Monday 3 November 2008

A RANT I NEEDED TO HAVE!



All my life I have adored fashion. When I was a little girl it was always important to look smart.
Then as I go older the smartness didn't so much matter, just as long as the skirt was short enough.
To keep up with this fashion need I have read fashion magazines from the clothes pages in Jackie, through to Petticoat and Honey, all the way up to the three glossy mags I read every month now.
I'm so sad that if anyone didn't have a life I could tell you the order that I graduated from magazine to magazine!
I had the first three years of Cosmo in my wardrobe for years.
I sold my edition of the first Next catalogue book to an antique dealer after keeping it for 20 years.

My clothes sense has never been cutting edge, but it works and I know what suits me. Whether it's battered levis and a black polo neck, which has to be one of my all time favourites,especially with my biker jacket. Or designer clothes with a primark piece to add balance. I love wearing my Armani jacket with black trousers when I need to have a confidence fix, cause I'm bullet proof in that jacket, and no-one can mess with me wearing it! I can't wait to show off my new party dress, black lace deep V back, slash neck and half way up my thighs, so with black opaque tights and some high heels watch me go.

Underwear was always something that I adored and back in the day pre mastectomy I wouldn't be seen out without matching bra and nix. And they were never grey! That has had to change, not the grey bit! just the matching stuff. Mastectomy bras are not hugely sexy, and there is no reason why they shouldn't be. As some of us can wear under wires still, we do want lace and sexy fabrics. We don't all need big white bras that my granny wouldn't have been seen in. That's not say that the companies making specialist underwear aren't getting better. But for some reason they are far more expensive than buying something pretty in M&S. And I begrudge paying that money for something that is alright but not spectacular.

What amazes me is that the number of companies that raise money for breast cancer, I think that's great,well I would wouldn't I? But why do they lingerie companies not put their money where their mouths are and make some attractive sexy frothy stuff for us. Triumph is a company in point, they had a big breast awareness thing going on earlier this year and special undies you could buy to support breast cancer awareness. But did they as one of the countries biggest bra manufactures make anything that wasn't gross for women who'd had mastectomies ...... Did they fuck. The pretty stuff was for the girls with tits not us women who might have actually liked a company to help us out.

Now I'm on a rant I'll go on about something else that annoys me.
The glossy mags,they spend a huge amount of effort supporting breast cancer.... thank you. But when they do there annual breast cancer issue why don't they show clothes that we can wear on the fashion pages.

We can wear anything except really low necks and most clothes shown seem to be like that. Surely in the special BC month they could get some gorgeous woman who has had BC and make her over from the undies out, just to show how we can be part of the same society as the other glamorous women in their low cut tops at the party.

I'm lucky I have good legs, so I can make the most of them. I've gotta good arse, for those who can remember the pic I put up, so I do make myself feel sexy by being proud of those bits and showing them off. I don't have any problems with people noticing I don't have one breast in the clothes I wear if I bend forward and they see what passes for my cleavage. But I don't deliberately wear low tops anymore there are limits to my confidence levels.

There is nothing wrong with people who are different from average, but sometimes we don't have get to feel as if we are!

Vanity has now meant that my hair is back to being dyed again!

As ever this hasn't turned out how I expected it to, I was going to talk about male fashion but I'll leave that for another day.

12 comments:

nitebyrd said...

Well said and excellent points. My daughter still has both her breasts and they are large. She has trouble covering her scars in sleevless and low cut tops. Also, the bras in her size are more like buttresses to strap down cannonballs. Horrid!

I think I'll bring up your suggestions to the SGK organization and will pay close attention to the booths this year to see what's up there. Coldwater Creek, an upscale women's clothing company is a big supporter. I think I'll write them, too.

Byrd, you lit a fire under me! LOL

Unknown said...

Oh yes! Well said! Underwear companies give me the heeps, honestly! As you say, they make a big deal about BC awareness but then do very little "practical" - this is also true when it comes to making bras in less than "usual" sizes - there's a whole community out there that are just left with grannies underthings and it's no fun - and it's expensive to go the extra mile to find something half decent, as you say. Yeah, see, you've got a collective rant going here!

BenefitScroungingScum said...

Don't start me on the subject of the breast cancer charities! As all the stuff is icky, perhaps you could have a go at designing something and submitting it to one of the charities or linked co's?
BG x

Anonymous said...

Where was this picture taken? I've only been to the UK once, but this looks so familiar...

Fire Byrd said...

byrd, AV and BG

Lets here it for the girls!!!
Issues come tumbling out of the woodwork once we start. Wouldn't that have been fun to have had that conversation over a glass or two!

woodsong, welcome. the photo is the river Thames in Oxfordshire taken last summer on a visit to my friends who live there

xxxx

Ronjazz said...

YUM in any case, woman! I imagine your fashion sense is as good as anyone else I know. Rant away!

Mel said...

*nodding*

You GO, girl!

Dying the hair?
Seriously?
k......but it's lovely as is, yaknow.....

Trixie said...

I think you should contact the magazines about this!

virtualjourney said...

Yep, you're right. Tricky one, isn't it - they need to get their act together, saying one thing and not doing another...

anya said...

Well, Byrd, I wish you were around to be my fashion consultant. No I didn't have breast cancer I don't mean that part of the rant, but from the first part I get the idea you have a handle on fashion in general. I need a new look. Well, I need a look period. I want a style, you know? I want a dress! I'm just so darned short.

I've been reading your back posts. Liked your Halloween story.

Lori ann said...

I think we may have a few more options here, but they are so unbelieveably expensive! My mom and sister both have had breast cancer, my mom had both breasts removed, my sister one, so they kinda look around for this sort of thing now. I know they were shopping just the other weekend, I could find out and let you know.

xx

Walker said...

Nice rant and on the money.
It's not like they wouldn't make money on it, probably charge double.
Its only a small shift when you really think about it for them to accomplish that.

Oh and I still remember the pic of your legs and arse, Red shoes to ;)