Stylish with Substance

10 Reasons Petite Girls Can Wear Flats

Ella M — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:19:17 EST

Carolina Herrera flats

It shows immense confidence and an "I don't care" attitude. Men might really respond to that!
Some men just plain prefer a girl in more comfortable or relaxed footwear. Is that the type you might prefer right back?
Wearing flats is like reverse discrimination. Don't let trying to be taller hold you down! Wear what you like.
It's still healthier for one's feet, no matter the girl's height. (Again, do what feels right for your body and mind.)
Petiteness can be adorable and much more feminine, anyway!
You probably already get your pants hemmed. Maybe you'd enjoy keeping it simple and keeping heels for dresses and skirts (and shorts and leggings)---which are easier to also dress up (vs. down).
According to statistics, shorter people get paid less. How rude! But we can save a lot of money buying flats, even if they're the same name brand. Just saying.
Our feet are probably smaller, too, so we don't necessarily need heels to make our feet look cute. Yay!
If we choose nude (or our skin tone) as a color, they may be just as lengthening!
It will help our tall sisters realize that they, too, can wear what they want. (Girl power!)

(The mis-rendering of "10" above is an html/css problem. I've tried to fix this & now am awaiting a response from OnSugar support.)

Coach flats - shop

A Life Goal for Our World: Let's recognize Short is Sexy, too!

Ella M — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:46:12 EST

Endangered Species: Women's Bodies is an upcoming summit with a great goal: to help the self-esteem of women. I won't talk too much about it partly because it is trending now anyway but mostly because it is not nationally spread, and I am no New Yorker (Yankee). ;-) If you want to learn more or you can attend in NYC, click that link for the US branch.

What I'm participating in though, because these issues are important to this blog and myself, is a little meme in the theme from Beautiful You by Julie; who tells female bloggers to "participate" from afar. (I couldn't not join in!)

The blogger posed three questions for others to choose from. I had to select this two-parter,

"Why is body image important to you and what would you like to be your and your wider community's body image legacy?"

Why is it important to me? Because it effects my daily and virtually all-day happiness or at least contentment. I am hardly even content with myself. I feel inferior to those whose busts extend beyond their guts, or lack of guts. I assume I'm judged if I'm not wearing the utmost flattering outfit (I try so hard!). No matter what I do, my profile is never great and I worry about "looking pregnant". The thing is if I could live without fear of other women, always women, judging my shape - I would be content to not even try to change. I love food and don't enjoy real exercise in the slightest - no highs, no energy boosts, no big feeling of doing something great for myself. What if I could change the world around me or at least my perception of the world's perception of myself? So many others feel it is needed as well! Health is important, but I'd prefer my heaping (read: ginormous) near-nightly portion of delicious (read: buttered) veggies would hold more importance to my mental well-being than it does.
My community's body-image legacy? Well, I need a community, first, and it's petites / petite women. I've wanted to help petites better face this world since I was young. Even though I'll never again be a skinny teenager, I will also never again grow one inch. Also since I'm not plus-sized (just round), my community is with the shorties. I want my wider community's body image legacy to be... that women no longer think short is ugly. (It really seems like they and society do!) We constantly hear "long and lean" is the goal, but that's insulting!!! I go crazy when I hear or read of a petite girl feeling unable to wear flats, or living, living, living in heels since age 12 - because her jeans have a P attached to their size. Short is cute and feminine! Men do dig it (along with curves and meat)! Of course there are many men for any shape, but guys are at least cool with dating a girl a foot or more shorter; relax and wear some comfortable shoes on that date, missy. Heck, most men actually prefer comfortable shoes on a girl to heels. (Which man do you want, anyway?) Seriously, take all this from a girl who actually likes girls; not just boys. I love petites--You are hot.

Wear what you like and rock what you have! If I have one actually important flattery tip to add to that, it's just "cinch your waist". ;-) Beyond that, let's stop worrying so much. The world will be a better place.

Healthy Body Image(s) #3 & My Plea for Love Your Body Day

Ella M — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:59:47 EDT

We're bringing images of different, normal, body types to women young and less-young! Click here for all entries.

(This is a week old, but I need to spread out the topics here, yet this is important to feature.)

