Archive for November, 2008

Nov 29 2008

Feminism: the Harm part 2

Published by Christa Taylor under Femininity

-continued from part 1

- Your body is your own! Women are sexually liberated and should be just as aggressive as the men, be a predator if you feel like it! Whose body is it ladies? Is that your body? Who made that body? We were bought with a price, we are houses for God’s Spirit who dwells within us. (Rom 12:1,2) This whole sexually liberate thing flies right in the face of biblical truth.

-The Workplace is more important than the home

What does the Bible value more- market or home? Home. In our culture, what is valued more? Market or home? Market and it’s leading to a complete social collapse because of it. That’s why you have enormous divorce rates and 40% of children will go to bed in a home where their father does not live.

-The Government should take away all burden of motherhood and raise our babies

Reinvent the workplace to accommodate women. So we have Government run day care, preschool, after school care, maternity leave. 50 years ago the majority of young women under 25 wanted to grow up to be a housewife. It was (and is) a high and noble calling. Today we’re told retain your independence, don’t get married, a husband will cramp your style. Or “That’s too bad you got married, now you can’t take that promotion”.

-Women’s groups, such as NOW (National Organization for Women) have the right to speak for all women. Who gave them the right to speak for all women? Did we vote them in? Now they are writing legislature, writing the sociology curricula and are on CNN. But who speaks for mom? Who presents her case? No one, she doesn’t get to be on CNN, she’s just mom. Mom is busy doing other things- so NOWattacks mom while claiming to be speaking for all women! (e.g. Equal Rights Act is a superb example)

__________

I know some of this is very forthright, but if you disagree, I would ask: is it because you are reading your Bible a lot or is it because you’re not reading your Bible a lot?

-always a work in progress…

24 responses so far

Nov 27 2008

13 ways to wear Your white shirt

Published by Christa Taylor under Personal Style

whiteblouse.jpg

Everyone has a white blouse right? Check. So how can we wear this classic with some charming creativity?

Do: 

1.Wear a chic black vest on top or perhaps a preppy school girl pullover vest. (if you’re particularly daring add a tie)

2. Wear it under or over a sleevelesss dress

3. go ahead, wear it under a short-sleeve sweater and maybe add a draped  scarf.

4. Wear it collar up!

5. Wear it belted,  brown leather looks particularly classy against the white.

6. Pair it with a shiny or statement skirt. The contrast compliments each other bringing one down and the other up.

7. Tuck it into your favorite beige, black or navy skirt. And don’t let your denim feel excluded.

8. Wear it with a bright skirt on bottom (yellow skirt etc)

9. wear a short sleeve version under a strapless dress. It can be quite adorable.

10. wear it with your favorite broach or multiple strand necklace.

11. wear it with a white skirt, add a colorful sash and you’re ready for Spring!

12. Wear a colorful tank top underneath, leave a few unbuttoned at the top and knot the ends together. (Just make sure the knot isn’t right underneath your bust)

13. Wear it all white with other items of varied texture.

 

Don’t: 

belt your shirt unless it’s long enough. It should hit below your hips before it’s cinched so it sits properly.

wear a baggy version of this classic piece. a Feminine, fitted cut is a must.

wear a white bra with a white shirt. Wear nude or tan, it dissapears.

13 responses so far

Nov 25 2008

Feminism: The Harm

Published by Christa Taylor under Femininity

Everything I write will be highly controversial. If you are at all feministic you will most likely find this very offensive. But bear with me, give me some of your time and let’s walk through this together. I do not stand alone as I write. In fact, none of this is original. I just gleaned from many older, wiser women and I share their insights here.

She finds things strangely silent—no happy noises of teenagers and their friends, no footfall of a faithful husband in the kitchen, no gurgling of grandchildren eager to be cuddled. She will come “home” to a cold, lonely apartment whose silence is broken only by the occasional visits of men who size her up as one with a liberated view of sex, societal restraints, and the institution of marriage, and therefore an easy mark for sexual favors for which they neither have to pay nor assume responsibility…it is unlikely that so many ever gave up so much for so little. –Phyllis Schafly

This doesn’t sound very empowering to me.

