Skinny Jeans

Skinny Jeans: The Inclusion and Exclusion of Groups

Skinny Jeans. The name itself brings up positive and negative connotations that appeal to some while excluding others. Originating in the 50s, skinny jeans were synonymous with youth, rebelliousness, and sex appeal (Hayashida, 2006). Today the tapered legs and form-fitting cut is found in major retail clothing stores, fashion magazines, and college campuses.

            Often paired with a loose top and casual pumps or form-fitting blazer and stiletto heels, skinny jeans appeal to a young and thin female population. Soon after the birth of her daughter, Gisele Bundchen, Brazilian supermodel and goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), reclaimed her slender appearance by debuted her post-baby body in a pair of white skinny jeans (Gisele Bundchen, 2013). Noticing the appeal and attention given to skinny jeans, Stephanie Haddad (2012), a freelance writer for Yahoo, wrote an article giving women suggestions and tips for finding the right pair of skinny jeans. As its name implies, skinny jeans are often marketed for a slender and fashion forward population. 

Do not kid yourself into thinking that skinny jeans are only for women. Its trendy looks and sex appeal has attracted the likings of men, such as major music icons Lil Wayne and Justin Bieber (Cocozza, 2013). During a 2012 survey of 2,000 British men, 50% of the men surveyed reported experiencing discomfort while wearing skinny jeans (Rattue, 2012); however, 40% of the men also reported they “would rather look stylish than be comfortable” (Rattue, 2012). For many men, the desire to follow the latest trends trumps discomfort.

Often associated with rock stars, skaters, and fashion models, skinny jeans connotes a sense of youth, fitness, sexiness, and beauty. During the 2012 MTV Music Video Awards (MVA), One Directions, an all boy popular British music group, stylishly strutted down the red carpet in skinny jeans (Hobza, 2012). They were not an exception. One year prior, Lil Wayne, a renowned hip-hop recording artist, sported a pair of cheetah print during his MVA performance (Twana, 2011). Its narrow shape and numerous colors draw the attention of a young fashion forward crowd willing to experiment with the latest fashion styles.

However, skinny jeans are not for everyone. In “Staying Young with Skinny Jeans,” columnist Teri Agins (2013) advises only older women with a “youthful attitude” to wear skinny jeans. According to Agins (2013), baby boomers interested in skinny jeans should follow fashion tips from How Not to Look Old by Charla Krupp and wear jean variations with a higher waist or bright colors. By doing so, Angis (2013) claims older women can “shave years off” their appearance. The attraction as implied by Agins (2013) is for older women to appear younger and fit. Agins (2013) also makes a point by letting her readers know that only older women with a youthful personality should attempt to wear skinny jeans.  The exclusion doesn’t stop here. For year, Alice Dogruyol, author of “Big Girl in a Skinny World,” searched for a pair of jeans. Frustrated and often discouraged, Dogruyol swore off jeans until finding a pair of high-waisted stretch jeans (Dogruyol, 2010). As illustrated by Dogruyol, skinny jeans are marketed for skinny people. Only through adjustments and variations are older and plus size women able to comfortably wear skinny jeans. The jovial and slender appearance associated with skinny jeans excludes many.

Though designed for a slender and young population, skinny jeans provide clothing retail companies lucrative benefits. In 2006, Guess Inc., a clothing retail store, doubled its profit from a year earlier (Semuels, 2006). Its monetary gain, in part, came from the lucrative sales of skinny jeans (Semeuls, 2006). Similarly, on October 2012, Market Watch reported a sale increase of 40% by the makers of Calvin Klein jeans (Cheng, 2012). Skinny jeans with its slender looks draw the attention of many and benefit the sale profit of popular clothing retail stores. 

How long will skinny jeans stay in style? This is a difficult question to answer. However, one can deduce that the style will continue to thrive as long as it continues to bring lucrative gains for clothing retail companies and provide fashion forward individuals with stylish looks and notoriety.

