New "Toy"

Waving goodbye to my once-trusty Ford Focus.

Despite all evidential blurriness and my desire for overall blog improvement, I have placed an indefinite hold on my search for a nicer camera. It is not that I don't aim to someday develop new skills in the realm of photography. But at the present moment, I just don't have the time or (frankly) the spare mad money. Last month (when faced with even more car troubles and repair bills) I traded in my beloved 11-year-old vehicle for something new.

If you consider only the numbers (and factor in average depreciating value upon leaving a dealership), a new car is hardly a wise investment. I toiled all summer long about when and whether to buy new or used. Currently, used car prices are inflated and in high demand (for many reasons, such as public anxiety over economic recovery/growth as well as the longer-term constraint on potential supply via last year's Cash for Clunkers program). I weighed my options: considering the potential risk of unknown when buying used, factoring my own priorities and desires for a safer vehicle to facilitate  weekly commutes, valuing potential financing promotions available (to those who have qualifying credit ratings) with the purchase of new vehicles, and thinking about the time/research involved in hunting for the right used car. Ultimately, I was able to negotiate the price of a 2011 Honda Civic that had all of my desired bells and whistles. This is my first legit new car purchase ever. And so far I have no regrets.

When it comes to my closet I am a big believer in lowering cost per wear, maximizing versatility and longevity, and retaining value. While the evidence of price depreciation was convincing, I wanted the security of a warranty and I knew that I valued the price per use as well as my own peace of mind. New-ish used cars were so costly that I found myself considering new instead. My mom is a master car shopper and negotiator so I have to thank her for accompanying me and advising me along the way. Although this consumption is entirely unrelated to outfits/my closet it seemed too monumental and large a purchase to leave out of the conversation. Tomorrow I'll share my other new "toy"* (which is probably the last thing I'll buy for a while) and hope to hone my skills at creative repeats/remixes til the holiday sale season.

*for the record, I'm not down with trivializing something so costly by calling it a toy and hoped my long-winded, serious diatribe conveyed the irony of my title.

Workers of the world

Kate Spade dress, belt, and bag

Nordstrom cardi

Chies

The above left is what I wore for my first day of teaching this semester. I included the photo on the left because you can better see the details of the dress.

On this Labor Day I am grateful to all the brave workers who fought, went on strike, risked their jobs, and in some cases (particularly not far from here, in Homestead, PA) risked their lives for tenable working conditions, age restrictions that protect minors, lunch and bathroom breaks, overtime, paid time off, the 40 hour work week, the 8 hour work day, equal pay for equal work, non-discrimination policies in hiring and promotion, the right to organize/collectively bargain, fringe benefits, and so much more. I'm the proud daughter of a union member. Happy Labor Day to all!

Fashionable Academics Virtual Conference

Today I am among the participants in the "What a Feminist Looks Like" virtual conference at Fashionable Academics. I encourage you to read all the entries and add your own to the comments section. This was a great way to integrate Women's History Month with blogging so I want to thank the smart, stylish folks of Fashionable Academics for the wonderful opportunity to participate.

Here is what I wrote about what feminism means to me:

"Feminism has been the guiding philosophical thread of my academic career. And for me it means embodying and championing bell hooks’ notion that feminism is for everybody. Students are often reluctant to self-identify as feminists, shying away from the much-maligned word. My role is to reframe their definition of feminism, moving it away from wounds left by backlash but also refusing to dilute or disempower its potential. I begin with the concept of reflexivity. A feminist outlook includes reflexivity and gratitude in addition to the space for frustration and anger. Feminism encourages thoughtful reflections about privilege. It fosters the idea that privileges come in many forms. Feminism interrogates not only gendered privilege but class privilege, racial privilege, intellectual privilege, ethnic privilege, national privilege, able privileges, sexual identity privileges, faith/spiritually situated privileges, etc. It takes seriously the idea that class privileges do not only connect with wealth. 

Pierre Bourdieu’s notion of non-financial forms of capital couples with Patricia Hill Collins’ belief that power functions in matrices. Add Kimberle Crenshaw’s theory about intersectionality, (i.e. that is not productive to look only at one aspect of identity in isolation from others), and you can shed light on how to become more reflexive about privilege. These ideas help students understand relationships of power and the systemic marginalizations that can result.  My hope is that our conversations inspire not only gratitude and frustration, and a sense of feminist inclusion, but also I strive to cultivate a shared feeling of civic obligation. Together we should do what we can to ameliorate privilege discrepancies on local, national, and global scales. For me that is what it means to be a feminist."

I'm so grateful for feminism. Without the wheels of social progression I would not be who I am or live in the world that I inhabit. Granted, that world isn't perfect... But I believe that I stand on the shoulders of women (feminist and otherwise) who came before me. And I hope I can help to make the world a more equal, just place for the next generation. 

Be sure to go check out the entry so you can see how other fashionable bloggers feel about feminism! 

Style Stalking and Hypothetical Shopping

I am obsessed with two See by Chloe and Tibi dresses I tried on months ago at Saks.

They are 40% off, but still too pricey. So I will pass for now. But it got me thinking about something else: How my casual interest in fashion/style/shopping overlaps with my "work."

