twice a month is highly recommended). Because that man who I've always dreamed about, he won't take me for granted, he will respect me, he will cherish me, and he will treat me like a princess. And, most likely, I'll fall in love with him without even knowing it.

Ladies, and you guys as well, when it happens, it happens. Know who you are because you love to sing or dance or write. Fall in love with his stare or with her smile. Cover up and respect your bodies because they're temples. After all, we want to leave something for the imagination - and let's be honest here, underwear hardly ever matches.

And that, my friends, is just tacky.

{originally written for Pepperdine's Graphic newspaper}

{fashion focus} I see France now pull up your pants

This week I decided on boys. I want to write on boys. Well, not on them per se, but about them — I wanted to write on the subject of boys. I feel as though I leave you all out every other week and I thought I should mix it up a little bit.

We go to a school where the boys are notoriously known for dressing better than the ladies at times … I daresay much of the time. But our ladies are vixens of fashion so this can only mean that we have one heck of a beautifully dressed school. But what happens when bad clothes happen to truly good people? I can tell you one thing that happens … saggy non-baggy pants.

It’s been the style for more than five years now, am I wrong? This whole sag your pants and wear them baggy below your bottom and down to your knees thing? Really, am I right or am I right? I thought they went out with the formerly ever-present skort but much to my amazement, the fad has outlasted Jennifer Love Hewitt’s career.

I myself am all about it … I admit that I am indeed a huge Eminem fan and love the look, but what about when you boys forget the baggy part of the equation. Lately I’ve noticed that boys like to wear tight jeans (which I enjoy heaps more than baggy pants) sagging around their thighs. Is that right? I mean, honestly, is that okay? What is the sense of having jeans that are wrapped around your thighs with a belt holding them “up?” Is it comfortable? Is it in? I need to know because I find it disconcerting and totally unattractive when I look at a fabulously dressed male and suddenly I’m staring at a mix of Ralph Lauren plaid boxers, a studded belt and tight jeans hanging around skinny legs. Pull them up!

Let me tell you what I’m really hot and bothered about. The pants are usually too short. That’s right, they are just too short and the mix of the non-butt, cropped pant just boils my water. It’s just too much all at once. I am not one to complain and leave you with no resolution, however. Indeed I’m not. So, what can we do to remedy the situation?

Well, if you’re wearing these pants without the accompanying hat, shirt, shoes, and look that really make the jeans say “bah-dow!” then you just need to revert back to normal pants coupled with a Pepperdine t-shirt. If, on the other hand, you want this punk rocker look, we can help with the saggy non-baggy problem. Jeans that fall just above the hips (us ladies call them hip-huggers) with an un-assisting belt wrapped around them would make the look complete. You’d have a bit of a sag without the unsightly appearance of underwear.

So pull up your pants, throw on a trucker’s hat from the Goodwill, a used shirt from the Salvation Army (or Urban Outfitters … any will do), some Converse All-Stars, and you are set for a night on the town. After all, we are a beautifully dressed campus; we need to make sure we dress accordingly.

{originally written for Pepperdine's Graphic newspaper}