A number of years ago, I was at the beach on vacation and stopped by a beachwear store. A pair of men's swim trunks apparently caught my eye and I ended up getting them. They sat unworn until this summer, when I wanted to go swimming but didn't have any of my regular women's swimsuit bottoms conveniently on hand and hadn't been able to find any acceptable ones in stores. Then I remembered I had swim trunks, and I figured those would work just fine for the time being. I wore them and I liked it.
The one thing that baffles me is that swim trunks have functional pockets, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Swim trunks are intended to be worn for swimming, in the water. Whatever stuff you might have in your pockets, aside from keys and loose change, would probably get ruined by the water. Not to mention the stuff might fall out while swimming or otherwise moving around in the water. And women's pants for everyday, out-of-water wear don't even have pockets that functional. It boggles the mind.
This particular initial pair in question is a bright scarlet, with little geometric/abstract sailboats in yellow and white. I think they're acceptable to be worn as casual, non-swimming shorts. After the initial foray into swim trunks, I decided that I needed more. I happened to come across a nice pair at Target that has a relatively feminine print -- bright pink and white tropical floral. Also perfectly suitable for everyday wear, which I've made use of a number of times since I got them. I've particularly made use of the pockets. And people can't even tell that they're swim trunks unless I inform them.
Over the last few months, I've determined my taste in jeans and have gotten it down to a pretty specific concept. Not high rise (mid or low is fine). Ideally, cropped (which turns out to be regular length on me). Sturdy, substantial-feeling fabric, not too stretchy. Absolutely not too tight in the calves because I don't want my legs to look bulgy, which I absolutely hate. However, not too loose and sack-like because I don't want to look like a sack either.
Those criteria in mind, the slim/skinny boyfriend crop style tends to be about the closest I've found as far as a general favorite/ideal cut/style goes. Of course, this being women's clothing we're talking about, it's not that simple. Not every brand will carry that particular style every season. Even if they do, maybe they don't offer any colors/washes that I like, or maybe I just don't like their particular iteration of or take on that style. Maybe the fabric doesn't have a consistency I like.
On top of that, women's sizing is inconsistent, to say the least, which means I won't make purchases online. Not to mention how picky I am about fabric consistency, which can't be conveyed well without physically touching/stretching the jeans in question. Sizing isn't too much of a nightmare in person; I have an idea of which size to generally start with, and from there I'll just look at the jeans and visually assess how they run, whether that's for the brand at large or a particular style (boyfriend jeans tend to be cut large, so I would probably size down) and adjust accordingly.
The specific motivations and backstory as to how I ended up buying some men's jeans can be glossed over for now, but yours truly is now the proud owner of some black Levis 511s, size 29/30. I found them in a thrift store, believe it or not. Thanks to whoever donated them; I'm eternally grateful. They appear to be in pristine condition save for slight wear on one side of the button, which I actually find sort of interesting as a trace of the previous owner.
Although they're a bit long (at least 90% of pants are, so I'm used to it) and I have to roll them, they otherwise fit wonderfully. Sturdy fabric! Not too stretchy! Not too tight in the calves so my legs don't look bulgy! FUNCTIONAL FRONT POCKETS! (my entire phone fits, or a stick of men's deodorant, which is larger than women's, and I'm sure many other things I haven't even thought to carry in pockets would fit too)
The back pocket placement perhaps leaves a little to be desired, but I've had women's jeans with pockets I believe to be more unflattering. Owing to the sturdier fabric, I think these jeans are actually warmer than the other pairs of women's jeans I have. These also don't have any premade holes in them. I'm not opposed to holes in principle, but sometimes you just want your jeans to look a little nicer.
Seeing how pleased I am with these actual men's jeans, I figure I might as well just eschew women's "boyfriend style" jeans altogether and just go for the real thing, men's jeans. Style-wise, the effect is pretty much the same and you get real pockets on actual men's jeans. Plus, shopping for Levis, 511, 29/30 is a lot simpler than trying to find a certain style across various brands/stores which may or may not be carrying it at any given moment.
All this in mind, there are certainly women out there with body types that would probably not work so well in men's clothing. I apparently have a manly figure so I'm able to make this work for me. After realizing that the men's jeans fit particularly nicely, I decided to look at some size charts. Turns out my waist/hip measurements align more closely with the men's size charts than the women's size charts (for women's sizing, they expect someone my waist size to have larger hips, which I don't).
I do somewhat wonder if wearing these kinds of things makes other people think I'm a lesbian when they see me, but it's not like being a lesbian is a bad thing, and the pockets are too good to really care too much.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Deodorant flavors
You wouldn't believe the amount of thought I've put into this topic. I would assume that most people don't really care or think about it that much.
