An Introduction to "Give Me Paisley and Parasols!"

New beginnings merit new habits and new ways of thinking. I was on the verge of beginning my first college summer internship with Washingtonpost.Newsweeksweek Interactive. I had exactly one week to enjoy myself between the end of the academic year and the start of my job in the Multimedia department. Naturally, I spent this time reading, writing, drawing, taking photographs, and thinking. One day as I sat down and gazed off just past my computer, logged onto Facebook, I suddenly came up with an idea. What if I recorded what I wore to work every day of my internship? My sisters could take the photos and I'd write some commentary about the outfit, my day. Without consulting my sisters, I decided it was something I was going to do. I immediately updated my status on Facebook, announcing my new project.

That project was titled "Eleven Weeks in Eclectic Elegance" and was what I consider my first real fashion project. I posted the text and images on Facebook and my Associated Content page (www.associatedcontent.com/christinestoddard).In the past I had written many fashion articles for both online and print but I had never before done something so extensive with my love and knowledge of clothes. After completing the project, thanks in part to my sister Helen, I wanted to do it again. Not the same thing all over but something similar.

So at the tale end of August 2008, shortly after I transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University, I registered for an account with Blogger and called my new blog "Give Me Paisley and Parasols!" in reference to my unusual fashion sense. I took the blog one step further by registering for a unique domain name instead of keeping the one assigned by Blogger. It was then that www.paisleyandparasols.com was born.

'Give Me Paisley and Parasols!' is what I call an alternative fashion blog. If you regularly read fashion blogs, you know that most of them are essentially advertising venues. The writer chooses a garment, a store, and/or a designer for the subject of the post and then gushes about it. There's no real substance. The blog is essentially about shopping and nothing more. But I disapproved of that model. While I don't mind favorably describing this or that, I also want to elevate the perception of fashion in our society. Too often it's viewed as something frivolous. Many people are unaware of the true art and science that goes behind fashion. They don't know anything about fashion besides what they read in People magazine. After voraciously reading up on fashion and interning as a fashion assistant at Washington Life magazine, I know that fashion isn't just about what today's hottest celebrities are wearing and where to snag the coolest trends for cheap. Fashion isn't only about "looking cute," as my fashion history Tammy Davis mentioned the first day of our class. But people must be exposed to all the facets of fashion in order to understand that.

I hope that throught my vast range of fashion projects, such as my first one "Adventures on Two Feet" and my current one "Pages Through 'The Dynamics of Fashion', my readers will gain a stronger appreciation for the complex and innovation fashion industry. I hope that they will gain new insights by reading my on-the-street interviews, designer Q&As, history lessons, criticisms, and everything that blog currently has and will have to offer in the near future. And, obviously, I want my readers to have fun. My blog should not only be an educational experience but also an entertaining one.

Please judge whether or not I'm accomplishing these goals by visiting www.paisleyandparasols.com. I truly welcome comments and emails.