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How to Develop a Personal Style [Tuesday]

Irene was doing something unprecedented today. Something she had not yet dared to do. Something she could not believe she was doing. Granted, it fit with the class topic she'd chosen for today, because sometimes one had to acquiesce to the will of teenagers, but...still. This was nearly beyond the pale.

Irene...was wearing pants. And not just any pants: jeans. Three hundred dollar jeans, yes, that she'd paired with cashmere and Louboutins, but still. Why didn't she just wear a garbage bag while she was at it? She hadn't even bothered to put her hair up, since she was taking a casual day.

"Good morning," she said crisply, waving. This week, they were meeting in the Danger Shop again, though their climate was hardly so extreme -- Irene had programmed it to be the gigantic denim showroom of a department store (though she'd not programmed it beyond the whole 'look at jeans!' thing, so no one need venture off to look at blenders or something.) "Last week was a good test in pairing practicality with style. This week, I want to tackle a basic article of clothing, and see what you do there. Nearly everyone wears jeans -- even me." She winked conspiratorially and added, "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

She quickly passed out a couple of handouts on the typical women's and men's fits they'd find available -- though they were of course welcome to dip into either gender's offerings if students were more comfortable with that. She wasn't going to judge. Men's trousers looked wildly more comfy than women's, most of the time. "What I want you to do today is to find yourself a pair of jeans that you could realistically see yourself wearing every day, and explain to the class what you like about them. You're welcome to try loads of things on, for fun, but by the end of class, tell me what you like about the pair you picked out -- do they fit well? Do you like the wash, or the cut? Are they warm? Are they stiff for you to break in, or already loose enough that you could do the splits?" She winced, and added, "That's a sign you probably need to go down a size, by the way."

She waved them off. "Set to it! And have fun out there, darlings."

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All casual.

Ronan Lynch

Alana

Minako Aino

Kathy Li

Cosette Fauchelevent

Ezra Sagishi

Alex Mack

Anna of Arendelle

Cecil Gershwin Palmer

Wonder if your be-denimed teacher has been taken over by a pod person....

There are a billionty ~~totally moddable~~ styles of jeans available -- and yes, Irene paid attention last week, so there's even some stuff for Cecil (http://g03.s.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1ylGAFFXXXXXvbFXXq6xXFXXX8/201501582/HTB1ylGAFFXXXXXvbFXXq6xXFXXX8.jpg) and Kathy (http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/2041239814_1/Autumn-Winter-Women-s-Fashion-Embroidered-Flower-font-b-Decorated-b-font-Stretch-font-b-Jeans.jpg).

Just remember you have to justify your choices at the end of the hour!

Ronan went for black and expensive. Those were his two big must haves, there. The cut wasn't so important but he wasn't doing that skinny jeans shit that he'd seen some kids around Henrietta doing.

He went for a boot cut that fit well enough but still gave him room to breathe. No spangles, no glitter, nothing but black jeans that cost more than some people's cars.

Alana tried on a few pairs just to goof off -- white jeans, bellbottoms, distressed denim -- but eventually gravitated to what she found simplest and most comfortable: Dark jeans, cut skim enough to tuck into boots but not so slim she couldn't move.

She was happy.

Kathy had come in wearing a perfectly acceptable pair of jeans, but when your teacher told you to go shopping, you went shopping. She was less sanguine about some of the selections, however. "$200 for these?" she sputtered. "They're more hole than fabric! Is there a law that says all designer jeans have to come pre-ripped? Did I miss that memo? Really?!"

Another pair of jean shorts were kind of cute, but certainly not everyday attire.

Edited 2015-01-20 17:58 (UTC)

Alex practically lived in jeans but she tried to go for a style that wasn't what she'd normally wear and found a pair of black jeans that she could see herself wear ever day. They were comfortable too so she was satisfied with her choice.

Okay, Anna was going to try these -- pant-things. The material was softer than she'd expected, considering how strong it also appeared to be.

Also, there were apparently pairs that could not be zipped up unless you were completely motionless on the floor. Anna was not in favor of travel by flopping around like a fish, so she was giving super-skinny a pass, thanks.

