https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sun, 12 Apr 2026 02:38:43 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style/page/2#post-2173510 Sat, 20 Feb 2021 06:12:31 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2173510@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>LaPed, she’s fun! Thanks for the rec. Funny that she uses the word “sturdy”. That’s very much how I’ve long thought of my body, including the Stevie Wonder lyric “her skirt is short, but oh her legs are sturdy; to walk to school, she’s got to get up early”. Sturdy and functional, that’s me. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style/page/2#post-2173463 Fri, 19 Feb 2021 22:48:40 +0000 LaPed 2173463@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>A blog I check in on periodically because I like her writing: <a href="https://amidprivilege.com/style-archetypes/" rel="nofollow">https://amidprivilege.com/style-archetypes/</a> </p> <p>She doesn’t muse on style as much as she used to, but her reflections on how her upbringing influenced her presentation and self-perception are really interesting. And her three “High WASP” archetypes might be helpful to you: Grand Dame, Artsy Cousin, and Sturdy Gal. I’m thinking Sturdy Gal might line up with your androgynous leanings. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style/page/2#post-2173452 Fri, 19 Feb 2021 21:47:29 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2173452@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>New idea on how to get that edge/what edge I even want to be on: androgyny. Hmm </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style/page/2#post-2172960 Thu, 18 Feb 2021 09:02:49 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2172960@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Jenni, I always have to giggle when you say you don’t have the intellect for whatever conversation—you’re a doctor! But yeah, the notion that I just like various things with no rhyme or reason bugs me. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style/page/2#post-2172873 Wed, 17 Feb 2021 22:55:30 +0000 Jenni NZ 2172873@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don’t feel intellectual enough to join in this discussion. But I do agree about the dictionary definition of eclectic not being very helpful, which is why I moved away from it a couple of years back in developing a style moniker. Because I thought, what does it say?-just that I like a whole load of different stuff? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style/page/2#post-2172841 Wed, 17 Feb 2021 21:03:15 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2172841@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>LaPed, I wish I’d been so deep as to think of the effect of “eclectic” tastes on the world around us. It certainly fits with a colonial mentality to pick a bit from here and a pretty little thing from over there, this nice color from this place and this pattern these other people make. But I think my reaction was more defensive than that—I’m a pretty logical person with principles about most things I do. Not having a reason just sounds bad to me, like a person is too feeble-minded to connect their various likes and beliefs. But I like your reason better, lol. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style/page/2#post-2172835 Wed, 17 Feb 2021 20:42:44 +0000 LaPed 2172835@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I had a conversation the other day that touched briefly on the word “eclectic”sometimes connoting appropriation and a colonial/settler mentality. Like white people listening to “world music” or buying “ethnic art” or museums as culture theft... eclectic can be one politically correct step away from exotic. (Not to mention, its dictionary definition just doesn’t say very much. Liking a variety of different things? Who doesn’t?) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style/page/2#post-2172794 Wed, 17 Feb 2021 19:28:36 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2172794@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Kaelyn, “I’m a tough cookie” is probably the best description of my kinda RATE yet. And isn’t it fun to be more complex? I think so! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172551 Wed, 17 Feb 2021 01:06:41 +0000 Kaelyn 2172551@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I love that quote, and I greatly enjoyed reading your thoughts. I don't have much to offer in the way of advice, but I appreciated your comments on juxtapositions--this is something I see in myself a lot, too, and it was fun reading someone else's reflection that includes that!&nbsp;</p> <p>I like the RATE discussion, too. I feel like it's on a continuum, where some things are more RATE than others. RATE can be extremely edgy, super distressed denim, raw edges, bits of metal and hardware everywhere; it can be something softer, like what Jenn was talking about; it can be a general "I'm a tough cookie" vibe. I think of myself as RATE because I like tempered edgy looks and I'm NOT a polished person. If you think RATE describes you, or your aspirations, I say go for it! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172534 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 23:46:37 +0000 rachylou 2172534@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>(It barely has its own content... I mean, I checked its fashion week thing and was disappointed. Yes, it comes up in other browsers... but still, it’s not a content provider. And it’s still not really a search engine. It’s just an electronic cork board for electronic clippings with a search function. It’s not that special. You could paste screen caps to a PowerPoint. Same difference.) