Can we tawwwwwk???

I love comedy.  I love humor.  That is why I have watched countless episodes of "Fashion Police" over the years.  Latest internet reports tell us that Joan Rivers' condition is improving remains in a medically induced coma, has passed away, and I sincerely wish her and her family a peaceful recovery conclusion, however this turns out.

"Fashion Police", if you've never seen it, is a show where a fashion-critiquing panel sits and reviews the clothing of celebrities as they watch their red carpet arrivals at events.  It is often mean, sometimes hilarious, and sometimes genuinely educational, since some of the guest panelists often have actual technical, artistic or historical wisdom to share.

What disturbs me about it, is that it feeds into exactly what is so very wrong with our celebrity obsessed culture at the moment.  We beat them up, criticize and insult them relentlessly, and praise them arbitrarily for making choices that agree with what some fashion royalty has deemed appropriate or current. How can you feel flattered when you know what has just been said about the person next to or behind you on that very same carpet?

But let's not forget that this is comedy.  That's what it was all about.  There is no need to take all of this so seriously.  I have no ill feelings toward Gwyneth Paltrow whatsoever, and despite the fact that I don't get what it was that rubbed her the wrong way, Joan's comments about her were always fall-down funny!

One of the truest statements ever was uttered by my son, about age 5 or so at the time.  We were at a hospital, in the waiting room, where my mother was going to have surgery.  To my horror, my son began digging between the cushions of the waiting room sofa, and I quickly reprimanded him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" I snapped.

Politely, he stopped, looked at me, and said, "Mom, if you were me, you'd like what I like, and you'd do what I do."

So true, my boy.  So true.

This Sunday, I watched a segment on CBS Sunday Morning, in which the brilliant Tavi Gevinson was interviewed.  What I love most here, is that she embraces what makes her unique, and follows the beat of her own drummer, and appreciates what is not "trending" for the masses, but touches her as an individual.





"Fashion" only works if a measurable group of people agree and spend money on it.  I, like Tavi, often exempt myself from that pursuit.  

Dismayed to find that shades of orange are on the upcoming horizon for fashion, I thought, "So what? I can create my own stuff!" 

The garment district fabric and supply stores support us all fully in this.  You can explore the garment district and find a rich palette including every color you can imagine, and you need not concern yourself with fashion AT ALL if  you don't want to.

Best stores for the anti-trenders (because of the breadth and variety of their offerings):

Butterfly Fabrics
Fabrics & Fabrics
Mood
Rosen & Chadick
Metro Textiles
B&J Fabrics
Chic fabrics

Oh, and there are so many more, it is just exhausting. Personally, I find it very hard to do more than 6 or 7 max stores in a single day, but the district is just throbbing with possibilities!  Enjoy what you make!