Oo, look at that pair! All bright and purple and sparkly! They were decently comfy, too. Unfortunately, once he tried them on...

"They're a bit...squeaky." Cecil sighed and put them back. He did radio! Loud clothes were not a thing.

There was another pair he really liked, too, but...well, she'd said "every day". And those were really a bit fancy.

So in the end he went with something just a bit plainer, but still pretty, and very comfy!

What did you like about this pair? Fit? Cut? General style? Can you genuinely see yourself wearing them all the time?

"I want to live in these," Alana announced. "They're crazy comfy, even when I move, and the cut and color make them look dressy enough to wear just about anywhere."

"The dark wash makes your legs look longer, too," Irene told her with a slight smile. "Not that you especially need the help, Alana, but it's good that you've fallen in love with jeans that have also apparently fallen in love with you. Well done."

"They're black and expensive," Ronan said in an oh so descriptive explanation. "I'll wear them as much as I wear anything else. They're not tight enough to make me look like a damn hipster and not baggy enough to fall down around my ankles. They're fine."

"Why's the expensive part matter?" Irene wondered. She knew why it mattered to her, but she was curious as to Ronan's reasoning.

Ronan shrugged. "I've got money and I like to use it on clothes. Better quality."

"That's what I was looking for," Irene said, nodding. "Quality. But be careful you're not just paying for the label itself -- always check your care tags and make sure it's not going to shrink on you right away, or bleed in the wash. Or just be prepared to get everything dry-cleaned, 'cause that's what I do."

"I really like these," Kathy said, moving her purse over to let Irene see the jeans she'd chosen. "They're not designer or anything, but they're comfortable and they're a nice color. They're also pretty durable, which is a big deal for me. I also like that the cuffs are reinforced but kinda shredded? I tend to step on the bottom hems of my jeans and they get all ragged. With these, no one will ever know."

"Okay," Irene agreed slowly, because those were still a bit better than she'd expected out of Kathy, honestly. (Sorry, Kathy.) "The color is lovely, and durability is an excellent thing to concern yourself with. We're going to be talking about tailoring at another point, but -- do you usually step on the bottoms of your jeans because they're too long?"

"I, uhh, yes?" Kathy held up the jeans she'd come in wearing, showing the ragged holes around the hem that came from months of being accidentally stepped on and ground against the concrete and cement. "I used to outgrow my pants really fast and end up with highwaters, so my mom--" she colored, coughed, and tried again. "So I started buying my pants long so I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore."

Because no self-respecting seventeen year old still let their mom buy their clothes, right?

"I try to remember to cuff them in the mornings because my parents get on my case for the hems being untidy, but they have a tendency to fall anyway."

"You can hem them," Irene offered gently, smiling a little. "There's even something called a basting stitch that'll still allow you to pull it out easily when you grow, and you can do that at home or by hand." Not that Irene did, but she'd met Kathy's parents, and they didn't seem like the types to shell out for their teenager's clothing to be professionally tailored. "And that way you'll still have tidy cuffs. Just so you're not doomed singularly to ripped hems, though those are very cute, still. Take it from someone who has to get bloody everything hemmed."

Stupid shortness. Stupid hips.

AHAHAHAHA NO. Professional tailoring was right out; that's what trying clothes on at the store was for.

"Oooh, my sister will appreciate getting pants that don't have holes in the back," Kathy said. "Though it's easier for her, cause she's so much shorter than I am, so she ends up rolling her pants up anyway."

Kathy got the height, Sarah got the curves. Lucky brat.

"Umm, is my choice okay otherwise?"

"Your jeans are fine," Irene agreed carefully. "Apart from the frayed hem -- which is fine, as long as you know you're not stuck with it always."

She bit her lower lip thoughtfully before offering, "You could do with a more fitted look overall, though, if that's something you'd be comfortable with, luv. You're sort of getting...lost in all that."

"Fitted?" Kathy asked, as if the entire concept of tailoring was foreign to her. "You mean like skinny jeans?"