In any case, let's get to it:
Chronologically, the first deodorant I can specifically remember using and liking the scent of was Degree "Pure Rain." A few years ago they discontinued this flavor, which disappointed me greatly since I thought it was a lovely smell. As the English language does not have a good vocabulary for describing scents, the best I can describe it as is somewhat fresh and fruity.
To my surprise, a month or so ago I noticed that this flavor had made a return and was labeled as "NEW" on the package. It isn't new. It's old and they decided to recontinue it for whatever reason. I don't know why they discontinued it in the first place. This new version nominally smells the same, but when I use it, I find that it ends up smelling too much like baby powder for some reason. The old version didn't do that.
In addition to Pure Rain, at some point or another, I used another Degree flavor, orange flower and cranberry which I also recall smelled nice. Unfortunately, that scent was also discontinued. Degree also has a scent called "Pure Clean" or something like that, which I think I tried at one point or another, but I didn't like it.
I have emailed Degree asking about why they discontinued Pure Rain and how the new version doesn't quite smell the same. I doubt they're known for their customer service (unlike, say, a company like Patagonia) so I'm not too optimistic about receiving a satisfactory answer on this front, but hey, it's worth a try. Because their website is terrible, I had to go find the direct email address for customer service instead of just using the contact form on the website. Also, for some reason, they wanted my address on the contact form, which I don't really understand. I decided to just put my school's address, not my home address. In the end, it didn't really matter because I had to write a direct email instead.
Now, I usually use an assortment of Dove women's flavors. The first one I remember using is the cucumber scent, which smells like cucumbers like you would expect. It's a nice, fresh, crisp and spring-like smell. I was considering getting that flavor again recently, but I decided against it in favor of the chamomile flavor, which I think is more cozy and fall-like, seeing as it's fall now. In the spring I might get the cucumber flavor again. I have never smelled actual chamomile, so I'm not sure how accurate the chamomile scent is, but I like it. I suppose some might consider it an old lady-ish scent though.
I also have a pear flavor, which I can't seem to find in stores anymore, which also disappoints me. It smells very distinctly pear-y, which I like. I like deodorants that have distinct smells, unlike this Dove pomegranate flavor. It smells fine and alright, but it's too vague. I don't have that problem with the chamomile or cucumber or pear.
Right now, I have three different deodorants to choose from: Dove chamomile and pomegranate and Degree Pure Rain. There's a small remnant of the Dove pear flavor, but it's not really enough to be practical to use. I like having variety on this front, depending on my mood that morning when I'm getting dressed. Some days I might go for the vague/indistinct pomegranate flavor, or other days I might choose the chamomile.
Scent and memory/associations
Pyschologically speaking, scent is very connected to our sense of memory. In my experience, this is most evident regarding certain people who smell like specific scents.
Cases in point: one of my sister's friends, who smelled like Gain Lavender laundry detergent. A guy I knew in high school who once used his mother's cucumber deodorant because he ran out of his own, and I noticed the scent. Someone I met this year, who smells beautiful; he uses a particular deodorant that I just happen to really like the smell of (I asked him what it was just a few days after meeting him). Now I strongly associate that scent with him. I would almost use it myself, but a) it's possible he might find that odd, at the very least and b) it's possible that scent on myself would be too distracting. (I guess I could test it out on the weekend, however?)
A possible theoretical downside here is that if something goes wrong and for some reason, I end up hating him, that scent might be ruined for me, but that's really getting ahead of myself.
Other people's deodorant
I think I'd like to do a survey of what deodorant the various people I know use. I'm curious about what might end up being the most popular brands and scents and such. I also want to go to a store and smell all of the various deodorants for sale and take notes about which ones I like and dislike. Additionally, I want to compare the packaging and marketing for men's and women's deodorant. It'd be a bit of an analysis of material culture, perhaps.
At the moment, I only have a small selection of deodorant on hand. I have my Dove flavors and Degree, and also one men's deodorant. The men's deodorant claims that you can "Feel clean, masculine and confident," whereas the Dove says "Our best care for beautiful underarms." What if women also want to feel clean and confident? And maybe even masculine? What if men want to have beautiful underarms? (I don't understand why men aren't also socially expected to shave their underarms. Then maybe they could have beautiful underarms too. They have way more hair there and it can look bad.)
Can smells be beautiful?
I think they can. I haven't asked quite enough people about this yet, but so far, there seems to be a bit of a gender split on this: women tend to say that smells can indeed be described beautiful, whereas men think they can't. Sometimes I smell a soap when I'm washing my hands and think, "This soap smells beautiful" or, on the contrary, "This soap smells ugly." And of course, a person could smell beautiful as well.
