MEOW

Personally I like Scottish miamha :)

Cat Fashion: How These Furrocious Felines Are Dominating Closets Everywhere?

2012 has proved to us just how fashion-worthy cats can be: not only are they all over your favorite sweaters, dresses, shoes, hats, headbands (the list goes on), but these fashionable felines have evolved from cute cat prints into actual fashion models. We know many of you are closet cat people. Heck, even Chictopia’s C.E.O. is a renowned cat lady! So let’s get into the details of how our adorable furry friends are quickly taking over the fashion world… from simple prints at Miu Miu to haute cat-ture Internet stardom.

Why Cats?
You’ve probably been noticing cats popping up on the runway, in fashion spreads and on clothes. Could it be a trend started by the Interwebs/YouTube where cute cats reign superior? Or is it that people in the fashion industry are mostly cat people (ie. Grace Coddington and Karl Lagerfeld)? The answers are yes and yes— it’s no doubt that we see cats in commercials even when they hardly relate to the product being sold, and it’s no question that people in the fashion industry have a thing for cats. Sarah Cristobal, editor of V magazine, couldn’t have said it better: “[Cats’] personalities do match the fashion set — they’re beautiful and graceful but also kind of finicky.” Cats and fashion go together like fat kid on cake, hands down.

But where did the idea that cats are fashionable even begin? It seems like a simple question, with fashion’s traditional identification with femininity and cats being portrayed as slender and elegant in films (I’m talking pre-Marudays). To answer this question, though, I’d like to point out how society has placed cats and fashion in the same category by making a comparison to their well known furry counterpart: dogs. Dogs are commonly seen as masculine, while cats are seen as feminine, for reasons based on gender stereotypes of personality and physical traits. Basically, cats go with fashion and femininity just like dogs go with what are considered to be masculine activities. In a society full of dog lovers and cat haters, it makes sense that many people in fashion, who are in a small subset that often praises femininity and goes against the norm, identify with cats, the minority. If you want to learn more about this, I’d recommend reading this article by Society Pages.

                              

Cat-akeover of Fashion

Cats made their first big editorial appearance in Lanvin’s 2009 ad featuring two black felines. Cat print made an unforgettable appearance in Miu Miu’s Spring/Summer 2010 collection, with models going down the runway in lavish cat print collars, suits, and dresses. In 2011, Anna Sui and Givenchy showed those famous cat ear hats, which led to models dressing up as cats in editorials like Chanel’s 2011 ad with Freja Beha Erichsen as a full-on feline. In 2012, as Buzzfeed reports, cats became high in demand in the modeling industry. Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette is currently represented by IMG Modeling and is known as a breakout Internet star. YouTube star Maru, who’s known for jumping into boxes, was part of a UNIQLO campaign this year. There was even a cat fashion show held at Aloqonquin Hotel.

At the same time of the “cat-akeover” of the fashion industry, street style became steep in cat clothing and accessories. Miu Miu’s catified collection spurred on a trend of cat print as seen on Iris of Fashion Zen. Street style photographer Hanneli was seen baring it in Opening Ceremony’s cat print sweater during fashion week. Some favorite cat trend spotting on Chictopia include Mayo’s cat outfit, Laura’s white kitty dress, and Gogo Sushi’s cat tights. And let’s not forget the creation of the blog The Catorialist.

うちの猫ちゃんにも頑張ってほしい限りであるーー

Now playing Van Morrison - Whenever God Shines His Light @ the office

Good morning

My new hair ♥♥♥

Alcoholism: Nature versus nurture

Many people argue whether or not Alcoholism-an addiction to the consumption of alcohol- is due to nurture by our genetics or nature by environment. Some argue that it is due to genetics because many people who become alcoholics also had parents and grandparents who were alcoholics as well. In contrary, others believe that this addiction is due to the environment that they are grown up it whether or not it is in their genes. Studies show that children who have alcoholic parents with similar genetic code are 4 times more likely to become alcoholic than children with parents who are not. This is due to nurture where genetics play a crucial role. However, children with no similar genes to their parents who grow up in a home with alcoholic parents also have a high chance of becoming alcoholics. This is due to nature and how the environment plays a crucial role. I do believe that both nature and nurture play a role in the development of Alcoholism but I also believe that both play a role in preventing people from suffering alcoholism.

For example, when my grandma was a child, she and 8 other siblings were raised by abusive parents who suffered from alcoholism. My grandma, being the oldest, was just 14 years old and basically took care of herself as well as her other siblings. Both her mother and father were always at the bar they owned drinking and didn't get home until 4 or 5 in the morning. Because my grandma was raised in an environment and had genes similar to parents who suffered from alcoholism, she definitely could've had the tendency to become an alcoholic due to both nature and nurture. However, I believe that because she had this tendency, she realized the type of life she'd live as an alcoholic was not what she wanted and therefore has never suffered from alcoholism.

Nature versus nurture: very interesting topic to research  as psychology.

Sunday morning

A cup of tea and a book with my cat X

至福の一時。朝早く起きなくていい日曜日はベットから抜け出さず、

紅茶を左手に本を右手に。膝にはムーが。

最近は友達の犬を預かっているので、おちおちとキッチンを歩くことができないムー。

わんちゃんはムーとお友達になりたいのにね。

そんなムーにとっても、私にとっても一時の至福は日曜日の朝♩

Real Treat