Beauty and Brains's blog

Short and Tall What is Beautiful? By Beauty and Brains
Several people posted recently about the media and beauty and who decides what is shown on as beautiful. In the long run, you do. In the long run, the cover that sells the most to the consumer is the ‘look’ that will be considered hot for the next issue, next few months or even year as a trend. YOU decide if you want a blonde, brunette, or redhead on the cover of next month’s magazine based on how sales are for this weeks issues! Money talks in fashion just as it does in other industries. Your spending dollar counts. If everyone bought more of a plumper model look, a girl with braces, brown eyes, or an ethnic look, you can bet the sales would be noticed in the ad depts and the cover shots in the future. Things are starting to go that direction. And that is great. 

<>It is too easy to gripe about media pushing a look on the public. But who do you blame when YOU buy the same old-same old blonde look on the cover versus the magazines like TINT, BBW, OPRAH or ESSENCE? Do you even look into the stories of beautiful famous tall women or plus sized beauties like Caroline Welz, Judy Gold, Gabrielle Reece, Megumi Kawamura, Iman, or Margo Dydek? How about a few famous short women? Runway models are often taller for visibility from a distance and flow of clothing fabric to ground ratios. Supermodel Kate Moss’s 5 foot five inch height did not interfere with her career one bit on the runway. She has other problems now but her height was not one of them!!  Rebecca Gayheart is supposedly only 5 foot 6 in person. But shorter models are awesome in print, tv,  and commercials. J-Lo, Demi Moore and Britney Spears are all around 5 foot 5.  The Olson twins are 5 foot 3 inches! You can make it big if you have CONFIDENCE and STYLE! 

There are even modeling agencies just for taller models such as  Read More »

First of all, I shouldn't even have to rant on you about this but drugs, drinking, sex and the prom? --These do NOT NOT NOT go together. I really don't like it when people wreck the night with this stuff. Our prom was this last weekend and my date and I had the most fantastic time. No drugs, No Sex (only a little snogging as HP would say), and no drinking. He was so handsome in his tux. I know I looked stunner in my gown. We had dinner out with 4 other friends and an after prom party at my house with 6 other friends. It was all so FANTASTIC. Don't ruin your prom with a messed up mind and make nasty mistakes you will regret later. Not smart. Your future is not worth messing around with such serious stuff on an impared mind.  Read More »

Summer Style: What are you wearing? : by Beauty and Brains

<>Spring is here. Summer is coming fast. And I have seen some nasty fashion mistakes out there. Come on everybody. Look great but be sensible. I seriously think that no matter what size body shape you have right now, you can look fantastic today. I don't care if you are a 110 pound person or a 220 pound person. Your clothes can look GREAT on you. Know what to avoid and what makes clothing FIT YOU. Curves are not bad and even thin can be in if you are healthy. (Make sure we are eating good foods all summer too). Aside from that, what makes clothing fit you? Are your daisy dukes in danger? How do you know if your muffin top has overflowed the pan?

Here are some tips for all of us to follow regardless of our body size.

If you have to tug it, it's too small . Good fit makes you look better. Putting on pants, tops and jackets should never be a struggle. If you are fighting it, go a size up. You will look better in the long run. Tight does NOT mean you look thin. All clothing should allow your body to breathe, blood to circulate and as a general rule be one inch leeway over the surface of your skin. You should be able to put two fingers between the fabric and the skin and not be overly tight. When you walk, sit or stoop in a garment it should fall back to the original placement on your body on its own. No tugging down or hoisting up should be needed. Those are signs of bad fit.

4 inch gap, Take it back. On the other end of the spectrum, garments that are too big look ridiculous too. Petite people and large people often make the same mistake here. Comfort is great but bad fit is silly. When you move around in your clothes, there should not be more than 2 inches on either side of a shirt or pants that swings free. Grab your extra side fabric on that T and see how much is gathered there. Four inches of extra fabric can make you look up to 8 sizes larger. Don't go there. Be who you are. Large or small, get a size that is made for your body proportions. Pants are the same way. Sure baggy is in for guys but safety pinning the super sized pants to your boxers so they don't fall down is just dumb. You'll get so many more compliments if your clothing fits right and you will STILL be comfy.

Put that away! Duke can see your daisies! Bootie shorts that crawl up your bootie, tight ass pants, bikinis worn off the beach, all say "HO, look at me, I am flaunting it." Appropriate clothing size is crucial if you care about giving the right impression. Showing too much skin this summer is the fastest way to say to others "I take myself lightly. I am a bozo. I have no sense of what is appropriate." For bottoms, no curve on the butt should be actual exposed skin below those daisy dukes and booty shorts. In fact, leave the true booty shorts home for the pajama party. Now looking good is cool and so is being a little sexy. But there are limits to good taste in public. Feeling confident of your curves is a good thing. Shoving your curves into the unsuspecting view of others is not a good thing.  Muffin tops are fine but don't CINCH them with a belt. The space between your natural waist and your natural hip can flow like an S but don't cinch it unknowingly into a figure 8 by having the low rider waistband and belt too tight. On your bottoms, always opt for a little more concealed than revealed! Keep a little mystery, gurl!

The Top Line: Too small a camisole, too tight a halter,  too thin a cotton with no undergarment in sight are all faux paux. (That spells BAD news in French)  If no one has told you yet, here are the specs. Go for less than 2 inches of cleavage. Chests over 36 inches need to be very careful of halters and tube tops because they need support built in. Don't let flimsy summer tops slip!! Strings should not pull so tight that they indent your skin on halters, Make sure the tube stays a TOP not a waistband. If you have to hoist it up all the time, it is too loose.  Bathing suit tops are for tanning and  for swimming. They are not casual wear for shopping.  Toss a tank over it.

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Why Blog?

I blog for several differing reasons. I blog because I like to talk and I like to learn.  I  also like to just plain share what I know. Some days I start out all fired up to share a message with others so I write for them. Those are days when my journalist side comes out. In the process I might express ideas I didn't know I wanted to clarify until they were  up on the screen. Writing about a topic often makes me examine WHY I like or don't like something. Explaining something to others makes you put evidence on the table and think logicaly about whether your views make any sense. Sharing what I know helps others get where they are going faster too. If I know something that will help you, I love to blog about it.  Read More »

Beauty and Brains: Be Yourself!

What kinds of hobbies and interests do YOU have? Feel free to explore a wider spectrum of what the world has to offer. Don’t peg yourself into one hole or another. Be a unique combination of all your interests, heritage, and studies. 

I admit it. I am a fashionista wannabe. I love great clothes. I enjoy style. I just plain love fashion. And don’t even get me started on shoes! But my interests don’t stop there. I am also a 3.9 student, a community activist and volunteer. We can be proud of having a brain and using it! I am neither stereotype of an egghead or a diva. I am a blend of so many interests and influences. When I was little my mother often said, “Pretty is as Pretty does.” What it means  is that the outside can be great looking but there is always more to a person than that and we should work to make our hearts, souls and minds the best they can be.    Read More »