Orange Ya Glad I Didn't Say Banana?

If you were to open my closet, you would no doubt be swimming in a sea of grays, pinks, and purples. I trust gray. I understand gray. It's a great neutral that matches everything and is a champion at hiding sweat. (That's if I were to sweat, which I don't--I GLOW.) And pink and purple are there to spice things up as needed.

Well it looks like 2012 just got spicier! Pantone has listed its color of the year as 'Tangerine Tango', which can be described as 'a spirited reddish orange that continues to provide the engery boost we need to recharge and move forward'. Don't these ladies look energized? ;)



I actually like tangerine tango and will definitely test out this trend, although most likely initially in makeup or nail polish form.



But if I start abusing this color and attempt to go all around orange--somebody please tango me towards another color palette.

Celebrity Womp Womp: Katherine Heigl UPDATE

Daily Candy has sweetened the pot! Today's deal for 'One for the Money' includes a fitness assessment, a two-week Curves membership, and a one-year subscription to Curves magazine. Katherine--you will always have Grey's.

Size Sassy!

While the cereal itself leaves something to be desired in my opinion, I adore the Special K commercial that features a woman shopping for 'Size Radiant' jeans. For your viewing pleasure:

My thesis project at NYU was centered around a body image (meaning a person's perception of the aesthetics and sexual attractiveness of his or her own body) study in which I showed freshman students a lineup of identical bodies, manipulating only the waist-to-hip ratio of each figure. The lineup looked similar to the figure below:

I asked each student to show me where she thought her body fell on the lineup, then after taking her measurements, showed her where she actually fell on the lineup. Members of the experimental group were told the curviest figure (about a .35--which doesn't exist in nature) was the average woman's body while the control group was shown where the average woman actually falls on the lineup (somewhere between .70-.80). I proposed that the women who thought their body was average or 'above average' would rate higher on scales of body-esteem and body-image, while the women who thought their body was farther from the average would rater lower. This data supported this trend and in addition, many of the women had a hard time differentiating between body shape and perceived fatness. All of the figures I showed them were the same weight, just a different shape.

My advisor mentioned to me that she would love to create an alternate study in which female students would try on a pair of jeans that they would be told was their size, but the jeans would really be a size larger or a size smaller to see how that affected their body-esteem. Any woman who went into the store thinking she was a size 8 but ended up needing a 10 or 12 could attest to how this feels--pretty lousy, as since childhood, the media send women the pernicious message that thinness equals value and good. But she shouldn't feel poorly--for more reasons just than one's worth is not determined even remotely by dress size.

Women's sizing in particular has been unstandardized in America since the 1920's although not due to lack of trying. In the 1940's the federal goverment commisioned a study of the American female body in an attempt to create some semblance of standard sizing, as wealthy women (who previously wore made-to-order digs) were now interested in purchasing ready-to-wear clothing, and God forbid you piss off a wealthy woman who is ready to shop.

Thanks to the military, by the War of 1812 men already had a loose sizing system based on chest measurement (with the idea that the remaining proportions could be figured out based on that one stat). Producers of womenswear soon followed suit, using the bust as its one measurement for size. NOW WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG HERE.

Even after funding multiple projects that involved taking women's measurements, formulating sizes on height, weight and other various indexes, the government had still failed to come up with a distinct standard. (These projects were bound to fail regardless as the measurements of women of color were discarded and measurements of fitter-than-most women who served during World War II were added, thus skewing results.) Yet here and there, these faulty statistics STILL keep working their way into contemporary sizing, according to ASTM International, which is an organization that develops voluntary product standards. The new trend though is toward vanity sizing, or the phenomenon of ready-to-wear clothing of the same nominal size becoming larger over time, basically in order to accomodate the growing American waistline. And breast implants.

But other than the annoyance of trying on multiple sizes, does it really matter? The government can't get it right, how can we expect Old Navy to? Wear what fits, don't wear what doesn't. Detach your feelings to the arbitrary number on the tag and be a Size Sassy!

The Biggest La-hoo-sa-her

I love a good success story whether it be a kid learning how to ride a bike or a tiny rabbit jumping a fence. (This post is actually my success story of the day, as the interwebs malfunctioned and did not save my first draft, but look at me--I came back!) Since I love seeing people's hard work pay off, you might assume that I like NBC's 'The Biggest Loser'. WRONG!