Kathy was pretty sure she wasn't cool enough for skinny jeans.

"I mean like fitted to the lines of your body," Irene clarified, "so yes, skinny jeans -- but not necessarily skin-tight jeans. There's a world of difference between painting yourself into your pants, and simply wearing something you're not drowning in."

She paused, debating whether to spell it out more lest she insult her. "It'll mature you a little," she offered.

Kathy's traitorous brain tried to insert a certain name and face that might appreciate her looking a little more mature but Kathy squelched that line of thought immediately.. Instead, she thought about Stanford and the image she wanted to present there, and how her parents might give her a little more latitude when she went home for breaks if they saw her as more adult.

"Mature would be good," she ventured. "I finally have enough money to really go shopping, but I usually default to the stuff I'd get back home because I don't really know what else to get."

You know, those rare times she remembered to actually go out and buy clothes.

It was very, very good that there had been shirts near the denim pants, or else Anna would absolutely have refused to come out of the dressing room. Fancy dresses didn't work properly as 'tops,' was the thing.

As it was, she'd found some kind of top in a bright mint green (http://www.modcloth.com/shop/blouses/looks-like-a-plan-top) and added that to the jeans (http://www.bluefly.com/ag-adriano-goldschmied-medium-blue-stretch-denim-70s-bell-bottom-farrah-jeans/p/328197301/detail.fly?pcatid=cat80012) she'd chosen.

She felt like some kind of alien creature. She felt half-nude, and not in a good, flirty way, but like those dreams where people were staring at you because you forgot to put clothes on. The pants brushed strangely against her legs. How was one supposed to be ladylike in these?

"I picked these," she offered, "because I can bend my knees in them and not suffocate." Still not a fan of the skinny ones, no. "And they're a nice color, I guess? They're not all stiff and scratchy like some of the others were, either."

It was going to be baby steps with this one, Irene. She was trying.

"These are pretty comfortable, and not too plain," Cecil explained. He shrugged. "I can't see myself wearing anything all they time, though. I mean, you'd have to at least have something to wear on laundry days, right?"

Who will absolutely be back to her skirts next week, yes please.

This post brought to you by how much I want to be at home and wearing jeans today.

Also, seriously, go wild. Mod whatever you want. Irene didn't try to inflict her taste on anyone this week, so there's plenty of standard denim choices, as well as maybe some not-so-standard. :D

Again, I have to apologize. But my girl was just in a campaign for Guess Jeans (WHICH MEANS ALL OF THESE OUTFITS WERE CHOSEN BY PROFESSIONALS) and I can't not use them!

DON'T YOU APOLOGIZE WHEN I PURPOSELY MODDED IN SOME HIDEOUS JEANS FOR YOUR GIRL, MISSY. :D

I KNOW AND I LOVE YOU FOR THEM. THOUGH I TRAWLED THROUGH HER TAG ON TUMBLR TODAY IN PREPARATION FOR THIS CLASS AND THOSE JEANS ARE ACTUALLY TASTEFUL COMPARED TO HER NEW ALLURE CAMPAIGN!

I offer you: this, that...

...and the Pièce de résistance

WITH LOVE!

You know what tiny women look great in? REALLY BAGGY CLOTHES.

SERIOUSLY IS THIS EVEN REAL.

I'M PRETTY SURE SOMEONE IN KOREA KNOWS ABOUT THIS CLASS AND IS JUST TROLLING ALL OF US.

That being said, someone got PAID to dress her in those and then she got PAID to be photographed in it and someone's grandma (hopefully) got PAID to have her sofa turned into an outfit! Complete with chartreuse afghan!

(But she can dress well, I promise!)

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How to Develop a Personal Style [Tuesday]

Sign in [1/20/15]

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Re: Sign in [1/20/15]

Re: Sign in [1/20/15]

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Listen to the lecture [1/20/15]

Try stuff on! [1/20/15]

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Explain your jeans [1/20/15]

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Talk to Irene [1/20/15]

OOC [1/20/15]

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