We have the Pill; we can go experiment and be as wild as the men are, and that’s our right…you try that and it doesn’t take very long before you feel very empty. You start thinking, ‘They’re telling me I should have a great time but I feel hollow’ You feel like you’ve been invaded.”-Isabel, graduated from high-school in the 70s

This doesn’t sound very liberating to me.

For most young women, the greatest—and most subtle—impact of feminist ideology shows up in postponed fertility. Some have chosen childlessness…but many more women have inadvertently missed the opportunity to bear children by trying to imitate the life cycles of men.” –Carolyn McCulley

This doesn’t sound very fulfilling to me.

As I research, study and analyze society today I am disturbed by the multiple and nefarious results of radical Feminism. Every woman alive today has been profoundly affected by Feminism. All of us to some extent have become Feminists. It’s pervasive doctrines have thoroughly entrenched themselves into our psyche.
We’ve been hit by a Tsunami and like survivors among the flotsam we cling to the remnants of Biblical Womanhood. A lot of women today do not even realize they are believing things that aren’t true and are not in their Bible.
Our society says:

-Men and Women must be exactly alike to be equal
What that means is, the men are not trying to be women- the women are trying to be men! Ladies we have nothing to prove. The Bible says that Men and Women reflect the Trinity and different aspects of God’s Character. We are created equal, but different. Eve was created from Adam’s side- not front or behind, but his side- his equal. Our culture just can’t understand this. Women do not need to be as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as a man to be equal to him. Neither does a Man have to bear children to be equal to a woman. Equal but different.

-There is no gender differences, it’s only cultural conditioning
Who made the culture? Men and women. Then don’t blame the culture- blame creation! If there is no gender differences there is normative sexuality. This soon leads to homosexuality (if there is no gender-why can’t a Man love a man or a woman a woman?) Polygamy is the next step.
Men and women are different, hormonally, biologically, spiritually, mentally (even our brains operate differently). Not good and bad- different.

-Women should be tougher, men softer

“Men should get in touch with their feminine side” Men don’t have a feminine side! They’re men! Dogs don’t have a cat side!
-Women are an oppressed minority group-

There are more women than men in America. More women are registered to vote than men. According to statistics, women live longer than men. So there’s more of us, we decide more of the laws and we have a better quality of life. Yep, we’re oppressed.

Part 2 coming Thursday-

______________________________________

Sources: The Power of the Christian Woman, Phyllis Schlafly Radical Womanhood, Caryolyn McCulley, Girls Gone Mild, Wendy Shalit

27 responses so far

Nov 25 2008

Colored tights anyone?

coloredtights.jpg

(please excuse the short skirts…these pics were the best I could find)

We still have a good 3 months of winter ahead of us. But that hardly means we have to settle in the dull-drums of fashion consciousness. We love wearing skirts right?

Spice up your legwear with some fun colored tights. Here’s a few helpful hints on how to find the perfect match.

1. Beige and Navy.

You can’t go wrong with this. Professional and sophisticated but still a flavor of girlish charm.

2. Black and Fuchsia

paired with black this scintilating fuschia becomes posh and feminine.

3. Navy and Olive

This mild, earthy flavor is perfect for all you girls who love the country style. Can’t you see yourself wearing this combo while reading a book before the fire?

4. Brown and rust

So utterly fallish. Reminds me of oak staircases and old-fashion libraries.

13 responses so far

Nov 20 2008

The Pompadour returns

Published by Christa Taylor under Hair

pompadour.jpg

You need a new fashion conscious hair style? This takes only a few minutes and looks modern and feminine.

How to: 

Instead of the old-fashioned method of setting your hair in hot-rollers and back-combing for height (also known as teasing or ratting) go for this simple approach.

