Visibility Isn’t Cost, or Why I Look Cheaper in Pricier Clothes

November 19, 2018November 19, 2018 Eli Heinaclassism, fashion2 Comments

Y’all know this happened by now, right?

Some aptly-named guy named Eddie Scarry (who also tweets about women’s bunions for some reason?) tweeted a creepshot taken from the back of US Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. His amateur visual assumption led to him claiming that she couldn’t be financially struggling because of her clothes.

The New York Rep replied, classy as always, pointing out that she, like most women, was damned-if-she-did and damned-if-she-didn’t when it came to her clothing for her Capitol Hill debut. Not to mention the obvious fact that having money for clothes is hardly having enough money for moving costs, deposit, and first month’s rent as well as utility deposits.

I doubt Eddie Scarry would read my blog, but I know firsthand that it doesn’t cost a million dollar to look like a million dollars. My recent style change from fully femme to rather masculine has hammered home the sometimes inverse relationship between how fancy something looks versus how much it costs.

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The Double Lives of Brown Girls’ Closets

October 29, 2014 Eli Heinaapostasy, clothing, Desi, fashion, rebellion, The Undress1 Comment

Once they know about my religious and family background, people generally want to know how my family relationships are now. They’re not so bad these days, thank you. After 8 years, even such a dramatic revelation as apostasy loses its ability to shock and agitate. Filial love can, in some situations, overcome anger and pain.

More difficult to overcome than my family members’s distaste for apostasy are their feelings about bodies.

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Writings From Elsewhere: Monetizing Your Plain Old Non-Designer Used Clothes

October 13, 2014 Eli Heinabroke, fashion, hustling, resale1 Comment

Despite the fact that I don’t spend much on my apparel to begin with, I’ve had some modest success in making a little bit of money from clothing that I no longer wanted. I also picked up some tricks from working for an eBay consignment company.

I’ve shared them over the weekend at xoJane.

Fancy Clothes on a Messy Person: On Stain Removal

September 20, 2014 Eli Heinaclothing, fashion5 Comments

About 3 years ago, I decided I was done trying to conform to the pricey, difficult, nerdy “not like those other girls” fashion standards. That is, I was tired of shelling out $30+ for quality “girly” tees with logos or designs on them and about as much for jeans that fit me. My heart yearned for dresses of all kinds: fancy, summery, floral, weird. Now, between thrift shops, ModCloth, eBay, and Etsy, I have accumulated a collection that would have made 3-years-ago-Heina weep with envy.

Heina dancing in a white dress with coral embellishments and black trim. — At least I had fun that night.

Despite wearing dresses 90% of the time, I am no delicate flower. I am, as a matter of fact, rather clumsy, including with my food and drink. Yet I’ve only prematurely lost a single dress to a stain (half a glass of red wine on a white bodice — RIP, lovely). What is this sorcery?!

More like chemistry by way of motherly/grandmotherly wisdom and Google.

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On My Pre-Apostasy Apparel

August 28, 2014 Eli Heinafashion, headscarf, hijab, muslim15 Comments

A version of this was originally posted on my fashion Tumblr, where you can see how much I care (obsess?) over my presentation.

I think a lot about clothing and the way in which I present myself because I have yet to shake the sense of wonder I feel both at my expanded sartorial possibilities and the fact that my such choices are far more my own than they ever were before.

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Ajar Thread: Something You Won’t Wear

August 20, 2014 Eli Heinaage, ageism, fashion, white privilege17 Comments

Cinderella's Stepsister Trying on Shoes — Dramatic re-enactment of me trying on mojari. I definitely felt like an ugly stepsister.

Sometimes, we stop wearing things, or refrain from wearing them in the first place.

Once upon a time, I was rather into things that visually referenced the Subcontinent. I loved the rich embroidery, vibrant colors, shimmering fabrics, paisley prints, and so on. It was a way to connect to the culture that, during my upbringing, was all too often ignored or even denigrated in favor of religion. I got excited when my local Kohl’s started carrying mojari-style flats since the ones made in the Subcontinent and sold in Little India never fit my 9.5W feet.

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Bad Chart Thursday: Exposing Dov Charney & Terry Richardson

June 19, 2014 Eli Heinaamerican apparel, bad chart thursday, Bad Chart Thursdays, dov charney, fashion, hipsters, sexual harassment, terry richardson, The Toast4 Comments

I had never thought much of Terry Richardson or Dov Charney, but all the information I’d heard about “them”, until very recently, somehow ended up in the same mental box, as it were. I instinctively thought they were the same person until the so-called “News Media”‘s propaganda machine told me that one is a photographer and one is the head of American Apparel. I remained a believer in this false enlightenment until my eyes were recently re-opened. When I read an article on The Toast by Mallory Ortberg that compared the “two” “men”‘s looks, and saw in the comments that I was not the only person who recognized “them” for the same person that “they” are, I knew I had hit upon a troubling truth. Before I reveal it, let me present the facts.

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The Great Face-Paint Debate

January 15, 2013 Eli Heinabeauty, body image, cosmetics, fashion, Featured35 Comments

Recently, the Internet (especially its feminist and feminist-flavored corners) has exploded over the topic of makeup. For many, the personal became political and vice versa. The aspect of the debate that seemed to have been missed by many in both the pro- and anti- makeup crowds is the variation in perceived cultural pressure regarding feminine conformity, including makeup.

In other words, that some women don’t feel forced to wear makeup doesn’t mean that others can’t feel that way.

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