You Know You Want It

As you may (or may not) know, I work for Voxpop as a fashion consultant. My fashion games go up weekly, and awesome prizes are attached to each game. The object is to pick your favorites, and winning is decided by popular vote. If your opinion matches the majority you have a chance to win the top bag/dress/shoe (whatever object is the focus of the game). My latest Spring Handbag game is up on the website now. Click the image below to play. Don't forget to also play my Spring Dress game (called "Spring Fling," 7 games down on the main page). New games go up weekly. Games to look forward to: White Spring/Summer Handbags, Designer Sunglasses, Eco-Friendly Fashion. You really do have a good shot at winning. I actually know 2 people that have won so far. Happy gaming!

Great Blogs Abound

It seems like in the past year (yeah, HFG is over a year old!), thousands of great fashion blogs have sprung up. Here are a few of my new favorites (also see favorites in the left-hand toolbar):

Haute Hipster
Bits and Bobbins
The Coveted
Posie Gets Cozy
Ugly Smile
The Moldy Doily
What I Wore
Orchid Killer
Owley Patrol
Sweet and Vicious
The Coherent
Thrift Eye
Hipster Musings
Daddy Likey
Woman Wardrobe Needs
Power Rangers Go
Chic in the City
Pearls and Purses
Please Don't Feed the Models
Fashion Orgasm
3 Penny Princess
Whores of Fashion
Indie Obsession
International Style and Fashion
50 Dollar Suit
Kingdom of Style
Dilemma Knows Fashion
The Cultural Blind Spot
Awesome in a Useless Way
An Alien in New York
Fifi Lapin
Frapp Induced Fashion
The Glossy
Girl + Style

And here are some great reads that I always enjoy:

Fashion Gussy
Glamour Bee
Stylephox
Allie is Wired
Aesthetics Plus Economics
All About Style
E-Style Patrol
Eye 4 Style
Fashion Minute
For Sure Couture
Haute Talk
Steal Style
All About the Pretty
Style Minded
The Style Council
NY Post Fashion Blog
Glamour Fashion Blog
Phasionable
Second City Style
Arm Candy Girl
A Girl Must Shop
Poor and Stylish
Cathi or Coco
Teen Fashion Plate
Bombazine
Bobble Bee
Cory Kennedy
Smells like Lon Pardonis
Notes and Totes
Mere Fashion
Poetic and Chic
Psychedelic Mess
Complicated
Fashion and Sarah
A Day in the Life
Cool Like Chloe
Discotheque Confusion
Crumbled Maps
I Heart It
Tights and Sights
Viva Las Divas

All of these fab bloggers are going on the blogroll! Welcome to the HFG network.

A Paradigm Shift

We've all heard the saying, "Waste not want not," right? Well, the truth is our world is transforming itself due to globalization (read: Americanization), and with that change we've seen increased consumerism. We are both wasting and wanting more and more.

Marx and Engels were famous critics of consumerism. They put forward the idea that humans get into a cycle of spending to be happy, not being fulfilled by this consumption, needing more to be fulfilled, and thus working harder to earn more money for which to spend. This is an exhausting spending pattern many of us find ourselves in.

It may sound a bit backwards that a fashion blog would preach limiting personal consumption, but I'm not your typical fashion blog. When I got such a large response to my blog on Altruistic Fashion (see next blog) it got me thinking: What else could fashion do for the world? I've been trying to find my niche with both my love for fashion and my love for social justice. Luckily, I will be able to channel the two into a job peer mentoring young people on image, style, hygiene and self-esteem through a local school psychologist. But, I want to do more. I have implemented a personal program of decreased consumerism. You might be thinking that you want to evaluate your patterns of consumerism (I know I have). Here are some things to help you in your consideration:

First: Watch this video. I'm serious, watch it now. It's only 5 minutes long, but it's incredibly thought-provoking (Hat tip to Chic Inspector for finding it):



How do you feel after watching that? If you're like me, you might feel moved to action. What seems to be happening is that fashion has transformed into the disposable. The availability of trendy designs for low prices has us spending without even a second thought. As soon as the season's trends are over we can toss those clothing with little to no conscience. If you follow the advice I gave in my blog on Altruistic Fashion you might have some new ideas about how to donate your clothes wisely in an effort to give back, or even have gotten some ideas on how to spend your money so as to maximize social conscious behavior and the desire for a good wardrobe.