'The Biggest Loser' really grinds my gears for multiple reasons. Is it really a good idea to lose 20 lbs in a week? As a general rule, weight that is quickly lost is also quickly gained. And the whole mindset of 'go hard or go home' is appropriate for fit indiviuals, but these contestants are starting at the very beginning fitness wise. Throwing them into situations where they are squatting over 400 lbs on weak joints or doing high-impact exercises does not exactly equal safety or integrity. Doctors are on hand and drastic times call for drastic measures--but if a contestant hurts himself because he overtrained, that will certainly delay progress even more.

And have you ever tried losing 5 lbs in a week? IT'S HARD, BITCHES. I just know some woman named Henrietta out in North Dakota is throwing on some spandex, attempting to haul 75 lbs worth of gardening supplies on a sled to represent the fat she wants to lose (didn't they do that with sandbags as a challenge once?), and then getting frustrated when the weight isn't peeling off. It's very easy to forget that the contestants on 'The Biggest Loser' have all day and night to exercise and a kitchen with a limited food supply. The average person might have only a few hours a week and access to Ho-Hos. Lethal combo.

Finally, can NBC keep things dignified and please throw them all a tee-shirt for the weigh in?

Celebrity Womp Womp: Katherine Heigl

Awww, Katherine Heigl. I saw in yesterday's Groupon email that they are selling half-priced tickets to see her new movie, 'One for the Money'---which hasn't even opened yet! I suppose there is a strong suspicion that the flick will not reach the ranks of '27 Dresses', 'The Ugly Truth' or the above coif.

Blame it on the Rain

Stormy nails in honor of the drizzle and ice. Milli Vanilli in honor of awesomeness.

The mail order bride of coffees

I work dangerously close to a Starbucks. Dangerously close! So close in fact, that I can borrow their free wi-fi from the comfort of my office to fuel my Words with Friends addiction. During my morning coffee run, I saw a new coffee featured: Starbucks Blonde. Described as 'Mild and mellow, the lighter roast perfected' I decided to give it a try (God forbid there be a new Starbucks menu item and I not try it) and ordered a 'tall Blonde'. Realizing what just came out of my mouth, I tried to joke with the barista by saying, 'Oooh, but who doesn't want a tall blonde who likes long walks on the beach, am I right?'

Response: 'He.' *abruptly turns away*


DAMN IT! Anyways, for those of you who are interested in having a tall blonde ALL for yourself, it is light, smooth and overall non-offensive (apparently unlike my sense of humor). There is no burnt or earthy aftertaste that I sometimes get with a regular Pike at Starbucks. Plus, the packaging and accoutrements are all yellow like a sunshiney day! I'd have it again on a day when I'm not craving a stronger brew, but in general, I don't think Blonde coffee has more fun.

Who are you reading, darling?

Reading has always held an important spot within my list of favorite things, right along with sleeping, jumping rope, and tulips. During middle school in particular, it was rare to see me without a book. I truly enjoyed escaping from my reality of braces and bad hair via the world of Nancy Drew or commiserating about said braces and hair with all of Judy Blume's characters. In any case, I still love to read as an adult and am on a constant quest to appease that hunger. Recently exhausting the free book offerings of interest on both my Kindle and iPad, I turned to the two most logical book referral methods--facebook and Oprah's Book Club. (Aw, did you think I went to the library? You're cute.) About half of Oprah's Book Club's selections have been turned into Lifetime made-for-tv movies, and in that I trust. After researching my options, I decided upon 'The Heart is a Lonely Hunter' by Carson McCullers which tells the tale of outcasts and their longing for self-expression and human connection. Who are you reading, darling?

Resolutions, y'all

Snaps for me! It's 16 days into the New Year and I have finally initiated one of my New Year's resolutions--to start a blog. (By the by, those of you who went to the gym on January 1st and are still going strong are liars.) This blog will most likely be a conglomeration of my random thoughts, fitness endeavors, craft projects and adventures in reading. And of course, the darling antics of my oversized rabbit, Hay Hay. Here she is working on her resolution to find treats and eat them, no matter the obstacle. May you also find your treats and eat them in 2012, friends.