Sunday 10 August 2014

The Inequality of Equality

Hello all, and welcome back to my little blog.
 
I took a rather long hiatus from blogging whilst I completed my undergraduate degree, but I'm now an official graduate, so lets reconvene!
Although I started this blog as a way to express my fashion and nail art ideas and creations, over the past 2 years I've done some aging (obviously Alice) and changing, and my interests have changed with me.



 
Something I have found myself increasingly passionate about now is gender equality and, dare I say it...
 
FEMINISM
 
Before the eye rolls and sighs come, I feel that I should clarify what I am referring to when I mention feminism. I consider myself a feminist in the sense that I believe that men and women should have equal rights. Yes, in this country all the basics are covered: voting, driving, education, but what about things that many people take for granted? The right to walk down the street without being sexually or verbally harassed, for instance?
 
In this weeks post I want to address the right to be treated and perceived as equal, and particularly the language that fuels these perceptions. There are many double standards when discussing men and women, and these can go both ways - please do not read this post as coming from a man hater. There are many things that are also unfair and unequal for men, but as I am a woman, I speak from experience.
 

WHIPPED
Urban dictionary definition: being completely controlled by your girlfriend or boyfriend...in most cases a guy being completely controlled by his girlfriend.

As defined at Urban Dictionary, whipped refers to a man who is controlled by their girlfriend, and whipped is an inherently negative word. Men do not want to be called whipped, it's a dig between male friends - to be controlled by a woman is perceived to be a very negative thing, with connotations of male weakness (the atrocity!). Even the word 'controlling' used to define whipped has extremely negative connotations for the mentioned female; no woman wants to be referred to as controlling, although so many of us are.
 
Now let's flip this little concept on it's head. Can women be whipped? Is this word even applied to women? My life experience and time spent browsing Urban Dictionary says no.
If a woman displays the same behaviours described as a whipped male, it is inherently positive. She is considered a catch, a keeper, a good wife/girlfriend. Lets not forget the age old tradition for women to vow to obey their husband should they choose to read traditional wedding vows, but no such vow appearing for the men.
 
Even in our civilised, Western society, it is still expected that women should be controlled by their male partner (should they have one), but if this happens to occur the opposite way round... Whipped. God forbid a male should treat their girlfriend with the same respect that she is expected to pay him.
 
 
 
I challenge the use of the word whipped and its negative connotations for both men and women. And all you boyfriends that have been referred to as whipped, well done. You are probably treating your partner with the respect they deserve *high five*!








 

Sunday 20 January 2013

My First Kurt Geiger

I was incredibly boring blog-wise during the January sales and only bought kitchen/home/decor items for my new place, so I didn't have anything exciting to put in a January haul! Except one thing... Very soon after Christmas I went to my local outlet centre. I didn't have very high hopes as I've never bought anything there before, but the boyfriend wanted to go so off we went. One of the shops in this particular outlet centre is Kurt Geiger - and that's where it all ended.

Kurt Geiger always have the most incredible discounts during their sales, but I'd never bought anything from there before. That was until I absolutely fell in love with one pair of shoes. I've never been a shoes girl, but this pair changed everything!



These heels were redced from £120 to just £29 in the sale! They remind me of the style of Carrie's engagement shoes from Big in the Sex and the City Movie - and if you know the meaning behind the name of this blog, you'll know I love all things to do with Sex and the City!

My favourite detail of these shoes is on the bottom sole. I love little hidden details that only certain people will see, and these shoes are harbouring such a hidden gem - I'll let you in on it!




 How well did you all do in the sales? Do you own any Kurt Geiger?




 

Tuesday 25 December 2012

NOTD: Glitter Gradient

 Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you're all having wonderful days doing wonderful things, here's a little scheduled post to add to the mix!

I'd seen these nails absolutely everywhere last winter - every nail blog I followed seemed to be doing them and making me incredibly jealous of their beautiful nails. Last year I didn't have that perfect glitter top coat that I wanted to try it with, but this year I cracked out my Kardashian Kolor for O.P.I 'Rainbow in the S-Kylie' (as I always do).

