bits and bobbins

in less than two weeks, i’ll be finding myself wandering the streets of amsterdam, paris, and antwerp…

is there anything i shouldn’t miss in these three lovely locales…

particularly experiences or destinations of the food, art, or fashion variety?

do tell!

i like to keep touristy stuff to a minimum on my holidays, preferring to explore and wander and live like a local as much as possible.

i’ve been to amsterdam 2x already, but haven’t been to paris or antwerp at all…i’ve got about a week in amsterdam, 3-4 days in paris, and 2-3 days in antwerp.

apparently bits and bobbins (that’d me me, and uh, the blog you’re reading right now…) and wardrobe_remix were featured on threadbanger, “a web-based network for people who make their own clothing”. how bad ass of a concept is that? a pretty freakin’ cool one. here’s the episode with yours truly in it.



awesome!

i’m def. gonna check out the rest of the videos when time allows!

go, check ‘em out!

thanks to the gorgeous and talented mallory, of the indie style blog miss malaprop whose recent blog post about her being featured on threadbanger brought this to my attention! big ups/thanks to threadbanger and mallory! (w/o her i would have had no idea!)

p.s. threadbanger’s most recent video also mentions galadarling, who i’ve mentioned here before, quite recently. i mean it, go read! her blog is like an amazing fashion and lifestyle magazine that touches on everything from marriage to how to get a great tattoo, to defining what is chic, all from gala’s irreverent and joyful perspective.

risk-taking…in the fashion or style sense, i mean.

should it be commended or ridiculed? is it good, is it bad?

some find it hard take risks, right? and that’s perfectly okay.

other people take risks, try new things that fall outside of their personal comfort zone. some go quite far out.

and at times, they slip-up somehow. maybe it’s not quite successful, maybe it’s just not right altogether.

but i think, “you know, at least they tried!”

it makes me think of the quote, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” if you try something, if you take a risk, if you put forth a new idea, you’re bound to have detractors, people who disagree with you, think you’re wrong…this being a diverse world with different folks with different ways of seeing the world (see last post, heh!)…and well, that’s just fine!

but honestly, personally, i’d rather take risks and look like a fool to some, than to have never tried at all.

i’d rather please myself than please others, when it’s boiled down to the essence of the matter.

i’ll stand the stares, the laughs. i’ve had plenty to this point and it’s okay. i’m a survivor!

as some might say, it’s “just clothes”…right?

so, as a rule, should we cow to others opinions? should we stop taking risks, expressing new ideas (in fashion, or hell, anything else) if others don’t agree?

i have to come down on the side of “no” there…

but pray-tell, what do YOU think? fashion-philosophically?

so yeah, i have a penchant for dressing girlish, tossing colors or perhaps outfits together with what some might deem as abandon or childlike manner. it’s fun…but others seem to see it as perhaps being more than a little immature (though i can assure you, it’s rather calculated).

so i’ve been thinking…

-what is age-appropriate clothing?

-when is someone officially an “adult”?

-after what age should one dress like “an adult”?

-what does an “adult” dress like? what does an “adult” act like in regards to style? are there “rules” that people should abide by once they pass a certain age mark?

-does adult equal conservative, clean, restrained?

what say ye, my pretty peanut gallery?

[thanks to commenter ann, for giving me delicious food for thought this morning!]