Spray your hair lightly with your favorite hair spray. Slick back the sides securing in a low chignon or pontail whatever the situation dictates. Use your fingers to loosen strands at the corwn and fluff them up into a wispy bump. I also used a comb handle to slide under and pull up.

Try it a few times and you’ll have this classic down pat.

17 responses so far

Nov 18 2008

Seven Days in Sweats, Or, Why Clothes Matter


Writer and guest blogger Margaret Everton conducts a week-long experiment on why we really are what we wear.

I will never forget my middle school tennis partner who, before one morning bell, professed, “The clothes don’t make the person; the person makes the clothes.” The aloofness was cool, the adage wise. But she didn’t believe herself. I knew how many outfits she had tried on that morning.

I didn’t believe her either, and scoffed for years at such trivialization of the role that attire plays—yet I wonder. Am I putting too much emphasis on the impact that clothes can have? As long as I look clean and covered, how can clothes determine how I navigate through this world? As a freelance writer, I can wear whatever I want. So I will. I will document one week of my life wearing only my black track suit to determine if what I wear matters.

DAY 1
Track suits are underrated. Slimming, collar up: I’m Jackie Kennedy ready for tennis. Refreshing to put no effort into myself. This could become my uniform. I feel fine. I think I’ll get tea.

DAY 2
Husband: Do you have a cold? [Glancing at my outfit]
Me: No. This might be my new uniform. Might be the new me. It’s function-meets-comfort.
Husband: Meets pajamas.

DAY 3
Slouch clothes. Fun for the ol’ college slouch day. Not so fun when I’m trying to feel professional and serious on a phone interview I’m conducting.

DAY 4
What are the odds that this week I run into a girl from high school? Former rival dancer now guest lecturer at the local university. And I had wanted to appear so on top of the world if ever we reunited. Did I detect smugness in her smile? Seriously, what are the odds?

DAY 5
I’ve been in this clothing store for ten minutes and no employee has approached me. I’m invisible, unkempt. A woman with poise (and a killer pink scarf) just entered—she owns the room. Like moths to a flame, the three employees approach her. I slink away between two racks of sweaters and leave the store.

DAY 6
Groceries. Tea and—nooooooo. The wife of my husband’s colleague. She can’t see me like this: sloppy, not on top of my game enough to match her lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-mom intelligence and verbal wit. Jeans, boots, cream sweater—her simplicity approaches brilliance. Turn away. I can hang at the back of the store until she leaves. Drop the tea and walk slowly away. No, drop the tea and run.

DAY 7
The end of the day and the experiment is finally over. Jeans, blouse, vintage satin clutch for dinner with my husband. Wow, he says, you look amazing. Confidently I enter the restaurant. A woman taken seriously. I admit that I expected to determine that clothes do matter, but I didn’t anticipate to discover why. Conscious dressing can get bad press as materialism exemplified, but clothes that reflect our identity boost our confidence. Whether we’re most at home in a wool gabardine suit and heels or yoga pants and a tank, we should represent our most authentic self. To any onlooker, I’m just a girl in a shirt, but I sip my Pellegrino and feel like a supermodel. Nobody in the room cares about what I have on; it wouldn’t alter their evening if I still had on my track suit. But it matters. It matters to me.


Clothes Matter, Simplified:

*Well-fitting tailored jeans cover a multitude of sartorial sins.
*Sunglasses and a scarf or hat transform Bad Hair No Makeup Girl into Jackie Kennedy look-alike.
*Voguish purses or shoes exhibit attention to detail and respect for self.
*Vintage costume jewelry creates a uniqueness to an average ensemble.
*A wrap can be a signature piece that serves as a shawl or scarf (and ups the ante) for several
outfits.
*Yes, track suits give grace to those quick errands, that early brunch, or those “off days.”
Just do yourself a favor and don’t wear it seven days in a row.