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172512 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 22:21:43 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2172512@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sal, at least since we moved here (and possibly before) people have used Euro or European chic to describe my style. I can’t begin to figure out why, other than that I was here in the years when I began to develop my own style, decades ago. It’s interesting to hear your take on it, as you are neither Euro nor American. Those outfits you’ve mentioned as your favorites are mine too. </p> <p>Suntiger and Cat2, interesting to see the different definitions of RATE. ST’s 1st (which is Jenn’s) is my clear natural tendency. Make-up, curling irons, hair spray, panty hose, “shapers”, anything that’s “suffering for your beauty” is just forced and not me. Cat2’s examples of fabrication don’t sound like things I’d be comfortable wearing either. They aren’t physically uncomfortable, but I would feel affected and fake. But the items in ST’s 2nd definition are where it gets dicey and interesting. I do love my leather bomber and moto jackets, and my lug boots (and now shoes)—but only in certain combinations. With other items, the look and feel for me could easily tip to full-on “rocker” which would feel fake and silly. I think that’s the edge I want to play on. </p> <p>Cat2, yes, I can try to use more images when describing to people here what I’m trying to do. I’ve said I’d try and I will. But internally, it doesn’t make sense to use a foreign language to talk to myself. </p> <p>Rachylou, it seems that Pinterest now has its own content and that it is fully searchable on standard browsers. I don’t see what’s so special about it, why I should use that software instead of any other. Maybe that’s what you’re saying. I’m not sure—your comment is inscrutable to me. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172502 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 21:46:15 +0000 Sal 2172502@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have found this an interesting thread and I agree with the takes on your style Fashintern.&nbsp; &nbsp;I think you do have a more European look than American - huge generalisation here of course.....</p> <p>My favourite looks of yours blend the strength and softness, and the RATE and the more dressy, and possibly the arty and the practical.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>I like words too, but with style and clothing I am both decisive and visual.&nbsp; I often can't describe an outfit and why it works or doesn't, or why it speaks to me or not.&nbsp; Whilst I am not an arty person (very sadly) I find fashion an art not a science. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172501 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 21:44:26 +0000 cat2 2172501@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hmm, I think of RATE in terms of fabrication: jeans with no hem (a raw selvage), clothing with deliberately visible seams, a chiffon top with deliberately frayed edges, a visibly over dyed fabric, etc. </p> <p>I think where we are ending up is that we are talking about a visual medium and to most folks that means starting with a collection of visuals that most closely approximate how you want to look, and then adjusting from where you are to get there. I think there are fashion archetypes that people are referring to here as a shared language and that maybe some searching on those might give you the shared imagery and terminology with which to communicate. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172497 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 21:36:47 +0000 rachylou 2172497@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>In the beginning, Pinterest was a place to save images from other places on the web. There’s an applet for desktops and a Send To/Share function on the iPhone (tap and hold on the image to bring up the menu) if you have the Pinterest app installed. That is, I’m noting Pinterest isn’t a search engine, which is perhaps the difficulty... all search engines suck now btw, imo... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172487 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:52:50 +0000 Anonymous 2172487@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>To me, RATE can be a couple things- or both these at once:<br /> 1. Jenn's take- it doesn't have to be perfectly manicured, pressed, and every hair in place. Lower maintenance basically. Yup- me too Jenn!<br /> 2. A rock and roll vibe- the leather jacket, stompy boots, etc. This to me is more intentional- more of an "armor" or costume (not meant as a negative, just as a word to show character or association). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172484 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:40:15 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2172484@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>La Ped, you just blew my mind with the suggestions of “stereoscopic dressing”. Your ideas take it way further than I was thinking of. I’m not ready to play at that level day-to-day, but will have to start thinking about it for special occasions. On the images—I don’t usually save them, just try to note details. But it might be a good idea to include a few in that post I keep talking about, because I will once again be reaching for an “I-know-it-when-I-see-it” kind of thing. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172481 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:28:32 +0000 LaPed 2172481@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I concur with Jenn's definition of RATE, and that is how I see it born out in your style (and mine as well). Visible wear, low-maintenance styling, un-fussiness. I like Firecracker's ideas for making those elements look and feel intentional.</p> <p>Google image search worked well for me too, but I got tired of having saved photos taking up storage space on my devices. Pinterest is a bit like music-streaming apps, where the playlists improve the more you listen. It takes some patience and I totally understand deciding it's not worth it. (It took me a few lunch breaks over the course of a couple weeks to make a board I'm happy with, and now I'm content to leave it alone for another 6 - 12 months, until I decide it's time to reassess style direction. Like you, I think more in words than in images, so Pinterest, Instagram, are not particularly engaging for me, but they are useful. I definitely don't ever feel "sucked in" the way I get with a long Twitter or FB (or forum!) thread. Which is actually kind of nice...)