Click to View Full Size

Here is America's Next Top Model winner of a plus size(? whatever) cycle, Whitney Thompson, with Chenese Lewis, the creator of "Love Your Body Day", which is October 20th. We should all start that love before then, though, and try to adore ourselves a little more every day. This might include attempting to get healthier, but we shouldn't hate "on" ourselves if we're not there yet.

It's easy to do that body loathing though, I know. For instance, take how I'm not even plus sized yet I'm not as thin as "plus size" models, especially in the tummy; and how that could drive me crazy, but I’m better than that. I’ve learned it’s not a negative thing about me, it's a societal quirk. I've recently at least lost the fat in my face; I have long to go with my waist, but I'm celebrating my milestones. When boulders get in my way, like weight bounce-ups from stress or insomnia (ever lie in bed a while then get really hungry, eat and pass out? Yeah, stinks!), I'm trying to focus on the positives. I've still maintained one inch from my waist and two from my lower stomach --- all lost and kept off (as long as it's pre-breakfast, that is). And that's great for now.

The important thing is to stay positive, or anything we do will likely be a failure. Whether that’s about our weight or beyond, we must focus on rewards and successes. One great thing about my recent 7 pounds lost? My higher energy! I’m dancing randomly now, which will help me further.

The point is that even if we are actually unhealthy, it won’t get us healthy to put ourselves down. And we’ll only get bigger if we let the bullies get the best of us. We’re still us on the inside, and there’s always enough to love on the outside of anyone. Just ask your boyfriend/spouse! Don’t have one? Know that you can snag love at any size, so why not find some for yourself from your own heart?

Real Woman, Christina Hendricks, on Cover of GQ - Healthy Body Image(s) #2.5

Ella M — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:08:13 EDT

It's far from surprising (why should it be?), but it's huge for female self-esteem, for an actress like Hendricks to grace the cover of a male's magazine. Thanks, GQ.

View our Healthy Body Image(s) Campaign

Number 2 in the series, ok 2.5 if you count my butt---actually my thighs. (Here I was wearing shorts - for the Internet, go me!)

On the cover of men's mag, GQ (right), is a sexily*-curvy woman; Christina Hendricks. It is not about curves or a round figure, it is about sex appeal - this is a body men love and women admire and even relate to!

(*And, yes, made-up words are awesome.)

The RIGHT to Bare Legs - Campaign for Accurate Depictions of the Healthy Female Form

Ella M — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:43:14 EDT

*Update* This piece was long and I was so upset ("my feewings wuh huwt") that I just wanted it posted, so I later made revisions to improve its readability, just improve the article's quality. (We should all simmer on huge entries!) Enjoy!

This outrageous (literally) GAP ad is the buzzing news, destined for infamy:

"Put some pants on!"
Small Text: "Because we can't all look good in shorts."

Photo: Huffington Post & Stephanie Marcus

Ex-squeeze my love handles, er I mean, sexy hips?

How insulting!!! As someone of the cellulited-gender - yes, entire gender (heck even a man I know *hushnottelling* has some on his rear end), and past the stickly teen years, I'm horrified. I fear further for the eyes of the larger-sized than I.

Ugh. I call for a boycott/protest of GAP. Quick, someone start a Facebook campaign for that one! Check! Done! Look below to "like" the page! (Related in the buzzosphere, Target boycott, read all about it, if you haven't yet.)

Seriously (although I'm dead serious about the boycott, too!) though, cellulite is normal. What's abnormal is airbrushing and photoshopping. What's wrong is hiding normal, yes even healthy, bodies from public eye.

And what I learned recently, a while before this ad, is that "public eye" does not just mean magazines and TV. It means beautiful, healthy, slightly less healthy, etc., women of small, medium, large sizes - great legs or not - are afraid to bare those legs. But we have a right to bare legs! Because we feel our legs are "less worthy" than those in fashion ads (please!), we might opt only for bermuda shorts. Even when those shorten us (our legs), and therefore, widen (our entire frames). Short-shorts lengthen like a great pair of heels. So yes, they even thin us out, if a pear-shape is our problem.

Asking the question, "should some people not wear shorts?" (the Frisky) due to this ad is understandable coming from a shocked viewpoint. But asking that question is also akin to asking,

"Should female human beings not wear shorts?"

