tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588540147466123672024-03-13T06:04:02.892-07:00NDND Designs by Bertice Berry, PhD.Fashion Inspiration from the Sewing Sociologist
NDNDdesigns.comBertice Berry, PhD.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12992848810216650626noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658854014746612367.post-17977104284072617882018-08-31T07:06:00.001-07:002018-08-31T07:07:58.838-07:00Living With Style<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Do You Have Style?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Do you have style? Don’t answer too quickly and please don’t
try to feign indifference. Style is more than what you think, and much more
than the advertisers have indicated. Style is not about the labels you wear; it’s
about the only brand you should promote. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Your style should be "brand you</b>." Style is about authenticity and
your ability to express who you are by what you wear and how you rock it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Like it or not,</b> <b>we
all have a style. So maybe the better question is this; is the style you’re
wearing your own?</b> Are your expressing what you intend to express? Have you cultivated a style, or fallen in with the masses?
Fashion is that amazing medium with which we express our individuality and
conformity at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I recently met a woman who exuded style. She lit up the room
and brought joy to everyone in it, and she barely spoke a word. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Aloo Greer walked into the trunk show that I’d been invited
to participate in. The space was filled with the creativity of its owners,
Steph and Ty. Their colorful, unique hats have been worn by everyone who calls themselves
a star and by anyone who emulates them. The space had other artists, including
yours truly and it was filled with thoughtful fashionable and joyful folks. They were all beautiful, artistic, eclectic, intelligent and spiritual. The gathering laughed loudly, looked deeply into one another’s souls and shared easily with
their like-minded counterparts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Everyone was beautiful, but when Allo entered we all stopped.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Girl give me those shoes.” Someone called. “I want her bag.”
Said another. “I need her to give me that hat and while she’s at it, she can
slit those pants open, so I can get in them.” We laughed as we jokingly divided
Allo’s garments. Each item was unique; nothing went together nor was it brought
as a set. Each piece came from a different place and they all told a story. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_XXO_pZkv9YhXGKp7SPRzcf20jw7SyWyRqRzaTfREvwuhX0Ont_t5U8q7e5T3lD7d1YAUI1Kwy3E1Hc819VwkblBFkvQ_ELjrfjvQC-2DtguM2HriXsS4ammmZ2Opx7XsCGDDYwaqw/s1600/20180825_193004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_XXO_pZkv9YhXGKp7SPRzcf20jw7SyWyRqRzaTfREvwuhX0Ont_t5U8q7e5T3lD7d1YAUI1Kwy3E1Hc819VwkblBFkvQ_ELjrfjvQC-2DtguM2HriXsS4ammmZ2Opx7XsCGDDYwaqw/s320/20180825_193004.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Allo just
smiled shyly and allowed her clothes to do the talking. I introduced myself and
asked her to try on a garment. I told her that I’d like to see what it looked
like on her. Allo bowed her head in reverence, took the garment and
disappeared. When she came back, the gathering of the beautiful applauded. They
stood around Allo and snapped pictures an made videos of her perfect poses. That
same dress had been on my rack all along and no one had tried it, but when Allo
put it on, everyone wanted it, or said that they had before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The next
day, Allo came back and just before packing up to leave, I asked this quiet,
yet joyful woman if she’d try on a few others. She did and again, the room was
stilled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As I pondered Allo’s ability to “wear the phone book well,” I
realized that when it comes to style, Allo possessed the qualities we all
desire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li>She liked what she liked and gave more credence to her own style
than to the style others.</li>
<li> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">She walked with confidence
and enjoyed the objects she'd carefully purchased.</span></li>
<li>Aloo combined pieces more like an art and less like a uniform.</li>
<li>She didn’t ascribe to someone else’s idea of what “season”
she was, and what colors she should wear, nor did she think about where she could
wear something.</li>
<li>He quiet presence and bold wardrobe choices make her a woman
of style. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEhOwEfTd4MUD82QKFahXZFgiS4IuQY7mxYeFHkev6ZbxI_zTNOCET0uE3lbZ5_Pf1mEWV-JUUe63UPL5gVCBnylhZgVYysoMrNkhZE1CNRNcXTu8h7Wa_s2pbBwpM8ctNPjpDXDlHA/s1600/20180825_191900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEhOwEfTd4MUD82QKFahXZFgiS4IuQY7mxYeFHkev6ZbxI_zTNOCET0uE3lbZ5_Pf1mEWV-JUUe63UPL5gVCBnylhZgVYysoMrNkhZE1CNRNcXTu8h7Wa_s2pbBwpM8ctNPjpDXDlHA/s320/20180825_191900.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Your style should be as unique as you are. </b>You don’t have to
wear what someone else demands, nor should you. Try on colors that you’ve been
told to avoid. Add elements that speak to who you are and what you love. Be
confident in whatever you wear and spend less money on trying to impress others
and more time with impressing and loving yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Be You, be Bold, be Joy.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Bertice Berry, PhD.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><a href="http://www%2Cndnddesigns.com/">Click here to go to NDND designs</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://stefnty.shutterfly.com/">Click here to see hats by Steph-n-Ty</a></span></div>
