Fashion Shows and Skinny Models My Coworker Wants to Feed

I attended a fashion show last night hosted by Posh Couture Magazine at Venue in Houston, Texas. While I enjoyed the clothing, I couldn't help but be appalled at how thin many of the models were.

Kathy Griffin once joked that all clothes look good on Nicole Kidman because she is basically a coat hanger. After my first fashion show, I felt like the clothes could have been displayed as well on a revolving coat hanger apparatus.

I understand that as a fashion designer, designing clothing for one size makes it easier to display your drawings on any model. It's the same reason drill teams and dance squads require everyone to wear the same makeup and hair style - uniformity is important for the end result. If all models are the same size, than design samples don't have to be altered if displayed on different models in Paris, New York, Milan, etc.

But do all design samples need to be size one? Can most clothing look just as good on a larger model?

Don't Honk at Me!

One of my coworkers and I have been motivating each other to be more proactive. Ever since I've started my new job, I've been lax on my workout schedule. It's really easy to fall behind in working out, mostly because after awhile we only remember the work and not the good feeling afterward.

I was getting tired with my running routine, and that's why I was excited to take up belly dancing. It will be a lot more low-impact, and I'm hoping to lessen the shin pains and blisters (I really need to take better care of my feet).

Alas, some good things you have to wait for. And while I spent much of my childhood praying for patience, I just didn't enjoy waiting around to get some. Patience, that is.

Speaking of patience, you know what I really don't have any tolerance for?

Ewww Your Epidermis is Showing!

It took me 7 years, but I'm really starting to regret the chocolate muffins that have literally started renting jean-side property on my hips.

My coworker needed me to model a few clothing items to take updated photos of our inventory, and I lamentably had to show off my midriff in some adorable, though revealing, belly dance outfits.

I'm blaming the camera phobia and a wrongly-tilted mirror for my initial fear and apprehension for stepping out of the office I'd chosen as my dressing room.

But the funniest thing happened: the longer I stood out in that outfit, the more I wanted to keep wearing it, stomach bare and everything.

Also because the dress made awesome swishing sounds when I walked.

I have this thing about twirling in dresses. I love doing it, even when holding a plate of spaghetti in hand.

You'll have to ask my mom how she ever got the red sauce out of the white kitchen walls.

Not quite a belly dancer yet / Dread meets disappointment

I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find belly dancing because, hey, I'm in Beaumont. There isn't even a Chipotle, let alone a Belly Dance class. Right?

Wrong!

Using the find function on HipMix.net, I searched for schools and instructors in Beaumont and found Kitana's Bellydance Studio (see the website or her HipMix.net profile - I love that pink outfit!).

I searched on Wednesday, and the next beginner class was on Thursday. Breathe in, breathe out.

Traumatic Childhood Encounters with Dance and Drama Leave One New Beaumont Resident with a Fear of Dance

One of the reasons I moved from Austin, Texas, to Beaumont, Texas, was to try new things. And by new things, I don't mean inventing new answers to the question "why in the expletive would you ever move to Beaumont?" Although, to be honest, I'm going to start inventing really creative ones (witness protection, persecution due to having graduated from Texas Tech, an addiction to giving money to homeless people, etc.).

So when the opportunity to try belly dancing fell in my lap, I said, "Ok!" But really???