References:

Agins, T. (2013, January 30). Staying young with skinny jeans. The Wall Street Journal, Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323375204578272302496548998.html

Cheng, C. (2012, October 21). Home depot, lowe's jump on sandy boost. Market Pulse, Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-depot-lowes-jump-on-sandy-boost-2012-10-31

Cocozza, P. (2013, January 09). Skinny jeans: The fashion trend that refuses to die. The Guardian, Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/2013/jan/09/skinny-jeans-fashion-trend-refuses-to-die

Dogruyol, A. (2010, March 08). Big girl in a skinny world: Forget muffin tops. on me, we're talking a volcanic eruption read more. Mail Online, Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1256182/Big-girl-skinny-world-Can-big-women-wear-skinny-jeans.html

Gisele Bundchen Debuts Post-baby Body in Skinny White Jeans Holding Daughter Vivian. (2013, February 08). U.S.Weekly, Retrieved from http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-body/news/gisele-debuts-skinny-post-baby-body-holding-daughter-vivian-2-months-pictures-201382

Haddad, S. (2012, August 19). The skinny on skinny jeans: Can you wear them? Yahoo! Voices, Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/the-skinny-skinny-jeans-wear-them-11652572.html?cat=46

Hayashida, L. (2006, November 08). The skinny jean: A brief history. Ezine Article, Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Skinny-Jean:-A-Brief-History&id=351854

Hobza, K. (2012, September 07). And the dude on the moon goes to… She Knows Entertainment, Retrieved from http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/970715/mtvs-2012-vmas-the-awards-you-didnt-see

Rattue, G. (2012, July 14). Skinny jeans cause health problems for men. Medical News Today, Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/247826.php

Semuels, A. (2006, November 02). Guess inc.'s profit doubles in 3rd quarter; its shares soar. Los Angeles Times, Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2006/nov/02/business/fi-guess2

Twana, T. (2011, August 29). In blankstare news: Lil Wayne in his cheetah print skinny jeans @ 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.  Twana tells da truth and nothing but da truth so help me blog, Retrieved from http://twanatells.com/2011/08/29/in-blankstare-news-lil-wayne-in-his-cheetah-print-skinny-jeans-2011-mtv-video-music-awards/

Twana, T. (2011, August 29). In blankstare news: Lil Wayne in his cheetah print skinny jeans @ 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.  Twana tells da truth and nothing but da truth so help me blog, Retrieved from http://twanatells.com/2011/08/29/in-blankstare-news-lil-wayne-in-his-cheetah-print-skinny-jeans-2011-mtv-video-music-awards/

Christmas Hand-print Tree/Wall Art

Xmas is finally here!!


I love this time of the year. People pretend to like each other; I accrued major debt by buying more than I should; and winter, which I really don't like, becomes wonderful and bearable.

Feeling jolly and on a sugar high from the homemade banana-chocolate bread and shortbread cookies I made during Thanksgiving, I decided to finally craft something from Pinterest.

Check out the original wall art from Pinterest. Sorry, but I can't find the link.

Below, you will find what I did.

It was a collaborative effort. Hubby's hand prints are at the bottom of the tree, next are my prints, followed by Camila's prints, and Caio's. I made sure to use washable, kid-friendly paint, and outlined the star and trunk of the tree with a black Sharpie.

Cute and fun project.

Nutella Oatmeal Bars

 You may not know this, but I have a sweet tooth ;) . Unfortunately, my sweet tooth is very selective. For instance, I love chocolate, but don't like chocolate cakes. In face, I don't like most cakes. In order for me to eat it, it needs to be drenched in condensed milk. Yeah, baby!

Recently, I watched an episode of Giada at Home and became intrigued by her Peanut butter Granola Bar. Not a fan of peanut butter (I swear, this is not a blog about my dislikes), I decided to change it up and add Nutella and omit the chocolate chips. OMG! It's heavenly.

Check out the recipe.

Ingredients

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 egg 
• 1/2 cup of Nutella
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup (1-stick) butter, melted
• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted, *see Cook's Note

Directions

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 7 by 10 3/4-inch nonstick baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. Lay a 6 by 18-inch piece of parchment paper in the pan, allowing the excess paper to hang over the sides. Spray the parchment paper lightly with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, using a hand beater, beat the egg. Stir in the peanut butter, brown sugar, and honey. Add the melted butter, oats and almonds.

Using a rubber spatula, spread mixture into the prepared baking pan, pressing lightly to form an even layer. Bake until the edge of the mixture begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 1 hour. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares and serve.

*Cook's Note: To toast almonds, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven until lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Clean up is also easy. Even a 3-year old can do it :) 

Bath Paint for a 3-year Old

 Yes, I'm going for the Mom-of-the-Year award and think that the bath paint will get me there.

