i've been pondering the idea of ugly as beautiful again (something i've brought up here before)...
it's sort of all stream of consciousness, these thoughts and my jotting them down. maybe you can follow along?

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what it is for me:
-it's this inner push inside of me, an unstoppable attraction to some things that which might repulse some other people, particularly when it comes to clothing items.
-some of it is about a love of the wabi-sabi inherent within objects, the imperfectness of some things, certain things, specific things.
-sometimes this means something once loved but later and vehemently eschewed for something else "new" and "trendy".
-sometimes it means going against what's "new and trendy". embracing what's ugly in comparison. just because. but it's by all means honest. i'm not going to really embrace something unless it actually, factually resonates with me.
-sometimes it's just happening to like something that no one seems to like. or that very few do. but that i just do.
-i see it sometimes manifesting itself in my championing things like my undying love for all things acid wash, oversized crazy-ass clip earrings from the 60s-80s, weird grandma clothes that no one else wants. and very much especially with my sometimes becoming intermittently obsessed with seeming incongruent color schemes or pairings, ones your average folk might find appalling or socially unacceptable.

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BUT:
i suppose i am talking about any old ugly thing really, but something that's perfect in it's ugliness. something so ugly it becomes beautiful. something on the edge of good taste, something good or bad depending upon when and where and amongst whom you happen to be standing.

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so i wonder:
-is this about a quest for the novel? the new? the next? something i haven't seen yet? something that hasn't been seen in a while? seeing something (possibly something old) in a new light?
-or is this about being contrary, setting myself or consciously/unconsciously pushing myself to the outside, where i admittedly feel more comfortable? is it just being contrary for the sake of being contrary?

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because, ya know, it's all relative, really. this ugly/beautiful thing.
beautiful and ugly in the eye of the beholder, and so on.
one man's trash, is another's treasure.
or is it?
are some things just truly ugly?

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other people also feel this way, i know. other people love those same things. like the written note above...some can appreciate the same things. other people are into their own "ugly" things.
maybe YOU are one of those people. maybe we all are those people?
so, again, i wonder (i'm always wondering!):
-why? what's the common thread? the driving force that forces us, compels some of us to love that which is "ugly"?
-is it a certain kind of person that can see the loveliness in things, no matter how other people see them? a person who can see things differently about that which is different? does that person think differently from the "norm"? are they special in any way, or not at all?
-or is society/culture collectively fickle and changeable...thinking that which is old is passe and ugly when it really may not be, but just seem so in relation to the new(er) and the mod? (answer: yes, duh!) is it just part of the endless unrelenting cycle of culture, style and trend?
-as with an earlier question up there, is there a way to definitively define "ugly" or "beautiful"? i know studies have been done to try and determine these sorts of things. but beautiful and ugly are such subjective terms, so inherently changeable depending upon who's doing the viewing and digesting and contemplating and judging...

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care to add any thoughts? do share!

(images via ReadyMade.com)

hello there lovely readers! how goes it?
just wanted to let you know that i'm one of the new fashion bloggers over at ReadyMade.com, on their fashion blog, Off The Rack! i'll be posting there on all-things fashion a couple times a week from here on out, special posts you can only find over yonder, but very much like the cool stuff i post here. my current compadre on said blog is jane flanagan of http://www.seenandsaid.blogspot.com/ and i hear some other great folks will be added on over time. so cool!
when i post something there, i'll let you know here, so you can go take a gander if you're so inclined.
hope to see you over at ReadyMade/Off The Rack, too!

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also: thank you so very much, ReadyMade, for having me! i've been a subscriber of the print mag since it's first few issues, and i am incredibly honored and humbled to have the chance to be a part of their blogging team. *blushes*

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also also: go check out the other new ReadyMade blogs: Inside, Out (home & garden), Feast (food), Make Nice (craft), and Editor's Notes (news and other good stuff!)...