Here's the result: 


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I used a nude glitter base by Paul & Joe, then topped off the glitter tips with two coats of Seche Vite. I love this look as the technique is so simple, but the large glitter flecks are really eye-catching, perfect for accenting a Christmas party outfit. Be warned though, this was an absolute nightmare to take off!



How are you wearing your nails for the Christmas party season?



 

Saturday 22 December 2012

OOTD: Back to Autumn

Instead of fulfilling our winter dreams of snow on Christmas, where I live it's as warm as 13°C and giving nothing but torrential rain. Boo. In light of this, I thought I'd share a (sort of) layering outfit post, and show you my favourite way to deal with this weather. 

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Vest top: Topshop - Disco pants (dupes): Motel - Pleather boots: River Island


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Fashion scarf: Independent stall
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Hooded fur-lined parka: Ebay seller


How are you wrapping up this Winter?



Saturday 15 December 2012

NOTD: Half-Moon Manicure

I've seen a lot of half-moon manicures across the blogs over the past months, and I thought it was about time that I joined in on the action too. I tried to carry on the festive nail polish choices as we are well into December, and went for Topshop's 'Zodiac' for the base, and Avon's Mirror Shine polish in 'Gold Foil' for the half-moon accents.

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I do like the colour combination, but I think in future I'll opt for something a little more dramatic. I'm also hoping to get my hands on some Konad stamping plates in January so stay tuned for more professional looking nail art!



What's on your nails for the festive period?






Thursday 13 December 2012

The Christmas Tag

As you may know by now if you frequent this blog a lot, I am a sucker for tag posts. I don't know why, but I just love answering odd questions that don't normally come up. Here's another one made by Makeup-Pixi3 that I couldn't resist while I'm feeling so festive!


1) What's your favourite thing about Christmas?
LIGHTS. I love all Christmas decorations - especially lights, and how festive everyone becomes when the lights get turned on. There's a very fine line between being annoyed at seeing the decorations up in shops in early October, and being incredibly excited when the end of November rolls around. Show me a piece of tinsel and I'm a very happy girl.

2) Real or fake tree?
Although I've only ever been around fake Christmas trees my entire life I absolutely adore the idea of having a real one. I know they're very high maintenance though - what with all the dropping needles etc., but all the American Christmas films just make them look so romantic!

3) Giving presents or receiving presents?
I'm definitely more of a giver. I love buying and giving people presents and being able to see how much they love something. Funnily enough that's the exact reason I don't like receiving presents. There's always the awkward moment when everyone is staring at you and even if you really like the gift you somehow become unable to show any positive emotions!

4) Do you open your Christmas presents in the morning or evening?
Morning! I would like to know who these people are with enough restraint to wait until the evening to open their Christmas presents. I'm 20, teach me.

5) Homemade or shop bought Christmas cards?
I'm not usually one to hand out Christmas cards. I think I'm in that awkward phase where I'm too old for it to be cute if I were to hand them out to uni friends, and too young to commit to handing them out to work colleagues. I would definitely sway towards hand-crafted shop bought cards if I were a card-giver though, man I love those things.

6) What's your favourite Christmas film?
I am an incredibly guilty party when it comes to watching Christmas films early. There is also absolutely no way that I could narrow it down to just one, so here's my top 3: Home Alone, Love Actually, The Santa Clause.

7) What's your favourite Christmas food?
PIGS IN BLANKET. No more to say. Pork wrapped in pork tastes good.



Feel free to join in this tag with me!





Tuesday 11 December 2012

Christmas Party Outfit Blogger Challenge!

I recently received an email from the lovely people behind Fashion Vouchers, telling me all about their £100 blogger challenge. To enter bloggers must choose one shop affiliated with Fashion Vouchers, and create a Christmas party look for under £100. There are 3 £100 vouchers up for grabs for the store that you choose to draw your look from, and the competition is open until December 17th. If you want to enter too, email a link to your blog post to competition@fashionvouchers.com.

Here's my look:

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ASOS:

I love simple, classic looks, so this was perfect for my taste. The flowing, feminine cream dress against the harsh clutch and heels just kicks it up a level from 'the girl next door' look, with added studs and pleather.



Will you be entering the Christmas Party Outfit Blogger Challenge?