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from paper dresses to parenting a teen

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Fashion by Mayhem

from paper dresses to parenting a teen

02.06.2023

Posted on February 6, 2023February 7, 2023 By Angie Keiser

Every now and then, I stumble on a photograph of a paper dress that I have no recollection of making.

Zero. None. Nada.

I guess it shouldn’t come as such a surprise anymore. We made HUNDREDS of paper dresses. And it’s been more years than I care to admit, since since this project was our full time gig.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a bit nostalgic for those days.

And while I don’t miss the (self imposed) pressure of cranking out some red carpet replicas the morning after major awards shows, I do miss the amount of time spent immersed in the fashion.

Which brings me to today.

It’s been a few years since we stopped creating our paper fashions, but not an awards show goes by, that I don’t still receive messages from people telling us they still think of our creations, each time they watch a red carpet. They often wonder which we’d choose to recreate, or send us photos of their favorites.

It’s a fun little legacy to have. Like poucons (iykyk.)

But sometimes we also get messages telling us that they get why we stopped. That the fashion is horrendous, these days, and they include photos of celebrities to ‘back up their claim’.

Have a seat, please.

Because herein lies one of the challenges with raising confident young people today – negative messages/comments/worst dressed/who wore it better nonsense. Online, in our faces, ALL.THE.TIME.

And I believe that when people talk about ‘celebrities’, they have detached sense of reality. Spoiler alert: they’re real people. Actual humans with thoughts and feelings and pressures of their own. Just different than yours or mine.

I get it, there used to be entire shows dedicated to picking apart celebrity fashion, which fueled the acceptance of such behavior. But haven’t we learned anything from the transition from tv to everything online, ALL.THE.TIME.?

Here’s a thing I learned a long long long time ago (like 2014, long ago – which is a lifetime ago in the realm of life online): just because I wouldn’t choose to wear a certain fashion, does not give me the right to put down someone else for choosing to wear it. Period.

Fashion is subjective.

I’d never heard of power clashing until my kid started doing it. And while I don’t think it’s in my creative wheelhouse to put it together OR pull it off, I’d often find myself stunned at just how much I loved it on her. But it didn’t matter what I thought, it was a bold move, and it made her FEEL amazing.

And even thought she isn’t in a power clashing phase right now, she could absolutely pull it together and pull it off today, if she wanted to.

Which brings us back to the red carpet. Are there certain fashions that don’t appeal to me? Absolutely. Does my life suffer because of their mere existence? Absolutely not. Do I have the right to make another human feel bad for choosing that fashion? No effing way.

Does criticizing celebrities at awards shows spill over into real life? Absolutely. Not a day goes by that a kid or adult isn’t bullied for some aspect of their appearance. Especially since we’re all connected online, 24/7.

Is there a way to make it stop? Maybe.

How about we start by only celebrating and sharing the fashions we love.

And when it comes time to ‘like, share or comment’ on the ones we don’t, WE.STOP.OURSELVES.

Rinse and repeat.

Everyday Mayhem

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About Me

Hi, I'm Angie. Mom to Sydney (currently age 15,) known to the online world as Mayhem. Formerly that paper dress mother/daughter duo. Currently living in the south, and enjoying every second of this season "mom-ing" this incredible teenage human.

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