Reading Diana Vreeland

Sometimes after work, I'll dash home and go to the park near my house to read while I still have a little sunlight left. This past week, I devoured the book The Empress of Fashion: A Life of Diana Vreeland by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart. Having read a bunch on fashion, her name always came up but it wasn't until I saw the documentary Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel on Netflix that I was obsessed with her. I needed more. Luckily, my library has a great fashion section in nonfiction which I have been ravenously running through and I quickly grabbed at this book. It didn't let me down either. I finished the darn thing in 3 days - Diana's life was fascinating through and through but what really entertained me was the small history lessons that coincided with her life - she was part of a team that revolutionized magazines to what they are today. She was ahead of her time in many things - fashion, women in the work force, fashion journalism, fitness - but I think the thing I loved most was being inspired by what inspired her. Her colleagues and friends always talked about how she was constantly looking, watching, regarding and assessing everything. She was always looking for beauty and logging away these little bits into the back of her mind to pull out later and use. 

I feel like I can really relate to that. I love people-watching because I'm always picking out something beautiful about the way a person carries themselves, how they styled an outfit or their hair. Not to mention just looking out the window on the bus ride to work - Singapore is so beautiful with a fantastic blend of different cultures (who still wear their traditional dress out and about), new and old architecture, greenery everywhere and bright, bold colors. 

What inspires you? Read any inspiration books lately? 

Skirt: Goodwill | Shirt: New2U | Belt: Target | Sunglasses: Modcloth
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Glamorous Reads: Girl Model (Documentary Film)

I've decided to start a new series that I'm really excited about! "Glamorous Reads" will be my reviews and opinions on books about style that fits my fancy. I have a HUGE list I've read (or watched) about fashion that I can't wait to review for you and that I think any fashionista will enjoy snuggling up with. Most are quite light-hearted books but for the first in the series, I'm actually going to start with a film I watched last night. I had such a visceral reaction to it that I couldn't not share. 

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If you want to spend an hour of your life pretty pissed off, this is a good watch for you. And if anyone is remotely interested in fashion, it comes as no surprise that many parts of the fashion world is frustrating at best and diseased at worse. This documentary falls more on the later. 

The filmmakers follow two ladies throughout the movie - Nayda, a 13-year-old Siberian hopeful trying to make it big in Japan and Ashley, the 20-something American ex-model who now scouts for Japanese model agencies. I won't give away too much more about the "plot" of the film but I will say these three things: 

1. One thing I've understood about the art of filming documentaries is that the camera man should never get involved in any of the action with his subjects. But you can tell that the camera man genuinely felt bad for Nayda and helped her where he could. She was a child thrown into Japan with no real resources, assistance or even basic language skills in English or Japanese. 

2. Which leads me to my next point. I remember so vividly the first time I arrived in Korea. I got off the wrong bus stop and with all my luggage I stood under the crowded awning, dodging raindrops and waiting for my school to come pick me up… and waiting… and waiting… finally some kind Korean people helped me call my school and we realized I was in the wrong place. They picked me up 10 minutes later with no harm or foul. I remember the anxiety I felt at being in a new place not having ANY idea of where I was or how to communicate to help myself. But here's the thing: I WAS AN ADULT. I have more abilities and experiences in dealing with these situations than an 8th grader. No one picked her up at the airport and certainly no one helped navigate this young "country mouse" (as she described herself) through the difficult business of modeling. 

3. I think one of the most creepiest aspects of the movie was the model scout, Ashley. She seemed so emotionally detached from the whole experience even as she was talking about the width of the girls' hips, her own experiences modeling in Japan, and how the owner of the model agency likes young girls. When she talked about how "she brought the girls" you knew she was technically talking about models. But I couldn't help but make the jump that when she said sentences like that, it could sound much more sinister than only modeling. Even when she talked about how other "scouts" find girls to be involved with more illicit activities, she ended up always lamely finishing statements with "I don't know… I just don't know…" 

While this wasn't the most fun fashion film, it definitely was eye-opening. The fashion world being considered "agist" isn't a new thing but watching a first hand account of just some of the affects on these girls is certainly unsettling and reminds me that as consumers and participants, we need to continue to ask critical questions about the entire process. 

Please leave any comments below about what you think, if you've watched the movie, what you think about the new Belted Pear series or if you want me to review anything in particular. Thanks for reading! 

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Check Out Lifestyle Blog, Lattes and Lipstick

Miss Tanisha does it all. Has a great eye for style, does gorgeous make-up, cooks delicious food, writes restaurant reviews, travels all over the world, and to top it off, makes beautiful and original jewelry herself. She interviewed me over at her blog, Lattes and Lipstick. You can read our interview here but don't forget to peruse all the other useful and fun things she writes about!