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<br />Bertice Berry, PhD.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12992848810216650626noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658854014746612367.post-87254696970258383462018-08-22T07:44:00.002-07:002018-08-22T07:44:24.613-07:00Can't Change Your Mind? Move to Your Heart<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The 18-Inch Trip That Can
Change Your Life<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQq5lg6oqy11Ev3gHvo1rjHrFZPd1_e7Qq8l0U-PEJJme7cSLfHgHvht6yJ8pUI95p36exET_m1xeIU4q7g3R0DoGs8foiRZMSdbXnx_US8BdCIliSuS-7AR7w4jrUENbR8gcoSY07A/s1600/20180224_081458_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQq5lg6oqy11Ev3gHvo1rjHrFZPd1_e7Qq8l0U-PEJJme7cSLfHgHvht6yJ8pUI95p36exET_m1xeIU4q7g3R0DoGs8foiRZMSdbXnx_US8BdCIliSuS-7AR7w4jrUENbR8gcoSY07A/s320/20180224_081458_resized.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Several
years back, I suffered a rather debilitating head injury. I’m fine now, but
don’t ask my children. Anyway, in the process of what felt
like a never-ending cycle of pain, confusion and misery, I learned several
rather important things</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My mother told me, and I was thought it was true, but now I know for sure that <b>thinking
is hard work</b>. New thoughts and ideas take more work than anything else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><i><b>It
turns out that changing your mind takes more energy than heavy lifting. </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But, I’ve
also learned something else; once you are open to changing your mind, it is
much easier to do so the next time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Moreover, once you learn the first thing,
the next thing comes much more readily. <b>In other words, learning is not only
fundamental, it is exponential; it becomes more and more rapid. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One of the
most helpful tools I had during that period of recovery was a book called
HeartMath. Researchers at the HeartMath Institute point out that the heart also
has a brain and it is often much more intelligent than the one in our head.
During that time of confusion and pain, I made a deliberate decision to move my
reasoning to my heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I did, a
new world opened to me. My thinking was more compassionate and caring, but it
was much more. I was open to new ideas and found it almost natural to try
things that had previously caused confusion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In less than a year, I learned to design and
make clothes. I take long road trips, and when I do I travel the back roads and
talk to locals about local things. Each new encounter is responded with love
and compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I still get
flustered when my sewing machine “shows off,” and I am known to flip out when I
am lost. But when I do, I take a short 18-inch trip from my head to my heart
and I can see so much more clearly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Be you, be well, be
traveling.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bertice Berry, PhD.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9H1ybQltF0GCMoTRnB897G8Q_6lVbAy5WGnL07bzCe56zXMv_y0qIUDx_717HQNYnzFeB9Ou6Mhm3imQ2AZA1DvxI785phrOqTlpixJXg24ojTUIYmx4qA_2wfXxGNYqp8FohejQKaA/s1600/received_1774598789242086001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="663" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9H1ybQltF0GCMoTRnB897G8Q_6lVbAy5WGnL07bzCe56zXMv_y0qIUDx_717HQNYnzFeB9Ou6Mhm3imQ2AZA1DvxI785phrOqTlpixJXg24ojTUIYmx4qA_2wfXxGNYqp8FohejQKaA/s320/received_1774598789242086001.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ndnddesigns.com/">www.NDNDdesigns.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<br />Bertice Berry, PhD.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12992848810216650626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658854014746612367.post-74457002922925390482018-08-14T04:56:00.003-07:002018-08-14T04:56:47.257-07:00Fashion: Where Individuality Meets Conformity<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fashion and Why We Care<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFKJAv4twBDpd_KVcjJrvXmcDZi1dPQsuIv4AQDtv13KjKPvLkSNm-JmOXvOVH5XATLknPmJ9lNt98pkOouM15v8CWkIDhD1uZfq5hvMBaxZbn18fHa-b2CqFy1cwwhdYkuTBnXEIcA/s1600/20170628_173107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFKJAv4twBDpd_KVcjJrvXmcDZi1dPQsuIv4AQDtv13KjKPvLkSNm-JmOXvOVH5XATLknPmJ9lNt98pkOouM15v8CWkIDhD1uZfq5hvMBaxZbn18fHa-b2CqFy1cwwhdYkuTBnXEIcA/s320/20170628_173107.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zoom in, I'm wearing the first women in electrical engineering.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Apparently,
it’s cool to act like you don’t care about fashion. Privately, we all know that
we know better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Even Steve Jobs, the Apple CEO who wore that black tee shirt
and jeans and looked like he could care less, cared deeply. By the by, that
iconic black turtleneck tee was made by my favorite designer, Issey Miyake. (Jobs was a huge fan of Japanese culture.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We care, and
I’m going to tell you why.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Fashion is our way of expressing our individuality
and our conformity—at the same time. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Remember
when you were a kid and you wanted to express yourself, be yourself, be who you
really are, because “Mom, everybody is wearing it.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s why the
guy with the boring suit and boring tie has the world’s best sock drawer. We
use what we wear to express who we are and yet, we don’t know how to do it
because someone else already did it first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As a
sociologist, I love fashion. It speaks louder than body language. I love to
watch the smallest detail that screams, “This is me, take it or leave it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I marvel at
what I call the airport uniforms of blue jeans, shorts, khakis and even pajamas.