It's ridiculous. Sure, not all women have cellulite - but they should merely wait a few years. Even thin, toned middle-aged women get cellulite ... as low down the leg as the back of the knee. Still, we can't ban shorts for women over 35, can we? What about those with beautiful curves and cellulite at 19? When will it end?

The slippery slope argument can be made, and made well I believe, in the shorts debate.

I've already written my plea to women of today in a draft for a future post about staying cool & stylish in the summer heat, but I will steal from it.

Don't be afraid to bare your cellulite. If you don't feel hot enough to stay cool in the epitome of summer fashion -shorts, you might just be wrong. Curves and cellulite are absolutely normal, and we need more images of these things, of real women, in the world. ... I won't be ashamed of something that's absolutely average.

Maybe I hate other parts, but I can live with even the least thin parts of my legs, and the rest of the world should too.

What about you? Please make some sort of pledge. Comment, Twitter, Facebook, Blog.

And please like the "cause" on this Facebook page that I did just create.

The code is below. But it's hard to read.

Stylish with Substance - and that means YOU!

Ella M — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:00:58 EDT

I didn't create this blog title thinking it only reflects moi. I believe the name describes every normal woman who loves fashion. Loving style does not subtract from our substance!

The problem is some think it does. I'd rather not even face that, but I see now it's true. Not just from my life, but from Internet trends you likely know of.

Grechen from Grechen Blogs, etc. just wrote about this, among many others on the related topics of fashionista bashing.

"(People think) if you love fashion, you’re stupid & frivolous…blah blah blah. ... The world is made up of 2 types of people: those who love fashion and those who don’t. and those who don’t really really really don’t understand those who do."

Oh boy do I know the second half of that quote is true! But I don't understand it. I see fashion as a part of femininity, and let me tell those people: I don't understand a woman (straight or bi, let's say) who doesn't like fashion! So there.

I just wanted to let visitors know that I'm not showing a superior attitude with the blog name, I'm including my readers, most definitely, as well.

By the way, I have an important website note for readers! I will (finally) be changing the Feedburner URL. It will probably become is feeds.feedburner.com/stylishwithsubstance, but I'll update here as to whether or not the change was successful (name available with them). You must resubscribe after the change!

Subscribe to Stylish with Substance

I talk about periods. Why do I seem to be the only one?

Ella M — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:18:30 EDT

Do periods gross you out? Sure, they do. Are you a woman and you still find them intolerable? Duh. They're even worse for women than for those wimpy men! But as young adult females, we must endure them.

But do we not talk about them, even as we all go through them? Why does it seem to me that women opt out of the therepeutic benefits of commisserating over our monthly curses?

If a lady's husband brings home flowers and she posts this as her status on Facebook, there's rejoice over his sweet sentiment through likes and comments. Then there's the man who does the wonderful thing of bringing home the Midol (it happend for me, swoon) ... crickets (I bet*). At least if my hypothosis is correct, this will continue to prove the case. Crickets, including rhetorical silence (it is through type) from women.

*I waited for myself to be proved wrong, and okay, I have a wonderfully close family and I can often count on them for support through likes and comments. Whew! I do feel loved after all. Buy why is there continuing to be less comparitive support over something every single woman can relate to? Less support than for Facebook game chit-chat, sport cheers, whatever.

I still get the sense that most people, including women, just sort of ignore the big P in another "P"; public.

And then there I am. On Twitter even. Many cycles, I find myself making it clear, like clockwork, that, well, I'm a raging hormone of PMS.

And that's OK. I know I'm better writing for a female audience.

Though I wonder, am I alienating, or including? Do please prove my fears wrong!

I invite a change in attitude. Just like you want your boyfriend to buy tampons (I've heard tale it happening!) and not freak out like a whiny child over, dun dun dun, blood (as long as it's not in the theatre, of course), I want to b!tch about menstrual cycles. All because I'm not currently cintrubing to overpopulation. Sheesh! What gratitude, mother nature. You ladies read me?!

Bonus: Guess what I blogged about one month ago? Yup. Chocolate.