</p> <p>Definitely consider sharing some inspiration photos from your searches; I'd love to see what you come up with. The stereoscope idea is a great one, and I do think you should play around with it in your outfits: old vs new, conceptions of femininity, etc. Being aware of and toying with different gazes could go in some really neat directions style-wise.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172465 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 19:44:10 +0000 Firecracker (Sharan) 2172465@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><div>Glad you found my earlier comment helpful, Fashintern!</div><div>A couple of thoughts about how to make the imperfection on those pants be part of an intentional style. <br /></div><div>1) You already have it down, by recognizing that these pants will not be part of a polished outfit. Bingo. Don't try to wear them in an interview-suit type of outfit. Wear them, as you are in the photo, with other pieces that don't aspire to be polished--the oversized shirt, for example; the untucked shirt-tail. <br /></div><div>2) Another way to make that particular flaw in the pants look intentional is to do so within the article of clothing itself, by introducing ther imperfections in the garment. Replicating the pull on the opposite lower leg, for example, or letting out the hems to be raw-edged; adding some paint spatters, Pollack-style; etc.&nbsp; I don't think this approach is at all necessary, but it's another option.<br /></div> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172430 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 18:38:08 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2172430@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Jenn, those things are absolutely me! Your observations and comments have been right on target and so helpful to me from when I very first started here.<br /> Maybe I’m coming to understand what people mean by “making it look intentional”. So I want to retain those elements, but not have people (RL’s “small-nosed blondes”) assume that I just didn’t have a chance to get in for my mani, poor dear. </p> <p>Here is (for real) the next item on the list of what i want to experiment with in that future post. The question is exactly how to make something look intentional. The pulled fabric on these pants can’t be repaired, so it would disqualify the pants from a highly polished style. I want to figure out how to make the distressed bit an intentional part of an outfit. </p> <p>You mentioned checking for similar photos. I don’t know how to do that in Pinterest (but I do use google’s image search). Your comment on taking the time to see where the Pinterest winds take you might be part of my problem with the site. Besides not finding the software the slightest bit intuitive, I don’t want to spend time on it. If it was a quicker, easier way to accomplish what I can do by googling “lug soles plaid pants”, I’d be much, much more willing to use it. But your comment about how useful it is to store the images because you don’t remember precise images intrigues me. That’s where I come in analyzing the images for stuff I can put into words. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172425 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 18:20:48 +0000 Jenn 2172425@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm going to be a spanner on those who don't see RATE in your style. I absolutely do!</p> <p>I don't see RATE as toughness. I see it as a willingness to go out into the world looking less polished. (And don't take this as a criticism, because I consider myself RATE!) To me, RATE means not heat-styling your hair, because you're not fussed about it being a little frizzy (ie: the opposite of rachylou's "American hair"). It's rarely pulling out the iron (and even feeling a little awkward when your clothing has razor-sharp pleats), being okay with the strings on your jeans cuffs, not getting manicures, putting off polishing your scuffed shoes, your shirt coming untucked when you don't necessarily mean for it to, and smudging the outlines on your makeup (if you wear it at all). Does that make sense? It's not about being ungroomed or slovenly...it's just a certain level of unkempt that you decide to embrace.</p> <p>On Pinterest...when you first join, Pinterest asks you to pick a few topics you might be interested in. That's what forms your "feed" or the photos that populate your home page when you log in. When I'm making a style board, I either start with my home feed, or type in a phrase I think might yield some results for me...maybe a description of an item I already have like "black linen dress outfit" or "embroidered duster outfit." From there, I just sort of scroll and, without a lot of judging or analysis, add any photo that appeals to me to a new board. If you see something you kind of like, but isn't quite right, you can click that photo, and it will show you similar photos, so I do that to drill down to images that really capture what I'm after. Similarly, if there's something I DO really like, I also check for similar photos, to find variations on the theme. I spend some time just going where the Pinterest winds take me. As Jules said, I don't try to do much analysis until I've collected maybe a dozen photos. Then, I look at the board I've made and try to see the common themes. Sometimes, I remove pics that no longer really seem to fit. She's right in that it may just not be for you, but I'm also a verbal thinker, and I find it useful to have images collected precisely because I can't always hold the specifics of clothing shapes and combinations in my mind the way I do verbal descriptors. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172424 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 18:08:35 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2172424@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks Jules, but that sounds pretty random to me, more than I have patience for. I’m fine with the conclusion reached in this post, that it’s possible to exclude Pinterest from search results, and that one of my many inadequacies is the inability to Pinterest properly. <a href="https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/remedial-pinterest" rel="nofollow">https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....-pinterest</a></p> <p>ETA: I appreciate your desire to be helpful. Right now there are other things I’m working towards that require regrowing parts of my brain, so I don’t have the motivation/energy to develop that visual part. But I do think continuing to learn in new ways, not just packing in more of the same old stuff, is important as we age, so I may come back to this in a few years. What I’m taking from this conversation is that I need to include images of any ideas I’m talking about. I will do so. </p> <p>Also, it amuses me that what I was talking about in that old thread is what shoes to wear with my windowpane pants. I’m so excited about my new loafers that I’ve been looking through things in my wardrobe to wear them with and came up with—the windowpane pants! They will be exhibit A in the post about upping my RATE quotient. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172422 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 17:53:55 +0000 Jules 2172422@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Starting with a phrase can still be part of the process - I think I’m trying to suggest getting into a more visual flow state with more time looking at and collecting pictures and less time trying to pin down the right words. But I see my own words are failing me, or perhaps just aren’t helpful to you </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172421 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 17:47:46 +0000 Jules 2172421@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Not sure if you’re using the app or desktop but your Pinterest feed is just the pictures Pinterest shows you by default when you log in or open the app. You can use the search there to find some fashion images people already saved and by searching, pinning (saving) ones you like, and perhaps following other people you’ll start to change what shows up in your feed. For example, I mostly pin plant based recipes so I have a lot of food in my feed similar to things I have pinned recently. There are also ads and so on. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172420 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 17:41:12 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2172420@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Irina, starting with a phrase like that is what’s intuitive to me, too. I don’t see how Jules means to do it differently. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172419 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 17:39:46 +0000 Irina 2172419@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>FI, do a search on Pinterest, let’s say Light Academia fashion. Create your board and save images that you like. Don’t look at it too literally, “too much brown “, if you like composition and proportions, you will be able to substitute brown with berries. An algorithm will be created based on your saves and searches. Suggested images will appear in the feed.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172415 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 17:22:24 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2172415@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Jules, you are entirely correct that I’m a verbal, not visual, thinker. But I still have to get dressed, and people still respond to what they see, so I need to put some thought into it. When someone says they have “thoughts” about people who “throw on any old thing”, I highly doubt they mean they assume the person has other priorities, is busy, or any other positive thing. What appeals to me most about Angie’s writing is how well she puts visual things into words, so those of us who are not visual by nature have an entry point. In other words, it goes both directions, making a bridge between different inborn approaches. </p> <p>The steam has cleared on that other post—I meant to get back to it. Then something irl interfered, so it might be too long in the tooth to return to. But no, I was explicitly disinterested in discussing definitions of a term that turns out to mean a lot of different things. If you want to talk about that post more, let’s do it over there. </p> <p>Your explanation of how to use Pinterest is to start with a feed. Where would that come from? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172414 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 17:13:54 +0000 Jules 2172414@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It sometimes strikes me that you might be trying to do visual thinking with words. Something I totally get because<br /> I do it myself. In fact one main reason I am here is because Angie breaks down the visuals using words in a way that clarifies things for me.<br /> But when you posted about tonal dressing - I wondered if it would be more useful to share more pictures of what you aspired to than spend so much time trying to explain it and nail down everyone’s else’s definitions. When you explain how you’ve tried to use Pinterest - googling phrases then trying to figure out what you like about the resulting pictures - that sounds backwards to me. I think most people would instead pin a bunch of pictures from their Pinterest feed, which then adjusts the algorithm to try to give you more of what you want (with varying degrees of success). Only once they had a critical mass of pins would they then try to analyze for common visual elements and style descriptors.<br /> Maybe Pinterest just isn’t your thing at all and that’s fine, I’m not saying you need to use it. But your description of how you use it combined with the recent tonal discussion struck me.<br /> And forgive me if I’ve missed something because I’ll be honest that I don’t read the entirety of your longer posts. No criticism implied, just giving my gut reaction and some context in the hopes it’ll be useful.