While searching the Internet for kid-friendly projects, I ran into a bath paint tutorial. Since Camila, as most kids, loves bath time, I decided to give it a try. 

Camila loves it! She spends a great amount of time coloring the bath walls, rinsing it, and coloring it again. To make it more interactive and help increase motor skills, I draw on the walls circles, stars, and letters with bath crayons. I then ask her to fill in the drawings with the paint. Love it!

Ingredient (I cut the tutorial recipe in half since I have kid-friendly containers that hold 1/2 paint)

• 1/2 cup of tear-free clear liquid soap
• 2 Tbs of corn starch
• Food coloring 

Directions

• Whisk together all the ingredients and pour it into a plastic, kid-friendly container. Done!

Pineapple-Sweet Cocktail

Hubby is the best! After the kids went to sleep and all was quiet, he decided to bring out the blender and whip me up a cocktail (gotta love his way of thinking). Knowing that I'm in a deep, loving, and committed relationship with condensed milk, he made a tasty pineapple, rum, condensed milk cocktail. Yum! I titled it Pineapple Sweet :)

You give it a try:

Ingredients: Pineapple Sweet

* Pineapple chunks or pineapple juice
* 1-2 tablespoons of condensed milk
* a cut of ice
* enough rum to knock a person out
* sprig of mint

Directions:
* Add all ingredients, except the mint, into a blender and mix away. Pour mixture into a glass, garnish it with a sprig of mint, and serve.

National Cocktail Day

I have decided to make Tuesdays National Cocktail day.  You may ask why a Tuesday and not a Friday or Saturday. Simple! Tuesdays are my toughest teaching day. On Ts, I teach 3 very different 1 1/2 hour classes and to spice up the day a little more, I also pump every 3 hours (I'm still breastfeeding) , and plan for the next day. By the time I leave work, I am more than ready for a drink!

Being that Tuesdays are now National Cocktail day, I am posting one of my favorite recipes:

Traditional Caipirinha:

Ingredients

• 1/2 lime, quartered

• 1 teaspoon white sugar (add more if needed)

• 2 1/2 fluid ounces cachaca (I have also used Vodka and it tastes just as good)

• 1 cup ice cubes
• 
  

Directions

1. In a large rocks glass squeeze and drop in 2 eighths of lime. Add sugar, crush and mix with a spoon. Pour in the cachaca and plenty of ice. Stir well.

Great Friday

It's finally Friday and the beginning of the weekend! I wanted tonight to be special and different from other nights, so I decided to cook something different. Actually, hubby nor I were in the mood to cook. To make matters worse, I was also not in the mood for take out. I know. I'm a pain in the touchy. I decided to look online for something fun, tasty, and easy.

Found it! It's a tasty, easy, and kid-friendly recipe from the Food Network. It literally took less than 10 minutes to make and it was delicious. My daughter loved the different flavors and texture of the meal. To make it all more special, we ate in the living room while watching Rio. Really, this was a great dinner and fun night for the whole family.

 Here is the recipe:
* 1/3 cup whipped cream cheese, at room temperature (about 3 ounces)
* 1/2 tablespoon honey 4 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas 1/2 small red apple, such as Red Delicious, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
* 1 cup shredded smoked mozzarella (I ended up using whatever I had at home)
* 1 cup shredded mild Cheddar (I ended up using whatever I had at home)
* 8 thin slices smoked Black Forest deli turkey meat (I ended up using whatever I had at home)
Directions:
* Spray a nonstick grill pan or nonstick griddle pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Place over medium-high heat.
* In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and honey until smooth. Spread evenly over 1 side of each tortilla, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge.
* Place 2 or 3 apple slices in a single row about 1 inch from the nearest edge of each tortilla.
* In a small bowl, combine the 2 cheeses. Sprinkle half the cheese mixture on top.
* Place 2 slices turkey side-by-side on top of the cheese.
* Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
* Tightly roll up each tortilla like a jelly roll. Place the tortilla rolls, seam-side down, on the grill. Cook, turning every 2 minutes, until the tortillas are brown on all sides and the cheese starts to melt.
* Cool for 10 minutes. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice each tortilla roll into 1-inch pieces. Arrange on a platter and serve.

By the way, the cream cheese and honey mixture also functions as frosting on chocolate and pumpkin cupcakes :)