Thanks a lot Macklemore

In the years since we buried the GAP hoodie and the TNA sweater a new clothing movement seems to have emerged: Thrift Shopping. There is also, coincidently, a direct correlation between the rise in popularity of this activity and the release of Macklemore’s new hit song “Thrift Shop”. All the cool kids are doing it these days. It’s a chance to own something unique and to make a statement about your individuality. Although everyone appears to be ignoring one thing, isn’t it supposed to be cheaper? The thrift shop was invented to offer affordable clothing to those who couldn’t buy new and yet the people I know who enjoy a regular visit to Unit 5 “vintage boutique” are paying as much as I am for my new items. Teens it seems, have collectively decided that it is pretentious to shop at popular brand stores like American Eagle and Hollister (that’s a whole other story). Whether they don’t realize, or just choose to ignore, it is exponentially more pretentious to shop second hand at full price because it makes you feel special.

Let’s break it down, you didn’t walk into that store to buy a t-shirt, you could get that anywhere. No you’re there for something different. That button up shirt’s pattern is different, that knit cardigan is different, those slip-ons are different and so is that ankle length skirt. Then suddenly….BAM!

Sorry what?

I guess this is almost a good thing because we can now say without a doubt that we’ve hit rock bottom, it’s all up from here.

The 60’s are back…with a vengeance

The say everything in fashion comes back around eventually: vertical stripes, floral patterns and even leopard print (call the fashion police!). Unfortunately the haute couture nightmares that keep Dolce and Gabbana awake at night have been realized, the 60’s have come back into style: It's the Hipster revolution. Yes you read that correctly, the 60’s, and all that that implies.

Arguably even worse than the original; what has become of this fashion era is a strange hybrid of indie and “too cool for school”. This has resulted in thick-rimmed glasses (they’re even cooler when you don’t need them to see), moccasins, indie coffee shops where local artists can display their work for sale, and tattoos of dandelions and bird feathers (cause they all love mother nature).

Somehow, somewhere, it began. We’re not yet sure who to blame or how to stop it but if the rumours are true the Pentagon has something in the works. If Al Gore were to remake “An inconvenient truth” he would tell us all that the single greatest threat to our planet is Hipsters.

And yet amidst all this chaos and over priced American Apparel clothing, hope remains. Even you sitting in front of a screen reading this can help get young people back of the right track. The greatest positive effect you can have against Hipsters is to stop putting the retro filter on your instagram pictures. The founding fathers invented the digital camera so our pictures would be clearer and of better quality, not grainy and faded because you think it’s artsy and clever. If I can leave you with any parting words it would be these: you didn’t like it before everyone else, it’s not vintage, and “you just don’t get it”- actually we do but it’s still not cool.

Oh The Places We'll Go

A good friend of mine once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it". Ok yes that was Ferris Bueller and no we are not good friends, but it's still good advice for the up and coming young person. We're growing, we're changing and we all have a lot of questions: does this outfit make me look fat, when's the new T-Swift album coming out, they're so hot do they even know I exist? They're all toughies and probably better answered by grabbing a tub of ice cream and watching "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (s/o Emma Watson), but since you're here we'll see what we can come up with. Fear not because I’m going to throw you a rope and save you from the stormy waters of your confused teenage existence!

Over the next few months I’m going to be bringing you two segments a week covering everything from music to fashion to the big questions. Got a topic you want covered? Feel free to leave a comment; ideas are always welcome.

Since we like to keep things relevant here why not start off with something every teen was watching this past weekend: The Oscars. Ah yes the red carpet, the celebrities, the dresses and the awards always make for an exceptionally entertaining event. This year however didn’t hold many surprises (except Jennifer Lawrence’s failure to make it up the steps) as far as awards went. If you’ve seen or at least heard much of the buzz surrounding this years favorite stars and their respective films then you’d agree credit was given where it was deserved. This years host Seth Macfarlane did, I would say, quite a good job (not high expectations for the creator of Family Guy) with a little help from Captain Kirk (William Shatner) returned from the future to lend him a hand. I think we were all at least slightly impressed with Mr. Macfarlane’s vocal talents in several musical numbers. Also performing with Macfarlane on stage were Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Radcliffe and Channing Tatum with Charlize Theron. Now we could spend all night arguing about how many substances Quentin Tarantino had abused before the ceremonies but I don’t think we’d ever be able to come up with the whole list so I’ll just end things here by saying of The Oscars “We cried and we laughed and had a really really really good time” (Macklemore, And We Danced).