Today is the Holiday "Boobquake" & I'm Attending

Ella M — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:37:37 EDT

'Tis a new holiday, but it roots from ancient beliefs ... in a way. The story starts with religion, actually, but this is more of an atheistic holiday, while still remaining inviting to more open-minded religious persons as well. The tale opens with an Iranian cleric promoting the idea that not only does God/a god punishes humans for evil, but our promiscous modern times have resulted in earth quakes*.

All those bouncing boobs, apparently, have got a whole lotta other shakin' goin' on.

Not to make light of earthquakes, no, just this archaic school of thought. Sadly, though, Kazem Sedighi doesn't just blame people today, he blames women,

"Many women ... do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes"

He advises all to follow Islam to stop the havoc wreaked on the Earth by, what we know to be, natural disasters. However any normal person realizes that the earthquakes are likely caused by climate change and, as they say, women's hemlines go up when the economy goes down - so yes these things are happening more currently. It's a sort of correlation, but of course exclusive of each other, as there is no related causation to be found in rational thinking.So part two of the story of Boobquake begins when people react to this publication, or rather, one feminist blogger. She had a "modest proposal":

Sedighi claims that not dressing modestly causes earthquakes. If so, we should be able to test this claim scientifically. You all remember the homeopathy overdose? Time for a Boobquake. On Monday, April 26th, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own. Yes, the one usually reserved for a night on the town. I encourage other female skeptics to join me and embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts. Or short shorts, if that's your preferred form of immodesty. With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I'm sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn't rumble. ... So, who's with me? I may be a D cup, but that will probably only produce a slight tremor on its own. If you'll be joining me on twitter, use the tag #boobquake! Or join the facebook event! (Confused? Angry? Think my science is [carp]? Read a serious explanation of boobquake here)

Worried about participating? Don't be unless you belief in that sort of fundamentalist or die-hard religious thinking. Perhaps angry about women putting their bodies on display for objectification? I say for a special occasion, we can do what we want with our bodies. At least we're not actually being promiscuous today - it's about just the sex appeal and mere fun.

And it's in the name of scientific experimentation!

As put by Bitch Buzz's Cate Sevilla,

If you want to get your feminist panties in a twist because of all the cleavage and, erm, objectification involved in Boobquake, you can. But personally I think you should just laugh and take this as over 41,000 people (give or take a few due to the perverts) agreeing that women being blamed for earthquakes and adultery because of our immodest dress is ... ridiculous. (Also, the word BOOBQUAKE is just fun.) Plus, McCreight also encourages people to “help out the victims of inevitable natural disasters” noting that “[dressing] modestly won’t end earthquakes”. So, if you’re not down with cleavage but still agree that Sedighi’s comments are ridiculous, why not give to the Red Cross or the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foundation?

In case you were wondering whether I'm participating - oh yes!

I plan to celebrate with not only my breasts, but legs and these Louboutins:

(or perhaps these ones, because they're easier to wear:)

*It must be noted that the disaster of earth quakes was probably chosen because Iran suffers a lot of them. How clever of the man, eh?

Hierarchy on Whom to Listen to On What TO Wear...

Ella M — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:44:27 EDT

1. Yourself Express your personality.
2. Stylist Gurus like Stacy London. Learn to choose what LOOKS BEST on YOU.

... (Yourself, yourself, yourself, yourself, yourself)

8. Your BF. Or maybe just when you two are alone, if he's not a sexist dolt.

... (No one, no one, no one, no one - who cares anyway if you don't?)

57. Trends.
58. Magazines.
59. What every one else is doing.

...

10001. What people with the opposite of your body are doing. (See #2.)

=> Photo of Stacy London from her Twitter account.

Finally! A MAN's Wardrobe Malfunction / Slip! Woohoo!

Ella M — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:52:16 EDT

A hot male butt slip!

U.S. Olympic Swimmer - male, Ricky Berens - flashed his tush - nay, his muscular sexy tush - during his moment in competition. Perhaps the hottest aspect of the story is that his swimsuit - a normally fuller-coverage suit than average - tore during stretching pre-match. In true "the show must go on" meets "my country needs me" fashion - and to the delight of many, or at least some (me) - he dove in anyway, flashing the crowd, cameras, Internet -> world his moon.

This is how we get girls into sports!

Below is NSFW!

Click here to view uncensored picture, if you so desire. ;-)