Sunday, November 29, 2015

Fashion in So Cal, 2015: Comfort is King

How clothes in the USA have changed, for the better I think.
Washington Post article here 

Here in Venice, California I can attest it's pretty casual! Flip-flops and shorts can be worn pretty much all year (with a sweat or warm removable upper layer). And the high 80-degree temperature days in October and November (!) are pretty much necessitating that even if it wasn't a look of choice.

That women worse dresses and men suits -- at home, work and school -- almost exclusively up until the 1920s and 30s really is something. Sounds pretty repressed and formal, and uncomfortable. (See temperature reference above. Suit and tie gentlemen?)

Egalitarian

Currently most if not many people are wearing a lot of jeans, sandals (Sanuks), tee shirts and tennis shoes (sneakers, running shoes, etc). Women can wear anything, yoga pants, shorts, skirts, jeans, tee shirts, dresses, as desired.

Better, it's hard to tell someone's socioeconomic class from their clothes in Venice. That guy with a scroungy beard, jeans and sandals can be a CEO for a tech company or a neo-homeless itinerant surfer from Europe with no job. Or one of your friend's friends. That's kind of cool. It takes out the heirs of feigning wealth, as the article alludes to for the 'formal' styles of the past.
Comfort is king, as it should be in my mind. If one needs to express themselves and or flaunt some money etc. with their wardrobe I suppose they can, but that seems out of date at the upper range, again which I think is nice.

The hip techsters who arrived in Venice a few years ago we're wearing a lot of black: like they do in San Francisco. Black boots, jeans, black sweaters and black-rimmed glasses. Looked horrible and out of place in Venice; thanks fully they've gravitated toward comfort over the last few years and this is not seen nearly as much.

My old boss in Emeryville (at a tech company in the Bay Area) work jeans, north face or soft cotton tee-shirts and nice running/hiking shoes. Everyone was free to dress in comfort.

This is cool. 2015. I'll try to take a picture and post it, but you'll see it everywhere in So Cal. Nice.

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Sunset, Venice 12/20/2012

Sunset, Venice 12/20/2012
I've been thinking some about the Winter Solstice, the Mayan end of the 30,000-year-cycle on 12/21/12.

What if in fact the world did end? Even though this probably will not happen, to live consciously it is honest for us to take a bit of an inventory.

Am I happy with how I've lived my life? (Yesterday, I thought mostly yes, with some areas for improvement, as below.) Are there changes I would make?
Would I have tried to forgive those that were hostile or disappointing to me?
Would I spend more time with those I loved the most, telling them that, feeling that more?
Would I be happier, grateful for what I have, what I've experienced, the joy, the beauty in this world?

Maybe the answer is yes to all of the above.
So this time can serve as a point of rebirth for all of us. If we think about it.

Because somewhere along the line I realized I think maybe mankind deserves it. !
The way we are killing each other, killing the planet.
How selfish we are, and snotty to those around us. Petty, competitive. Why is this? Do we have to behave this way? (I say no, it greatly detracts and misdirects energy from the full-time celebration in which we could engage, the great multi-cultural, multi-rhythmic dance we can sustain here.)

Maybe God or the Great Universe is fed up, and will pull the rug out from under us.
Don't think I can say we could blame Him/Her/It.

But it probably won't happen. (Probably not! This time.)

Still we are finite on this ride.

It is a time to think, am I happy with how I've lived my life?
Hopefully most of us can say yes.

For the part of us that have a little worry, a little sadness....
This is the time to be present.
This is the time to be the person you want to be, that can die at peace, that can hope to every day be able to look yourself and the Universe in the eye and say, how beautiful, smiling, and thank you. Let's do that.

Antidotes to Violence, a.k.a., Take Charge of Where Your Head's At - here

Tell Congress to Strengthen Gun Control Laws NOW - here

Good News & Brain Food News -
Christians & Muslims Gather, for Peace here
Good News - Top RIO+20 Summit Posts here
The 'Busy' Trap - NYTimes.com
here