For a color fix, I sometimes venture to the airport’s international terminal
where people from around the globe still dress their best to travel to parts
unknown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Even the
folks who rebel against fashion set fashion trends and then become enslaved to
the “brand” they co-created. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Like it or
not, our fashion says who we are and what we reject. It speaks to who you’ve
been told to be and how you rebel against it. <b>Like nothing else, fashion speaks to the fact that the self is social;
that we are a product of the world around us.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I love
seeing a peak of beaded bracelets on the wrist of a buttoned-up businessman.
It may be saying, “I’ve got this job and I do it well, but when the door is closed,
I’m meditating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I adore that
octogenarian woman who wears the “loud” (her words not mine,) colorful jacket
when she goes to pick up her prescription and the way my mechanic creases her
jeans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Every year,
Americans spend $300 billion on fashion, and that’s only what we admit and
report. The world spends $3 trillion on fashion and much of that is on the fast kind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Whether we
like it or not, admit it or don’t, fashion speaks, and it tells a story. The
big question here is, who is really controlling the narrative? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Is <i>your</i>
fashion telling <i>your</i> story?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Are you
truly expressing yourself or is your fashion a rebellion of the self you aren’t even aware of?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do you even
know where your clothes came from and what they truly cost?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Admit
it, you care about fashion, but make sure your fashion cares and reflects you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Be you, be well, be
yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bertice Berry, PhD.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.ndnddesigns.com/">Full disclosure, I am a sewing sociologist. Click here to see designs.</a></span></b></div>
Bertice Berry, PhD.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12992848810216650626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658854014746612367.post-40245751269049210372018-08-06T03:33:00.003-07:002018-08-06T03:33:48.109-07:00Throwing Good Money After Bad <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Throwing Good Money After
Bad <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfge0NJydtc8wcaJwQ7v7NZb7dMq4EZZApi1Jf02Bgh04OYTJpZtGsD6ASn1gk-L88ytLso8U1SE3EdDMM-SOt3vSILStlMpB4qvvoKE9LNefTVFradN4-c2mFg421dxRVwrCfW9mCyQ/s1600/20180726_143653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="612" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfge0NJydtc8wcaJwQ7v7NZb7dMq4EZZApi1Jf02Bgh04OYTJpZtGsD6ASn1gk-L88ytLso8U1SE3EdDMM-SOt3vSILStlMpB4qvvoKE9LNefTVFradN4-c2mFg421dxRVwrCfW9mCyQ/s320/20180726_143653.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can’t
get away from fashion, and it seems you can’t get away from the fashion critics
either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I was
minding my own business and listening to the business news. The next thing I
know, this political something or other, Roger Stone, is discussing the expensive
wardrobe and taste level of Paul Manafort. Now, Paul Manafort is the former lobbyist
for Ukraine (but really Russia,) turned head of the presidential campaign for then
candidate, Donald Trump.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Stay with me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Manafort is
on trial for tax evasion with more trials to come. But let’s get to the
fashion, shall we? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It turns out that your boy Paul really likes expensive
suits. He also has a penchant for the Avant-garde. (The prosecution showed his
love of ostrich jackets and snake skin coats.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Anyway, even
though no one asked him to, Roger Stone decided to turn fashion critic saying,“It’s
what an aluminum siding salesman from Ohio would wear if he became a
millionaire,” Stone said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Daaaaang,
but Roger wasn’t done, he went on to say that Manafort’s, Italian suits, (a
million bucks worth from just one tailor) never fit Manafort properly because his
thick body didn’t fit the svelte design. And he still wasn’t done. Paul added
that “Manafort had the view that if something was expensive, that meant it was
good.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Well, you
can’t blame your boy for trying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The fact
that I was sitting in my sewing room, listening to the financial news hearing a
political something or other critiquing the wardrobe of an American/Ukrainian
(Russia) operative who is on trial for some of everything, discussing an overpriced,
ill-fitting wardrobe is like one of Manafort’s jackets—priceless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Here’s the
thing; most of us can say that we have bought something that we believed to
have been wonderful, just because it was expensive. Later, we found it to be
ill-fitting, the wrong color and just plain too much money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Manafort is
on trial, if guilty, (she said laughing) his crimes will be exposed. But one
look into that closet exposed my own past habits of buying something that was