Check out two scientific studies on how clothes matter:
ABC NEWS
Psychology Today

16 responses so far

Nov 18 2008

Seven Days in Sweats, Or, Why clothes Matter

Published by Christa Taylor under Personal Style

whyclothesmatter.jpg
Writer and guest blogger Margaret Everton conducts a week-long experiment on why we really are what we wear.

I will never forget my middle school tennis partner who, before one morning bell, professed, “The clothes don’t make the person; the person makes the clothes.” The aloofness was cool, the adage wise. But she didn’t believe herself. I knew how many outfits she had tried on that morning.

I didn’t believe her either, and scoffed for years at such trivialization of the role that attire plays—yet I wonder. Am I putting too much emphasis on the impact that clothes can have? As long as I look clean and covered, how can clothes determine how I navigate through this world? As a freelance writer, I can wear whatever I want. So I will. I will document one week of my life wearing only my black track suit to determine if what I wear matters.

DAY 1
Track suits are underrated. Slimming, collar up: I’m Jackie Kennedy ready for tennis. Refreshing to put no effort into myself. This could become my uniform. I feel fine. I think I’ll get tea.

DAY 2
Husband: Do you have a cold? [Glancing at my outfit]
Me: No. This might be my new uniform. Might be the new me. It’s function-meets-comfort.
Husband: Meets pajamas.

DAY 3
Slouch clothes. Fun for the ol’ college slouch day. Not so fun when I’m trying to feel professional and serious on a phone interview I’m conducting.

DAY 4
What are the odds that this week I run into a girl from high school? Former rival dancer now guest lecturer at the local university. And I had wanted to appear so on top of the world if ever we reunited. Did I detect smugness in her smile? Seriously, what are the odds?

DAY 5
I’ve been in this clothing store for ten minutes and no employee has approached me. I’m invisible, unkempt. A woman with poise (and a killer pink scarf) just entered—she owns the room. Like moths to a flame, the three employees approach her. I slink away between two racks of sweaters and leave the store.

DAY 6
Groceries. Tea and—nooooooo. The wife of my husband’s colleague. She can’t see me like this: sloppy, not on top of my game enough to match her lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-mom intelligence and verbal wit. Jeans, boots, cream sweater—her simplicity approaches brilliance. Turn away. I can hang at the back of the store until she leaves. Drop the tea and walk slowly away. No, drop the tea and run.

DAY 7
The end of the day and the experiment is finally over. Jeans, blouse, vintage satin clutch for dinner with my husband. Wow, he says, you look amazing. Confidently I enter the restaurant. A woman taken seriously. I admit that I expected to determine that clothes do matter, but I didn’t anticipate to discover why. Conscious dressing can get bad press as materialism exemplified, but clothes that reflect our identity boost our confidence. Whether we’re most at home in a wool gabardine suit and heels or yoga pants and a tank, we should represent our most authentic self. To any onlooker, I’m just a girl in a shirt, but I sip my Pellegrino and feel like a supermodel. Nobody in the room cares about what I have on; it wouldn’t alter their evening if I still had on my track suit. But it matters. It matters to me.

Clothes Matter, Simplified:
*Well-fitting tailored jeans cover a multitude of sartorial sins.
*Sunglasses and a scarf or hat transform Bad Hair No Makeup Girl into Jackie Kennedy     look-alike.
*Voguish purses or shoes exhibit attention to detail and respect for self.
*Vintage costume jewelry creates a uniqueness to an average ensemble.
*A wrap can be a signature piece that serves as a shawl or scarf (and ups the ante) for several
outfits.
*Yes, track suits give grace to those quick errands, that early brunch, or those “off days.”
Just do yourself a favor and don’t wear it seven days in a row.


Check out two scientific studies on how clothes matter:

ABC NEWS
Psychology Today

17 responses so far

Nov 13 2008

SAVE THE MALES!

