HoneyNo.com is a site that occasionally pops up on Austin Bloggers, and I'm not sure if I find it offensive because of its crass consumerism or because it seems designed to make women even more self-concious about their bodies. A standard HoneyNo post features a photo of a younger woman wearing revealing, but mildly unflattering, clothes and suggestions for future apparel purchases. When I read it, I wonder if the writers work for Gap Inc., considering how often it plugs items from Old Navy. Granted, I'm 29 years old and I dress like a skater, so I have little credibility in fashion matters when my wardrobe is largely limited to black t-shirts and baggy jeans. But this woman, from the picture, looks just fine in her hot pants; its not as if she's unaware her cheeks are hanging out. Let her have her fun and feel good about her body. Its also suspicious that the site doesn't feature any full body shots of its contributors
Today, bOINGbOING features a site from perhaps the other end of the sartorial spectrum. Jen Magazine offers "modest fashion fixes" for young Mormon women, addressing situations like a cute, but immodest, tank top or jeans that are cut too low. One of its suggestions is overalls, which seem to make even slender women look bottom-heavy. My advice to young Mormon readers: you can't go wrong with black t-shirts and baggy jeans.
Well thanks for your critiques. It's always nice to get feedback, whether it's good or bad. No we don't work for the Gap, we just like the fact that their clothes are cute and inexpensive. It's not our aim to make women feel bad about their bodies. Sam and I have both admitted that we are not petite girls, but we do know how to dress our body-types and that is what makes the difference. We don't criticize girls' bodies, we criticize their ill-fitting clothes. Thanks for reading!
Posted by: Em at October 27, 2004 08:22 PMi guess i have two questions, Em.
why the concern for how clothing fits on others?
&
how is the information you give on your site making a difference in the lives that you choose to present?
Half of the folks featured on that website looked good to me.
For instance...
http://www.honeyno.com/archives/honey%20no%201.JPG
http://www.honeyno.com/archives/v-7.jpg
http://www.honeyno.com/archives/v-3%20resized.jpg
http://www.honeyno.com/archives/flannel%201.jpg
all look good to me.
But beyond all of this look at this one...
http://www.honeyno.com/archives/fat%20girl%20in%20a%20little%20skirt.bmp
In particular look at that file name.... fat%20girl%20in%20a%20little%20skirt.bmp
I thougth that "fat" girl was very good looking and is NOT fat at all.
Posted by: J. M. Branum at October 28, 2004 02:39 AMi would suspect that there is more substance to us 'girls' and better choices in how we interact within our intimate groups and among strangers.
i would like to suggest some reading:
The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir
The Body Project : An Intimate History of American Girls by Joan Jacob Brumberg
unfortunately, i don't think i have or plan to publicize your website. i wish you luck and hope you go forth and make a difference.
Posted by: mel at October 28, 2004 10:54 AMI don't think anything on honeyno.com is offensive or makes women feel bad about their bodies. Honey, No! is one of my favorite sites because it offers entertaining and helpful fashion advice. It's easy to tear down a fashion victim, but what these girls do is actually offer solutions to the problems. They are like a real life "What Not To Wear" episode. And lets face it, everyone needs some fashion help sometimes.
Posted by: Brandie at October 28, 2004 11:16 AMAs someone who is fashion-impaired and would no doubt receive their scorn if they critiqued middle-aged guys, I find myself surprised that I want to rush to their defense.
If you're going to pay any attention to fashion at all, then of course you're going to find things to criticize. That's what fashion is, a purely artificial domain in which to like some things and dislike others. It wouldn't make any more sense to write about fashion without making fun of some of it than it would to write only good things about pop music.
I don't think Sam and Em are being cruel. They're not naming names or showing faces, just presenting anonymous images of clothes they see around town and letting us know what they think about them. Unless you believe we should all wear government-issue jumpsuits in order to spare the feelings of people with body image issues, surely that's permissible.
JMB, the fact that many of them women featured in HoneyNo are attractive proves that their critique is focused on the clothes and not just on body types. And that image title was catty, yes, but good lord -- that horrible skirt only looks good on someone with a near-impossible body, and I don't find their assessment of how it looks on that woman to be wrong at all. The problem isn't with her body, it's with her ridiculous fashion choice.
Of course you or I or the women in the pictures may all have wildly different opinions from Sam and Em. Again, that's what fashion -- or aesthetics in general -- is all about.
Posted by: Prentiss Riddle at October 31, 2004 08:33 AMi shouldn't be saddened by the girls, really. it's just a waste of time. this is their thing. prentiss, you helped me realize that i'm not a fan of fashion. and that's alright. everyone has their thing.
so i won't be hating the player, or the game. if you don't like what's on, change the channel.
Posted by: mel at November 1, 2004 09:30 AMIf I were a braver man, I'd find some photos of myself and the sloppy clothes I wear, send them to Sam and Em and see whether they'd take the bait and recommend something else for me.
But even if that happened I probably wouldn't act on their suggestions, so never mind.
Posted by: Prentiss Riddle at November 1, 2004 04:37 PMrecent entries
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