supposed to be good just because it was expensive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I don’t care
much for Stone or Manafort, but both have shed light on something we should all
think about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Being a good person and trying to
look like an important person are two very different things. Ask any hard-working
Ohioan and they will tell you that throwing good money after bad crap still won’t
make that crap good.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Be you, be well be a good person.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Bertice Berry, PhD.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <a href="http://www.ndnddesigns.com/">www.ndnddesigns.com</a></span></div>
Bertice Berry, PhD.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12992848810216650626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658854014746612367.post-37258495284108081102018-08-01T10:52:00.000-07:002018-08-02T03:51:21.325-07:00My Unrequited Love Affair with Fashion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>My Unrequited Love Affair with Fashion</b> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtCo6h8_6mYEZzWZaHA3VzfIPT58rHqvR6rrMCMwGbrGAPBJ_sO1Fh-kv41BRPv8pCD3lGc3ApAdOhJZTU2_61NbxetAnBC96Fjf5m0Ll7dsG0g0PKTusBykI6fR_AhBJuerjqunUaQ/s1600/20180725_123115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtCo6h8_6mYEZzWZaHA3VzfIPT58rHqvR6rrMCMwGbrGAPBJ_sO1Fh-kv41BRPv8pCD3lGc3ApAdOhJZTU2_61NbxetAnBC96Fjf5m0Ll7dsG0g0PKTusBykI6fR_AhBJuerjqunUaQ/s400/20180725_123115.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I have a confession:
I love fashion. I love design and color and before I die, I want to lie down in
a field of fine fabrics. But as much as I love fashion, I must also confess that I
detest the fashion industry.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Too often, it turns
children into slaves and pollutes the planet like nothing else. In our so-called
developed nation, people kill and die for fashion. We become enslaved to it and
demean others for their lack of fashion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fashion can
be a dirty word, but try as you might, you’ll never be free of it. I know,
because I really did try.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> After years of buying the best of the best, <b>l
began to see that the industry I loved didn’t really love me back.</b> It never celebrated my curves, my height or my color. The fashion I loved did not embrace the aging
women who had paved its way. It was not only horrible to the makers, it didn’t care
much for the wearers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>So, like a
dejected lover who finally realizes that she’s been having an affair with a
narcissist, I walked away. I put fashion on no contact and even when fashion
called, sent messages and filled my email inbox, I would not return fashion’s
calls.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I wore only
what I had and then I bought second hand. I gave away all the things I rarely
or had never worn and I found multiple ways to accessorize the same hand full
of items, only to find that I was becoming an accessory addict. I repeatedly redesigned
my old garments until one day, something amazing happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Seemingly
out of nowhere, I heard a voice. It told me to make a dress. I laughed at the
voice and the fact that I was now hearing things. Then I laughed harder because
I had never made anything in my life. I could not sew. Still, the voice was
rather convincing. I told that voice that I would need a pattern and the same
small voice said, “Make one,” and so, I did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I now know
that the voice was my own consciousness, informing me that I had always been
capable of more than I believed. That day, I made a dress. Unable to use a
machine or even thread one, I stitched the dress by hand. The dress was made of
a beautiful silk that I’d purchased for someone else while in Singapore. I wore
it the very next day and got more compliments than I had on anything I ever
owned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, I
design and make something almost every day. After I filled my own closet, I began
to make clothes for others. Then I began to design and make my own fabrics and now,
I am launching a clothing line. <b>It’s called NDND Designs, because if you’re not dead,
you’re not done.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fashion speaks,
it informs, but it should not define <b><i>us</i></b>. I have moved on from an
unrequited love into a relationship that is balanced, real and true. I love the
fashion I create, and this fashion loves me right back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fashion is
powerful; it speaks even when you are not listening. <b><i>It tells a story, but it
should be your story.</i></b> Don’t let fashion control you, don’t let it take you for
a ride and then leave you on the side of the road. More importantly, be aware
of where your fashion comes from and know if it destroyed something or someone before
it got to you. Choose a label that celebrates who you are. Since you must go to
work to pay for your fashion, you should be able to wear that fashion at work.
Find what’s right for you and take care of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>It’s okay to
love, love, love fashion, but make sure it loves, loves, loves you back.</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b> Bertice Berry, PhD.</b></span></div>
Bertice Berry, PhD.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12992848810216650626noreply@blogger.com6