Published by Christa Taylor under Femininity


This is just a pithy introduction. Start thinking along these lines-

What do these have in common?

-According to the Center for Disease control 1 in 4 teenage girls has a STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease)
-“pole-dancing aerobics” or “stripper aerobics” are now available at all the major health and fitness clubs.
-The demise of the dinner table. Few households eat dinner as a family anymore
-Babysitting, Daycare, Nannies, in home potty-trainers and sleep-nurses.
-Girls Gone Wild.
-Gillette’s latest razor, “The Goddess”
-When Helen Reddy accepted her Grammy award for her song “I AM WOMAN” she concluded her speech by thanking God “because SHE makes everything possible”.

These are all direct or indirect results of radical feminism. If you are like me you probably know precious little about feminism and it’s impacts. But the truth is, every woman alive today is profoundly affected by Feminism and its ramifications. This issue is crucial because,

It is the women who have an understanding of the past who can discern a path for the future.

Ladies, get ready for a thorough, albeit concise, introduction to Feminism and what to do about it.

12 responses so far

Nov 13 2008

The Brooch, the bangle and the Button

Published by Christa Taylor under Personal Style

bbb.jpg

Clothes make the man, but Accessories make the woman. We are highlighting three timeless favorites that are appearing all over the runways.

The Brooch: 

pinned elegantly onto jacket lapels or blouses, hats, scarves, purses, necklaces or even your hair, these transmit arty, retro chic.

Find them at Vintage shops or in your Gramma’s jewelry box.

The Bangle: 

By bangle we mean anything that is hanging from a chain around your neck- watch charms in particular.

It all started with some smart chic who took an ordinary object (a small watch) of its chain and slipped it around her neck. Voila! A major trend.

You can find an ordinary watch face at an antique store guaranteed, slip it onto a chain and your set!

The Button: 

Have you ever changed the buttons on your coat for more interesting ones? now is the time to try. Replace the buttons on your coats and cardigans with beautiful treausre you find at antique stores or trimming shops. I recently procurred a three button combo and used them as hair embellishments in an updo. (no one ever guess they were buttons!)

String them on a chain for an unually charming necklace.

No responses yet

Nov 12 2008

Do you have the right glasses?

Published by Christa Taylor under Personal Style

glasses.jpg
When I think of wearing glasses, I picture one of two people. Lois Lane or Sarah Palin. Glasses instantly give you a chic, intellectual vibe. Who wouldn’t want that?

Picking the right glasses can be as simple as 1, 2…3

Remeber these principles:

  • The frame shape should contrast with the face shape. Think “opposites attract”.
  • The frame size should be in proportion with the face size.
  • Eyewear should repeat your personal best feature (such as a blue frame to match blue eyes).

1. Determine your face shape.

No one fits into one category exactly, but everyone tends to follow one.

Round- Face is as long as it is wide

Oblong- Face is  long and narrow

Square- strong jaw, wide forehead

Heart- wide forehead, narrow defined chin

Oval-  harmonious balance

2. Contrast your face shape with your frames. 

Round/Oblong- you want to break up the roundness by adding some angles. Rectangular lenses or square.

Heart-rimless lenses do wonder to balance the width of your face with your petite chin. Thin rims are also suitable. Look for vertical lines to lengthen the bottom of your face.

Square- choose a pair with some curve to them. A semi-rimless pair is your best option.

Oval- You are balanced so choose a pair that highlights your personality. If you aren’t perfectly oval (who is?) figure out where you tend to lean (am I more round or square?) and use that as a guide.

3. Match your Coloring and Proportion

You want a pair of glasses to meld with your color toning. If you have very blond hair, do not choose a very black pair (unless you are intentionally going for high contrast).  Keep your glasses in proportion to your face, your eyes should be centered in the lense and the ear pieces should sit straight (not tilting up or down).

________________

I visited this site and found their pictures helfpul:  Here

5 responses so far

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