Lucille Roberts Rant Revisited

Remember this post about Lucille Roberts and their seriously messed up way of dealing with my move and how they don't want to let me cancel my gym membership?

Yeah, so after a long conversation with my wonderful bank (USAA), we figured that I could send them my bank statement, the USPS change of address form, and a letter explaining my move and my interaction with customer service (the supervisor, no less!). So I scanned all the documents, sent them to my parents, and had them fax it all in because, you know, international charges for faxes are ridiculous.

And then I noticed that they charged me for another month. And then I got an email saying they'd received "insufficient proof" of my move even though I had obviously provided two of the documents that they listed.

Add to this that the only place I can get internet right now is in the parking lot of a restaurant, we're in the middle of moving into more permanent housing (hopefully), and we've got a group of grad students visiting from the States, and it's enough to make my head want to explode.

So, I guess that means it's time for the next step, which is sending it to the disputes department of my bank (which is all that is good and wonderful in the world of banking).

So we'll see what happens now....

Three times a lady

Top: American Eagle (gift from aunt)
Cardigan: Apt. 9 via Kohl's
Scarf: Target
Skirt: Ann Taylor
Boots: Nine West
Earrings: gift from SIL
Sunnies: Puerto Rico

I guess it was really just a matter of time before I referenced Lionel Richie songs in the titles of my posts. This song reminds me of my mom because she liked it - or at least, I remember her singing along to it when I was a kid. Lionel Richie reminds me of when I was in Vietnam back in 2007 because I can't even tell you how many times people chose to sing "Hello" either to us or for karaoke. Lionel Richie, you are well loved in Vietnam.


But this post isn't about Lionel Richie. It's about the fact that I'm mixing three patterns. Three! A (subtle) floral, an animal print, and whatever is going on on my scarf (damask?). I might not wear a lot of color, but I apparently sometimes layer on some patterns in various shades of brown.


B told me this morning that he didn't like my scarf with the cardigan. I told him that this is what I call a "Style Blogger Outfit" which basically means I've broken enough rules of style and fashion in a single outfit that no one else but a style blogger will appreciate it. Monochromatic outfit? Check. Ladylike silhouettes with chunky boots? Check. Crazy mixed patterns? Check.


And then two of my students said that I dress really well, so maybe I was wrong.

On a different note: mil gracias for all your wonderful comments yesterday. I'm always nervous about the heavier posts and am surprised when they're well received.

FFB Update

Remember yesterday's post? Well, obviously I wasn't the only one posting about my feminist fashion icons, so here's a (partial?) list for your browsing fun.

Björk - Oranges and Apples

Christine Lagarde– Rags Against the Machine

Cindy Sherman - Mrs Bossa Does the Do

Claude Cahun - Cervixosaurus

Diane Von Furstenberg – For Those About to Shop

Elizabeth Smith Miller – Techie Style

Ellen Page – SK{ru}SH

Frida Kahlo - La Historiadora de Moda from Fashionable Academics

Frida Kahlo – Knitting Up the Ravelled Sleeve of Care

Gloria Steinem – Ef for Effort

Gloria Steinem - What If No-One’s Watching?

Gloria Trevi - Feministified

Grandmother – The House in the Clouds

Griselda Pollock - Magic Square Foundation

Hedy Lamarr - Adventures in Refashioning

Marjane Satrapi - Jean of all Trades

Joan of Arc – Interrobangs Anonymous

Julia de Burgos – Mad Dress Game

Margaret Cho – What Are Years?

Oroma Elewa - Fishmonkey

P.J.Harvey - Northwest is Best

Rachel Carson – Aly en France

Siouxsie Sioux - Yo Ladies

Sydney Fox - My Illustrative Life

Vivienne Westwood - Seamstress Stories

A Julia de Burgos

Top: Banana Republic
Skirt: Gap
Belt: Banana Republic
Booties: Aldo
Bracelet: gift from my uncle
Earrings: Turkey

So, some weeks ago, there was an announcement about feminist fashion bloggers getting together to combine these two passions. I joined the Feminist Fashion Bloggers group, a decision that I though long and hard about, but ultimately took. Why would I think long and hard about something like this? Simple. It's because as a woman of color growing up the way I have (between continents and in a variety of socioeconomic settings), I feel that feminism is most often associated with a type of woman that I am not: the White, middle-class, well-educated woman from the US, Canada, or Western Europe.


But I do identify as a feminist - what I like to call a "Third World Feminist", so I joined. Because I figured the group needed a few more voices, yes? So, as part of this group, we're taking sartorial cues from a feminist fashion icon. So this is me liberally interpreting Julia de Burgos.

Source

How gorgeous was this woman? She was a poetess, one of the best in Latin America, and probably the best from Puerto Rico. One of her poems, "Ay, ay, ay de la grifa negra", comes to mind. It's about embracing who you are, your ancestors, and at the same time, recognizing the justice issues that play into ancestry, especially when you're Caribbean and racially mixed.


And then there's my personal favorite: A Julia de Burgos. This is the kind of thing that I so GET as a woman, as a Puerto Rican woman. We're from a culture where appearances matter for everyone (male or female), and there are certain ways of acting in public. But underneath it, there's more to us, a real us. Anyway, I took a stab at a translation here, so feel free to check it out.

Source

So today, she is my inspiration: a little boho, a little retro; a little bit of celebrating the natural texture of my hair, a lot of celebrating being a woman who can think and feel and write and live in two cultures and two countries.