Style Profile #6: Gillian Hayami

Name: Gillian Hayami

Locale: Raleigh, North Carolina

Profession: Professional wanderer, international woman of mystery, space cowboy.

Fashion Influences: I wouldn't say that I have any particular fashion influences that I'm aware of. My approach to fashion is fairly simple: I dress for comfort first. My wardrobe revolves entirely around my beloved collection of comfy pants, except in the colder months when it revolves around my equally beloved collection of comfy sweaters. I love the fall because I can wear them both at the same time. During these months my mother tells me I look like a "bag lady" with increased frequency. I prefer to call it "bag lady chic".
The only other thing that I would say defines my wardrobe is my collection of scarves, which is getting out of hand . Oh and it's fairly important that whatever comfy pants I buy can be worn with Birkenstock clogs or sandals since I hate all other shoes, especially ones with laces or heels that go "clip clop" when I walk. I prefer my feet to make a lazy shuffling sound, and I certainly don't think they should herald the approach of a horse or some high powered business woman, since I am neither. If anything, I'm more horse

Favorite Shops/ Labels: Although I will occasionally drop a bomb on a pair of really awesome comfy pants, it generally kills me to spend a lot of money on clothes, especially when I'm just going to be called a bag lady anyway. Like my dear Aunt Dawn says, "We don't pay retail", especially not for clothes that were imported for a few dollars a piece from India or Thailand. Speaking of which, the best places to find comfy pants are India and S.E. Asia. Street markets in Asia are a comfy pants gold mine, and you can't beat the prices.

Local Fashion Scene: I know nothing of the local "fashion scene". I'm not sure there is one in Raleigh, and I don't tend to notice those things anyway.

*Interested in being a Peach?*
Send 1) one full-length pic, 2) 2 to 4 other snapshots that capture your style, 3) you name, locale, fav shops, influences, the scene in your city, or any other pertinent info to pickypeaches@gmail.com

Ad Rant

By now I'm guessing most people out there have seen Diesel's new 'Be Stupid' ad campaign. Some have claimed that the ads are not about 'dumbing down', but about living in the now, being creative, doing what your heart wants instead of what's 'best' in a rational, rigid world. Now, I would be all for that if all the ads actually expressed that sentiment, but the most prevalent ad shows a girl exposing herself to a security camera with the tagline: 'Smart has the brains, but stupid has the balls. Be stupid.'
So... I guess throwing caution to the wind and being creative has more to do with showing my breasts Girls-Gone-Wild-style than bettering myself with a career and education.
I don't mean to be one of those people who takes things too seriously, after all it's just an ad, but we also can't just sit back, shrug our shoulders, and act as if this isn't partially a reflection of society's view of women. Because the fact is that to a lot of people it's much more acceptable - and far less threatening - for a young woman to act ditzy and 'fun' than it is for her to be serious and studious. I just don't see why an ad can't be witty and empowering. Why does being 'ballsy' for a woman automatically correlate to her exposing herself or taking pictures of her crotch? Is the the only way to be spontaneous as a woman to be loose with your own body?
Of course not, but sex sells, and so does the humor of the ads - which also is what tells us not to take them so seriously. But the bottom line is that such ads reaffirm the idea that women are often respected more for their looks than their intellect, and hint that looking sexy in Diesel jeans (or out of them) is going to get you more places than dedicating yourself to enriching your mind. To me, I think it's a bit optomistic to feel that (as cheapjab.com stated): "It’s telling me not to go to law school and be a lawyer and save my money so I can eventually do what I really want to do, which is be a writer; it’s telling me to write now, even if it puts me on the poverty line." Maybe that poverty explains why the women have no clothes in most of the ads?

Everyone's free to take these ads as seriously or lightly as they like. They aren't likely to cause any girls to drop out of college to go pursue playboy, but I think we have to admit to ourselves that they definitely are there to titillate and that they do nothing to play down the Britney Spears-like mentality for women to flaunt their bodies rather than brains for attention and affection. It's disappointing that a company like Diesel, which has done some pretty creative ads in its past, would take the easy way out by using some exposed flesh to stir up buzz. The company might end up feeling what many of us did after all our crazy college days of spontaneous, 'ballsy' abandon: regret.