Sunday, June 03, 2018

QE II--believe it or not, she recycles and upcycles.

https://www.quora.com/What-happens-to-the-clothes-worn-by-Queen-Elizabeth-II Of course it helps that she sticks to one basic shape and style and "brand" and does not really "follow fashion" and she has her own in-house designer and dressmaking, hat-making,"dressing" wardrobe team. But as one friend once said to me, "If you go live in Chiangmai, you can eat like a queen." I can "dress like a queen" because I design and make my own clothing, I "eat like a queen" because I know how to cook almost anything myself, and I live with world class art and books, because I paint myself. Once my professor's wife Jane asked me about the artwork, which she heard of from a colleague of mine. I just said, "I am able to have all these things because I make the art work myself." And I constantly recycle, up cycle or donate clothing, though I wish I had kept some items which I donated before I thought of up cycling,embellishing and selling in craft fairs. Now I up cycle barely used items that are too small for me, but which my younger svelte customers might like, and I am even thinking of buying some items in smaller sizes to embellish. Some Youtube videos are tremendously helpful, especially a woman named Tree. She shows how to cannibalize 2 jackets into one, for instance. I have converted 2 pants into one top or vest, embellished old jackets (they weren't old as in heavily used, I just stopped wearing them when I stopped working outside the home). I cut down sweaters or made flower pins from old cardigans. Now I am going further, going to start "distressed chic" line with coordinated colors from outfits I had before. And I will decorate hats and caps. I try them out for "audience reaction" when I go on trips with my friends and neighbors, though I think strangers give more true reactions than say a "friend" who might be jealous and is just looking to pull you down. It happens a lot in writing classes and acquaintances who talk about you to others, like their mother, but never praise you to your face, fall in that category--but fortunately, they are not many. I don't see why you can't recylcle and upcycle your goddamn clothes when you have already done so with your life. I will write a book about it. KMKaung 6-3-2018

US bars Thai officials over Uigher deportations to China.

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/asia/us-bars-thai-officials-over-uyghur-deportations.html