#PinkTakesTech

Too much work to do to invest in a story here about how fabulous it was and how I was standing for 7 hours, but it was fabulous nonetheless!

Much love, 

The Fashionista

Fashion or Faux Pas? Addidas Amid Sneaker Controversey

I'm writing about these shoes, and that shouldn't surprise you. As an Africana Studies major, and fashion commentator, it would be a little odd if I didn't, No?

Honestly, I'm just offended by gross they look. So my vote is a no all around, regardless of political implications.

Call me old school, but sneakers are meant to be comfortable and these honestly don't look like they are. Take it from a girl that wears heels and elevated soles 95% of the time; if I'm going to wear a sneaker I will be comfortable and these are a sad excuse for casual wear. And aren't sneakers considered activewear in a very literal sense? Can't get too far if you have a neon hot mess encumbering your Achilles.

But at the end of the day, no male I know would buy these so I won't have to worry about looking at them on a regular basis...

Seriously though, racist? Or just plain offesnsive to my bleeding pupils?

But for more in-depth reading ala other sources, refer to these:

New York Daily News

The Look (MSNBC)


The Fashionista 

What Does the Heart Yearn for?

For me, I know when I've seen a great film, mostly when it inspires me to go and do something. And Pina inspired me to dance in the middle of the streets, barefoot. And laugh and leap, feel alive and inspired. I miss that feeling in my life.

Childhood.

Artists have the imagination and liberation to express themselves that we let die when we become grownups.
A sad and disheartening realization that pairs nicely with worries and wrinkles. 

I've been classically trained in ballet but soon lost interest once I learned that my training started too late to become a competitive dancer. I continue with my training in my (nonexistent) free time at home, nonetheless and may resume when I graduate from my collegiate studies (at least 5 years from now).

Now that I'm relatively close to the end of my college career, I realize that being an artist by trade would have made me the happiest. And it's never too late to pick up another life path? While watching the film, I thought to myself:

"There is no greater calling than being an artist, because at the end of the day they remind us that no matter how many things we acquire or accomplish, everyone is born, lives and dies. There's something ultimately transformative about being able to translate that through any media."

I quickly scribbled the above thought in my journal with fervored passion, to capture the moment of inspiration, but not miss any moment of the film. I wanted to leap through the screen and join them. I wanted to bring Pina back and ask her what she often demanded of her dancers: 

"What are we longing for? Where does all this yearning come from?"

What did she yearn for that inspired her pieces? What secret does she know about life that I haven't been made privy to? As in artist, she almost seemed immortal when achieving the deeply rooted understanding that unites us all as human. She understands death, aging, love, life, death, friendship, joy, longing, loss, celebration...

Pina is a very intelligent film because with most, if not all dance sequences, the juxtaposition of the dancer superimposed on a very ordinary setting (like a train trolley, subway station or a traffic intersection) you get the feeling that there's something to be said about the beauty in everyday tasks. The transient and transcendent nature of finding that there is beauty and art in everyday life is achingly wonderful. Here is an excerpt from the film below that is one of my favorite: 

Much ballet love,

The Fashionista