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Nicole: I know Disney princesses are horrible examples of stereotypical gender rolls for young girls.  I know that Princess Jasmine’s waist is as big around as her neck.  But there is still a small amount of child-hood Disney brainwashing that I am unable to get rid of.  So when I discovered that wearing my circle scarf as a hood made me feel like Princess Jasmine, I had to use it as fashion inspiration.

All gifs found at All About Princess Jasmine. Amazing site.

Kelly: Sometimes, I hate going back and watching a favorite film from childhood, because I’m inevitably shocked shitless at how blatant the sexist messages are. At the beginning of Aladdin, we learn about Jasmine’s uber-sheltered life as a princess.

K: Her only friend is her tiger. Watching that as a girl, I didn’t wonder why the princess I was supposed to identify with was completely dis-empowered, essentially a prisoner in her own home and a slave to a future arranged marriage. All I thought about was how much I wanted a tiger! Awwww…..

K: And how much I love her turquoise harem pants and crop top! (I have harem pants. You just wait!)  My perforated turquoise swim suit cover-up reminds me of Jasmin’s signature shade. Here, I am wearing it tucked in as a top. In an earlier post, I layered it over a silk shell and pencil skirt.

N: Plus you have zebras.  They may not be tigers, but they still qualify as an exotic pet.

N: Sometimes the best fashion inspiration can come from a time that was highly oppressive to women.  Think 50’s gartered-hourglass shapes, or victorian high-necked-skin-covering dresses.   Society has always been telling us how our bodies should look.  What we should cover up, and what we should expose.  But I gotta fight the system.  Having awareness of what society expects from you helps you to break the cycle.  Thats why I like blend eras and and textures and colors like it ain’t nobody’s business. Keeps everyone wondering, and keeps you always slightly out of place.

“Fuck the patriarchy!”

N: You say it, Sister.  I turn my brightly colored back to them.

K: It almost (but not quite) ruins Aladdin for me now, seeing how creepily sexualized Princess Jasmine is for a children’s heroine.

K: The only time she seems able to exert any power against her abuser and would-be husband, Jafar, and it is to manipulate him with the promise of her submission to his wishes. Ew…

N: Double ew.  This is not an example of “subtly slutty.

K: Like practically every female protagonist from my childhood, Jasmine is teaching young women to make a dangerous bargain. Lisa Wade at Sociological Images describes it, “A patriarchal bargain is a decision to accept gender rules that disadvantage women in exchange for whatever power one can wrest from the system. It is an individual strategy designed to manipulate the system to one’s best advantage, but one that leaves the system itself intact. ”

K: Basically, Jasmin maybe controlling men with her hot body, but so doing she reinforces a system that only values her for her body. This is why we love subtly-slutty outfits. I only give the sex appeal if I do something to take it away or make it unexpected. This top is actually quite see-through, but a mid-calf skirt and the stiffness of the turquoise polyester tone the sluttiness down.

N: I love your muted color palate here.  I, however, am going the complete opposite with my color-gasam silk ensemble.  Silk stained-glass skirt and silk shell, both thrifted. Yellow tank is quite sheer, exposing my subtly-slutty stripey bra.

K: Thank you, Anna D. for my pictures. My whole outfit is thrifted, and cost less than fifteen dollars. As usual, I’m wearing no make-up and put no effort into my hair. You’re welcome.

N: Hey, me too…

….but we still love Princess Jasmine forever and ever. Amen.

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My concept of the ideal woman is part of what spurred my inspiration to create this blog. I wanted to surround myself and collaborate with women I admire and show support for each other.

vintage aviator goggles, BDG skinny jeans, jungle boots, knitted vest, burlap coat

Vintage aviator goggles: borrowed from Jeanne Giltzow
Burlap coat: Margaret Godfry, Bagatelle, thrift store
Knitted vest: Two Twenty, thrift store
Skinny jeans: BDG
Jungle boots: Altima, Army Navy Surplus

I define my ideal woman by the following characteristics:

1.) Spunky dresser

2.) Attitude

3.) Individual

3.) Humorous

4.) Creative

vintage aviator goggles, BDG skinny jeans, jungle boots, knitted vest, burlap coat

5.) Tenacious

vintage aviator goggles, BDG skinny jeans, jungle boots, knitted vest, burlap coat

6.) Gutsy

vintage aviator goggles, BDG skinny jeans, jungle boots, knitted vest, burlap coat

7.) Spiritual

vintage aviator goggles, BDG skinny jeans, jungle boots, knitted vest, burlap coat

8.) Vulnerable

vintage aviator goggles, BDG skinny jeans, jungle boots, knitted vest, burlap coat

9.) Generous

vintage aviator goggles, BDG skinny jeans, jungle boots, knitted vest, burlap coat

10.) Ambitious

11.) Kind

12.) Sense of purpose

vintage aviator goggles, BDG skinny jeans, jungle boots, knitted vest, burlap coat

13.) Collaborative

vintage aviator goggles, BDG skinny jeans, jungle boots, knitted vest, burlap coat

Photographer: Anna V. Demetriades

Strong women aren’t bitches to each other.

 

 

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All this week FU has been featuring vintage clothes from the online shop Pursuing Andie. Each woman on FU browsed the shop for their outfit of the week. Rather than selecting an amazing vintage dress, I opted for being experimental and piecing together a outfit from multiple items in the shop and then pairing it with some jewelry from my shop Armor Bijoux.

vintage Afghani ethnic choker necklace, 80s poke-a-dot blouse, 90s pinstriped shorts, red belt, 80s white ankle boots, grey tights

Ethnic niello choker: Afghanistan from Armor Bijoux
80s poke-a-dot blouse, 90s high-waisted pinstriped shorts, 80s red belt, and white ankle boots
from Pursuing Andie.

Two paired textile patterns, bright accent color, and repeating circles makes this one of my favorite outfits. Sadly when it came time for the photo shoot, Andie wasn’t able to find the 90s black pinstriped shorts.

Luckily Anna had selected a couple of beautiful 70s floral dresses for me ahead of time.

70s floral dress, brown leather heels, old pawn Navajo silver necklace

I love the colors of this dress. The contrast of the colors with my skin tone and the of this look reminds of Tim Burton’s Alice and Wonderland.

Vintage 70s floral dress: Pursuing Andie
Vintage brown leather heels: Pursuing Andie

This is a pretty pleaZzzzzant look but I felt it needed something else, something surprising. My solution, I added my squash blossom Navajo silver necklace.

Bethany's Old Pawn Navajo Squash Blossom Silver Necklace

Ethnic silver squash blossom necklace: Old pawn Navajo, gift

70s floral dress

Photographers: Anna V. Demetriades and Kelly Lynae Robinson

Thank you Andie for collaborating with FU and letting us raid your shop. If anyone wants to own these outfits check out Pursuing Andie.

 

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