<br /> Tl, dr summary: look at the pictures then figure out the words, not vice versa. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172407 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 16:49:01 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2172407@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Such warm, helpful responses—thank you all! Not to embarrass anyone with mushiness, but you’ve reminded me of a quote on the wall of the yoga studio my son went to, seen in the screenshot here. </p> <p>Firecracker hit it out of the park deconstructing how I think about my style and how it connects to what I wear oitw. </p> <p>Bijou, thank you! That duality of “approachable with presence”, “softness in combat boots” and a bit of mystery is exactly what I hope to strengthen. I’d like to project the “impression of someone who is interesting, confident, capable and not precious” unambiguously. </p> <p>La Ped and nemosmom, I have not done Pinterest mood boards because the software gets in the way. I’ve posted a couple threads asking for (and receiving) help finding my way around the app, but it never feels intuitive. I google a phrase that describes how I’d like to dress, then try to pick out particulars in the outfits I like. I’ve been doing that recently, getting ready for the “playing in my closet” RATE post I mentioned. I’ll add Emily Ratajkowski to the list of phrases to check out, thanks. The pic with red sundress &amp; pointy boots is one I came across the other night. I’m not familiar with the terms “light academia” and “dark academia”. In those images, I see patterns and shapes that appeal to me, but far more brown than I think I can wear well. I’ll add them to the list too. </p> <p>I grew up thinking of myself as “the boy” in our family of three sisters, heftier and stronger than my thin, blonde, older sister. Remember in <i>Little House in the Big Woods</i> when Laura, the little French pony, rocks her school desk right out of the hardware fastening it to the floor? That was me in my mind growing up. My son says he’d rather marry someone like me than a “real” woman (by which I think he means impractically girly) All that to say that it’s odd to me to think that I give off a feminine/yin aura. I believe you all that I do, and I can see it myself in the photos. I want to balance that out, have a more pronounced juxtaposition. </p> <p>I’m grateful that Firecracker sees athleticism in my stance/build. That might be why I think I come across as more yang irl than in still photos. There is probably a bit of body image dysmorphia going on as well—looking at photos from my childhood and teens years, I see I was nowhere the chubby block I thought I was. It took me a long time to realize I wasn’t fat (and then there a few years when I was, but I digress) or butch-looking. That isn’t what I want to be, but I do want to be more authentic in representing the athletic, stronger side of myself. </p> <p>Helena, yes, that contrast is what I want to draw out in my look. It’s interesting but not surprising to me that it is hard for people to see the RATE side. It is something I definitely want to emphasize more. Not a full-on rock/punk/grunge/edgy/tough/urban/hardened look, but a little something <u>around the edges </u>to warn people I’m not a pink donut, sweet all the way through. </p> <p>Kkards, whether stepping up to things is rough-n-ready/rough around the edges or “doing my own thing” might well depend on the things being stepped up to. My instinct when I’m intimidated is to attempt a poker face, swallow, and take a step forward. I love a challenge at work and in play, and don’t flinch from them even if they aren’t fun. I don’t think this part of me shows up in the way I dress, but I’d like it to. Of course, some of those rough-and-ready responses are offbeat enough to be “my own thing”, and you are quite correct that being part of the group is not a thing I strive for. </p> <p>La Ped, I’m still trying to make sense of my negative reaction to the word “eclectic” and position reaction to “artisan”. I might just stick with “attracted to texture and (strong? Imprecise? Botanic/naturalistic?) pattern” for now. You are, of course, correct that I don’t want to refer to myself with a term associated with culture theft—what would Guha say, or Gramsci??</p> <p>On that scholastic note, nemosmom’s comment about my vintage tendencies reminds me of the academic “me” I’m trying to get back to. I think of my writing as a stereoscope (or View Master, if you remember those) which presents two nearly-identical images side-by-side, so the viewer “sees” depth. The idea in my writing is to stay in two eras at once to show an idea in 3D. So I read, write, and think in multiple eras routinely. Nice to think of that being reflected in my style! I’ll have to use it consciously next time I get to present (a long way off—firming up a topic now). </p> <p>Synne, come back! You always have such insightful comments—I’m looking forward to what you have to say, when you have time. Of course, now I’ve written a second book even longer than the OP. Not my intent, but people made such good, dense, chewy comments I just couldn’t resist. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172308 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 11:47:26 +0000 kkards 2172308@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Agreeing with Firecracker and Bijou.<br />honestly I don’t see RATE at all in your WIWs...for me your &nbsp;comment...&nbsp;I’m a pretty rough-n-ready kind of person, who steps up to things without blinking....does not translate to RATE, it translates to DYOT...you seem like the type who goes left when everyone else goes right, and that your more concerned about being true to your self than being part of a group.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thinking-through-%e2%80%9cme%e2%80%9d-style#post-2172285 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 07:02:20 +0000 rachylou 2172285@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I agree with Bijou! Firecracker did a good job connecting the words and the manifestation! </p>