an introduction, of sorts.

I'm not really sure how to begin this because I'm not really sure what this is or what it will be. It's a terrible habit of mine to begin blogs, with every intention of blogging daily and brilliantly, but the poor little things tend to become forgotten and ultimately abandoned in the chaos of my life--which isn't even very chaotic, I'm just very fickle. It's the Gemini in me, I swear.

There's also the squirming consciousness resting in the back of my mind that any blog I have may in fact morph into a journal or a diary of some sorts--fine in theory, but possibly contributing to my all-too strong tendency for narcissism and too much self-examination. But this thought is countered by the simple fact that I miss writing and that I would actually like to have a blog that I update fairly regularly, if only to prove to myself that I can stick to something. Being a flake is one of my many flaws, but it is perhaps one I can correct, with diligence and determination.

And so--the Fashionable Feminist. Or, two aspects of my identity that I love dearly and which some (an ignorant few, I'd like to point out) find to be mutually exclusive, but I disagree. There are certainly many feminist critiques of fashion and of the fashion industry--critiques which I subscribe to and which force me to constantly, consistently reexamine my own thoughts and love for fashion. I am aware of the flaws of fashion--and some might also note, the flaws of feminism--but I am also passionate about both fashion and feminism. They are crucial to who I am and I make no apologies for either.

I'm interested in revolution. I'm interested in change. I'm interested in constructing and deconstructing reality. Fashion and feminism, in their own very different ways, embody all of the above for me.

I'm not going to pretend that I am substantive all the time; mostly, I think I am terribly shallow and my blog will most likely be a reflection of this. While I am pretty superficial, I'd also like to note that I'm not a Cosmo culture feminist--I understand perfectly well that social change and liberation do not come from the exercising of materialistic consumer habits or the aping of men's sexual ideal of women as a woman's ideal of a woman. At the same time, I am well aware of my passivity within the feminist movement itself--all too aware of the fact that I am not actively an agent for change--that I perhaps talk the talk but do not walk the walk.

I am twenty. I have a tendency to over exaggerate and take myself too seriously. But that's the beauty of youth, isn't it? Selfish, self-centered, self-aggrandizing we may be, but there is that untenable element of ability that hovers around all of us. We really think we can do anything, we really think that we, as individuals matter in the grand scale of things. It's because we haven't yet seen this theory to be wrong. We are all on the brink of something glorious, or so we instinctively think. The things we want await us, if only we are brave and courageous enough to reach for them. And we are right, I think. We are the inheritors of the earth. The problem with us--with me--is that it is always too much about the self. But I would like to hope that my focus on the self is not solely because I am arrogant and egotistic--though I am--but because I seek myself. It's a hope anyway and we all know hope is the thing with feathers--

That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all...

{Emily Dickinson}.

Welcome to the Fashionable Feminist.