I am currently researching for my dissertation in archival collections and museum exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of American History. Next week I wrap things up with visits to the Holocaust Museum, where there is an exhibit about propaganda, the Archives Center Library, where I will say farewell to my advisor, and in the relevant exhibits here at the American History Museum. When working my way through a box containing hundreds and hundreds of documents, I am forced to be patient. I can't be instantly gratified. I can't do a keyword search (though the library catelog allows me to narrow what I need into box numbers). The patience yields an eventual payoff, whether it is the completion of a folder, the discovery of something useful to photocopy or a theoretical breakthrough. And I use a similar approach in my sale stalking/shopping practices. Being patient makes it that much more exhilarating to find a new mark down, a new way to assemble pieces, or a new use for an old favorite.

Although, I wonder if the researcher in me doesn't hurt my bankbook more than help it. Knowing that there are infinite online shopping possibilities, thanks to ebay, boutiques, and department store websites, and that the epic sale schema of late '08 has yet to impact the spring stock, I play the waiting game, knowing that eventually I will probably cave and buy something. I don't *really* need another dress. I don't really need to fill any holes in my well-stocked wardrobe. I am not regularly going to meetings. I don't work in a high stakes setting that requires I am constantly in business casual, business, or even presentable clothing.

Still, I enjoy the waiting game and I enjoy the feeling of concluding the process of hunting and gathering in research and in shopping. I know that I will remember the online locations and check them with regularity, just as I know where the most imminently relevant texts are housed in my university's library. I know that I will view the things I do acquire at a reasonable price to be part of my shopping destiny, just as I know to check for new fellowships, calls for papers, and conference announcements but only a small fraction (if I am lucky) will manage to become part of my CV. Sometimes the disconnects between this materialist hobby and my academic pursuits/career don't seem all that significant.

Working to Consume, Economic Stimulation, and More Deals

Meet my new (pre-loved) 2006 Black Balenciaga Day with regular hardware. I don't have it yet but the bag (tucked safely in her dustbag) is en route to me from Saudi Arabia. I promise to explain below.


The last few weeks have been hectic as I strove to wrap up the three courses I taught this Spring and prepared to begin two more next week. But the money from this extra work, plus economic stimulation, PLUS another successful bag sale (wherein, I made back what I paid last year plus a chunk extra because the color was rare, and the bag was in great condition!) means that my impending trip to NYC for a conference (and the usual shopping) will not break the bank! It also means that the bulk of my spring indulgence debts are going to be eliminated and my usual end-of-summer-economic-slump (from not getting paid between the end of June and the end of September) will be a non-issue if all goes according to my planned budget!

But in practicality, taking on extra work to enable further consumption is not without its pitfalls. While I will only be teaching these two courses over 6 weeks, I accepted assignments that occur on two different campuses, through two different universities on the same two days each week. One class starts at 9am and the other ends at 9:15 pm. That will be taxing, physically because I try to remain energetic and engaging in lectures and discussions. Although I have taught them both before, condensed summer sessions will require that I retool my lectures and exercises, not to mention the syllabi schedules. All of this equates to hours I could have otherwise spent working on my research project and/or spending time with loved ones.

I'll still be working less hours per week than if I had an office job, but if I include the hours I should spend writing/editing/reading then it quickly becomes more than full time. And if I consumed less material goods, the extra teaching assignments wouldn't be necessary. The extra hours I'd have would translate to polished manuscripts able to be submitted for review or even publication. All of this gives me immense guilt and internal conflict over my consumer behaviors and career status as an unpublished phd candidate.

The silver lining is that because the classes I opted to teach meet Mondays and Wednesdays, I will have Memorial Day off! AND due to my conference trip, I also have to cancel one Wednesday. Despite working 17% less than the course assignments specify, I will still be paid the same amount.

But enough exploration of how I acquire funds to facilitate my material indulgences. On to the consume or consumed stuff!

On ebay, I found the matching pillow shams for the new summer-weight quilt.


They were less money than some of the others listed but still more than they would have been at gabriel brothers (where the quilt was purchased). I feared never tracking them down and it bugging me forever, so I jumped on them.

I also found cheap, fancy, NWT Wacoal bras to upgrade my intimates and systematically eliminate the poor-quality, ill-fitting Victoria's Secret bras I amassed over the years due to semi-annual sale goggles. Many of the Wacoal styles are not the sexiest looking bras. I was able to find some lacy, attractive ones, but the "Keep It Classic" is my favorite, technologically speaking.


I bought the others from Saks, for more money, but I rationalize that I was paying for a level of service. The price I paid included lots of attention to detail, personal assistance, and the assurance of being fitted by a woman who knows boobs and bras. Now that I know what works, I can find them without running the financial risk of trial and error e-shopping.

Finally, (as indicated at the start of this post) I took a major leap this week. I am still sort of embarrassed and excited to admit it. But as a member of The Purse Forum's marketplace, I occasionally have access to exciting deals on authentic, pre-loved handbags. And after scoring the extra teaching gig, I decided to bite.

This will be the second bag I own that I regard to be way out of my socio-economic league (the other is a Chloe I got on major discount in January of 2007). It will be my first Balenciaga. I hope I get it in time for my New York trip because I think the Day will be the perfect carry on, carry all bag. And the comforting thing about buying such a ridiculous bag is I know the brand's ability to retain value on authentic items. Although I got a deal due to a variety of circumstances, I could easily re-sell and make back what I paid (plus more, if I really needed it).