In any case, let's get to it:
Chronologically, the first deodorant I can specifically remember using and liking the scent of was Degree "Pure Rain." A few years ago they discontinued this flavor, which disappointed me greatly since I thought it was a lovely smell. As the English language does not have a good vocabulary for describing scents, the best I can describe it as is somewhat fresh and fruity.
To my surprise, a month or so ago I noticed that this flavor had made a return and was labeled as "NEW" on the package. It isn't new. It's old and they decided to recontinue it for whatever reason. I don't know why they discontinued it in the first place. This new version nominally smells the same, but when I use it, I find that it ends up smelling too much like baby powder for some reason. The old version didn't do that.
In addition to Pure Rain, at some point or another, I used another Degree flavor, orange flower and cranberry which I also recall smelled nice. Unfortunately, that scent was also discontinued. Degree also has a scent called "Pure Clean" or something like that, which I think I tried at one point or another, but I didn't like it.
I have emailed Degree asking about why they discontinued Pure Rain and how the new version doesn't quite smell the same. I doubt they're known for their customer service (unlike, say, a company like Patagonia) so I'm not too optimistic about receiving a satisfactory answer on this front, but hey, it's worth a try. Because their website is terrible, I had to go find the direct email address for customer service instead of just using the contact form on the website. Also, for some reason, they wanted my address on the contact form, which I don't really understand. I decided to just put my school's address, not my home address. In the end, it didn't really matter because I had to write a direct email instead.
Now, I usually use an assortment of Dove women's flavors. The first one I remember using is the cucumber scent, which smells like cucumbers like you would expect. It's a nice, fresh, crisp and spring-like smell. I was considering getting that flavor again recently, but I decided against it in favor of the chamomile flavor, which I think is more cozy and fall-like, seeing as it's fall now. In the spring I might get the cucumber flavor again. I have never smelled actual chamomile, so I'm not sure how accurate the chamomile scent is, but I like it. I suppose some might consider it an old lady-ish scent though.
I also have a pear flavor, which I can't seem to find in stores anymore, which also disappoints me. It smells very distinctly pear-y, which I like. I like deodorants that have distinct smells, unlike this Dove pomegranate flavor. It smells fine and alright, but it's too vague. I don't have that problem with the chamomile or cucumber or pear.
Right now, I have three different deodorants to choose from: Dove chamomile and pomegranate and Degree Pure Rain. There's a small remnant of the Dove pear flavor, but it's not really enough to be practical to use. I like having variety on this front, depending on my mood that morning when I'm getting dressed. Some days I might go for the vague/indistinct pomegranate flavor, or other days I might choose the chamomile.
Scent and memory/associations
Pyschologically speaking, scent is very connected to our sense of memory. In my experience, this is most evident regarding certain people who smell like specific scents.
Cases in point: one of my sister's friends, who smelled like Gain Lavender laundry detergent. A guy I knew in high school who once used his mother's cucumber deodorant because he ran out of his own, and I noticed the scent. Someone I met this year, who smells beautiful; he uses a particular deodorant that I just happen to really like the smell of (I asked him what it was just a few days after meeting him). Now I strongly associate that scent with him. I would almost use it myself, but a) it's possible he might find that odd, at the very least and b) it's possible that scent on myself would be too distracting. (I guess I could test it out on the weekend, however?)
A possible theoretical downside here is that if something goes wrong and for some reason, I end up hating him, that scent might be ruined for me, but that's really getting ahead of myself.
Other people's deodorant
I think I'd like to do a survey of what deodorant the various people I know use. I'm curious about what might end up being the most popular brands and scents and such. I also want to go to a store and smell all of the various deodorants for sale and take notes about which ones I like and dislike. Additionally, I want to compare the packaging and marketing for men's and women's deodorant. It'd be a bit of an analysis of material culture, perhaps.
At the moment, I only have a small selection of deodorant on hand. I have my Dove flavors and Degree, and also one men's deodorant. The men's deodorant claims that you can "Feel clean, masculine and confident," whereas the Dove says "Our best care for beautiful underarms." What if women also want to feel clean and confident? And maybe even masculine? What if men want to have beautiful underarms? (I don't understand why men aren't also socially expected to shave their underarms. Then maybe they could have beautiful underarms too. They have way more hair there and it can look bad.)
Can smells be beautiful?
I think they can. I haven't asked quite enough people about this yet, but so far, there seems to be a bit of a gender split on this: women tend to say that smells can indeed be described beautiful, whereas men think they can't. Sometimes I smell a soap when I'm washing my hands and think, "This soap smells beautiful" or, on the contrary, "This soap smells ugly." And of course, a person could smell beautiful as well.
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