fandomhigh | Functional Fashion, Thursday, Period 1

"Good day, class," Lulu said, as she sat down on the lawn in front of the school, where her students had ~~handwavily~~ been informed to meet; she gestured for her students to do the same. "I thought we'd take advantage of today's nice weather to talk outside, since this first class is going to be mostly discussion anyway.

"This workshop," she continued, "is on what I like to call 'functional fashion'. What this means is clothing that both serves a specific function while appealing to aesthetics. Take, for example, my skirt." She stood, letting the belts fall together, shaking them slightly to get them to settle properly. "This is an example of non-functional fashion -- it looks pretty, but there's no purpose to it beyond that visual appeal. My bodice, however," and here she gestured to her huge... tracts of land, "is designed to be visually appealing while also keeping my breasts from falling out. This is even more of a concern," she added, "when one's gift for magic requires one to swoop --" and here she demonstrated, her arms dipping forward as she bent at the waist [there are a few examples of it in that vid, when she casts the 'Waterga' spell], "-- forward as part of the casting. While it's only actually good design, several of my friends still swear that I must use magic to keep from... accidentally putting myself on display for all to see."

Lulu settled herself back on the ground, folding her legs beneath her. "We'll start today with introductions," she began, "so that we can all get to know each other, and then what I'd like to ask of you today," she said, "is to pick one article of clothing that you are wearing, and explain how it is either functional or non-functional. Also, if you have any questions about the syllabus," which she now handed out, "or anything in particular that you would like to see added to it, feel free to bring that up as well."

At the end of class, before everyone could get up, Lulu called their attention to her again. "There is one last thing," she said. "As it says on your syllabus, over the course of this term, I'm going to be asking each of you to design three outfits, The outfits must fit a theme of your choosing -- and yes, all three outfits must fit the same theme. This project will not be due until the last day of class, so you will have plenty of time to learn more about fashion before then; still, it might be worth starting to think about it now."

[~~Plz wait for~~ OCD is up! I'm around a while longer tonight, but then tomorrow day I'm finishing up my move into my new place and the working 4-close, and then I'll be around for at least a few hours after 10 Eastern, I hope, if I can manage to get out of work at a decent time.]

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"As I said, my bodice is designed to be functional," Lulu explained, "in that it provides support for my breasts while keeping them from falling out. What about you?" she continued, pointing to the first student she saw.

Mac looked down at her shirt (http://www.cafepress.com/tvwhoreswag.103214003). "I think this is pretty functional. Works as creep repellent, and goes with jeans."

Lulu chuckled at the answer. "Very good, Mac. I can see how that might repel 'creeps', yes."

"Always worked out for me," she confirmed with a smirk.

"All of my clothes are functional," Blair said, "in that they provide a clear message that I take pride in my appearance and that I honor whatever situation I am in my dressing respectfully and appropriately."

Lulu nodded. "That is certainly one function that clothing can provide," she agreed. "What about a strictly physical function? Do you have one particular piece that is designed to offer something other than its appearance, and what that makes other people believe of you?"

"All of my clothes prevent me from being arrested for public nudity?" Blair tried. "In winter they keep me warm, in summer they keep me cool?"

"One item, Ms. Waldorf," Lulu said. "One item that you are currently wearing, and how it is either functional or non-fuctional, please."

Re: Class Discussion

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"Um," Chad looked down at his usual get-up of button-down shirt, tight pants, and Italian leather shoes. "My clothes are functional for comfort..."

And button-downs meant your boyfriend with super strength was less likely to destroy your shirts, but Chad wasn't going to say that out loud.

"And they fit," he added. "Hard to find a lot of clothes that fit me comfortably."

Lulu eyed Chad. "That's rather a problem I've had myself," she agreed. "Do you find any one aspect to be a problem in particular? Something that you've had to start looking for in your clothing?"

Chad...was trying very hard not to think about Miss Lulu's own fitting problems.

"Shoulders," he said. "They're really....wide."

"I know that you said you were interested in modeling," Lulu said, "but you might like to try your hand at design, as well, even outside of this workshop. It would help you find clothes that fit you accurately, certainly, if you were making them yourself."

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"Well, there's my shoes," Dōjima mused, sticking out her feet to examine her heels (http://www.bluefly.com/pages/products/detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=2081302037&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2057231773&N=1169&Ns=Popularity%7c0%7c%7cProduct%2bCode%7c1&Nu=Product+ID). "Most people would argue they're non-functional, but I've been wearing heels so long, I can do anything in them that most people would wear flats for. I even wear them to gun club practice."

"So it is something specific about the heels, then, that you would consider functional? Or is it that you've overcome their non-function to go about your daily life?"

"Well, they function to cause people to underestimate me," she joked, "no one expects the girl in heels to be able to run! But yeah, I think I just overcome the basic function of 'pretty only' to make them part of my daily routine."

"That's very admirable of you," Lulu said, "to have worked to overcome something like that."

"I generally try to wear clothes that look good on me, but are still functional," Summer explained, looking down at her jeans. "Like these jeans for example. They are designer, so they look awesome. But they are also comfortable. It's totally possible to be comfortable and stylish at the same time."

"So you would consider comfort to be a function, then?" Lulu asked -- not an accusation, an honest question, to gauge her student's needs.

"Yes, totally," Summer replied. "There are probably a lot of situations where uncomfortable clothing would be bad."

"A-ano, my j-jacket is good for concealing many weapons a-and it's g-good for most weather."

"Do you need to carry a lot of weapons, generally?" Lulu asked.

"N-not as m-many as some of the ninja," she admitted, looking down, "b-but it a-also makes me more comfortable to be w-wearing this."

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Cassandra considered the question for a bit before tugging lightly at the sleeves on her long-sleeved tshirt. "The sleeves cover my arms so people don't get uncomfortable with the scars. Also, the material is strong and makes an okay defensive weapon."

"Excellent, Cassandra," Lulu said. "I can see how you would pick clothing for both of those purposes."

Cassandra blinked. "Um... yes." Because the truth was it's just what she'd grabbed this morning, but...