What I am proposing is a paradigm shift. There seems to be a universally accepted paradigm of consumerism. It is rare that this pervasive thought process (most likely brought on by globalization) is questioned by anyone but the fringe. It is time that mainstream society opens its eyes to the effects of increased consumerism. Not only are we not fulfilled by our constant spending, but we are also falling into unhealthy emotional and mental patterns that identify our selves with what we own. Aristotle made famous the quote, "Everything in moderation," and perhaps it is time to return to that way of approaching spending. So far, Moderation seems to be the cornerstone of everything professionals recommend to us: Eat in moderation, drink in moderation, sleep in moderation, exercise in moderation. Excess in either direction leads to unhealthy lifestyles, so why do we think it's okay to spend money in excess. Have we been fooled into thinking we can single-handedly improve the status of our economy? What needs to happen is a return to Conscious Living (in the non-New Age sense). Awareness of yourself in your surroundings is vitally important. We must become aware of our impact on our environments, ecosystems and societies. That is why I propose that we start implementing moderate spending. I have also discovered that many more things are able to be acquired at no charge! Now how's that for a paradigm shift?

Check out these websites if you're interesed in what I've been talking about:

Freegan
Anti-consumerism
Freecycle
Garment Remake
Freegans info
Dumpster Diving
Found Clothing Blog
Going Green has never been so Fashionable

Before you think High Fashion Girl has gone off of her rocker let me set the record straight. There are people in this world who have lots of money, there are people in this world who have lots of debt, and there are people in this world who have little money. It is rare to come across someone who has "enough" money. As women, we tend to be in a position where money is more important than security. Part of the paradigm shift I propose has to do with being good with our money. Other components are getting out of debt, contributing to the world at large, and gaining personal understanding and happiness. It's not easy to achieve these things, but frugality can be a positive step. I am definitely not saying that you have to completely do without. However, I think if we stop approaching fashion as disposable and start saving our money and buying pieces that we adore, that are higher in quality and that will last a lot longer, that we will have more satisfaction in the long run. Another positive aspect to this is that a healthy society is made up of healthy individuals. If you want to improve conditions in your society, then simply start improving yourself.

So check out the video and sites I mentioned. I am always open to dialogue about my blogs, so write me if you want.

I wish you happiness on your journey. Remember: always keep it light enough to travel.

Altruistic Fashion

Sometimes the fashion industry seems so self-serving. Celebrities show up in the latest fashions like they're walking billboards for Marc Jacobs or Rag & Bone (and they get it all for free). Stylists homogenize the looks of their clients in an effort to influence the way the youth of America dress. All it seems to be anymore is MTV/youtube/myspace posturing. However, I am here to reassure you that there is still good to be had in the fashion industry and it comes in the guise of selfless charities. As someone with a passion for human rights and environmental activism I am always hunting out ways to perpetuate my idealism just a little longer (I hear it's all downhill after college). Here are some fashion-related ways you can give back to the world:

The Women's Alliance takes In-Kind Donations of 1) Personal grooming and body care products, 2)New hosiery, 3) Plus-size professional attire, 4) Prize donations to support our annual silent auctions, 5) Professional accessories and 6) Wide-width shoes. Visit their website for more information.

Safe Home, a battered women's shelter, takes In-Kind clothing donations. Check their website for monthly updated lists of specific clothing needs.

Stop Domestic Violence takes In-Kind clothing donations. Check their website for more information.

Planet Aid, which focuses on protecting the environment and creating sustainable development in Africa and Asia, takes clothing donations, which they then sell. They use the profits from these sales to help their organization. Visit their website for details.

Clothing for Charity takes a unique spin on donating. It is a site destination for designers to sell any of their designs or art, but they insist that the profits made from sales on the site be given to charities. Check it out.

Donations Central is an ingenious web tool that searches for places in your area that take clothing donations.

Bamboosa, a eco-friendly fashion destination, donates 1% of profits to environmental causes.

Diana Warner creates gorgeous, sustainable and wearable accessories for the socially conscious. Each piece has a message.

Positivitee donates $5 of each purchase to charity. Now that's guilt-free shopping!


Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development is based in the UK has the noble goal of reclaiming "clothing and shoes [to] help to divert waste from landfill and further sustainable development projects in some of the poorest regions of the world." Check out their website for how you can help.



Activism is now only a mouse-click away!