Month / March 2021

by Alexa Narlinger

Flower Power

Since I began my passion blog on fashion trends last August, I’ve covered just about every article of clothing. Pants, shirts, jackets, shoes, and so forth have all been the peak of my interest because it’s what I’ve seen most of around me, on social media, in magazines, etc. However as the weather gets warmer, the trends have shifted to a different trend of fashion and that would be swimsuits. 

 

I personally love following swimsuit trends each season because one fascinating thing is every year they drastically shift. Other trends in fashion typically ride along the same wavelength from season to season, but not swimsuits. One year a color or pattern may be in, and the next it’s seen as passé and completely outdated. An example of this would be one that I’m sure most (or at least females) will remember which is the 2016 swimsuit trend that was “Triangl” bikinis. The brand “Triangl” swept swim fashion that summer as every girl wanted to own the brightly colored bikini with the iconic black lining. However, if someone were to wear that same bikini today, fashion trendsetters would laugh. 

 

Now with this swim season just a few short months away, fashion icons and influencers are already stocking up on what I’ve observed to be a modern take on an older pattern. In the 70s and 80s vibrant floral patterns were quite popular and now they’re making an appearance on big name fashion brands for this upcoming summer season. This trend doesn’t necessarily revolve around a specific brand, or swimsuit style like in past years with high waisted bottoms or strapless tops. It could be a one piece, monokini, bikini, basically any shape built for any woman but they all have this same pattern in common. 

RETRO SWIMSUITS FROM MODA OPERANDI

 

The most popular suits so far are bright color combinations like orange and yellow, pink and purple, blue and green, and so on. This bright retro fashion trend is just what 2021 needs coming out of one of the worst years in just about everyone’s book. I was skeptical at first because I have always stuck to neutral and monotone colors like black or white but this new trend is starting to grow on me the more I see the increase in popularity. Like everything else in the fashion world, the price completely depends on the name on the tag. Although you can definitely find ones for cheaper, the ones I’ve seen worn most by celebrities thus far range between about $95 to $145. My personal favorite sits right between this price range at $120. This one immediately grabbed my attention because it looks less like a swimsuit and more like a really cool top torn out of the 70s. It has the fun colorful pattern that is so popular this season but it also has a little wooden ring in the center of the waist that kind of looks like a belt. 

RETRO SWIMSUIT WITH WOODEN RING FROM AFENDS.

Obviously it’s barely even April and there’s still a good 8 or so weeks until I should even think about going to the beach or pool, but seeing this swimsuit trend and others that are going to make an appearance this season gets me really excited for everything to come. Hopefully more summer trends emerge before my next passion blog post so I can analyze some more to prep for this upcoming season!

Sources:

https://www.modaoperandi.com/women/p/cin-cin/cut-out-wavy-swimsuit/456663?AID=14321425&PID=2299623&SID=s_wd.w_3754967.uts_gg&cjevent=baa7b35890a011eb820802460a82b820&utm_source=cj_affiliate&source=cj_affiliate&medium=Clique%20Media%2C%20Inc.%20%20%7C%20Who%20What%20Wear&utm_medium=Clique%20Media%2C%20Inc.%20%20%7C%20Who%20What%20Wear

Afends Womens Daisy May – One Piece – Sepia

by Alexa Narlinger

Issue Brief Intro: Detecting Against Death

DETECTING AGAINST DEATH:

The benefit of the k-12 school system in America implicating metal detectors to prevent further school shootings.

 

April 20th, 1999 kept all of America glued to their TV screens and radios that day as a mass shooting was reported at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. Senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had walked into school that day unsuspected with two 9 mm firearms and two 12-gauge shotguns. By the end of the day, 13 innocent lives were lost at the hands of the two boys and the guns that they held. Twenty two years later, and there have been an additional 229 school shootings and counting in America. The real question is why was nothing done after the first massacre back in 1999? Why do school districts and boards continue to wait for something worse to happen to their students again? Some argue that it’s not the gun that kills people, but the person that does the killing. While this is true and schools should pay more attention to the signs of mental health in students, the guns are what could turn someone with a disease from a person, into a murderer. 

 

The best way to keep guns out of schools is the proposition of a system change of implicating metal detectors at the entrances and exits of k-12 schools in America. This would keep dangerous weapons such as guns from entering school either via student or intruder. It’s proven that schools with metal detectors have decreased crime within and around the school so if this policy were to be enforced at all schools around the US, we could see a decrease and maybe even the disappearance of school shootings.

by Alexa Narlinger

Civic Issue Blog Post 3/24

Social media is one of politics biggest allies today. Whether that be as a platform to share news, opinions, etc. it can connect politicians to mass groups of people both quickly and successfully. However, with opinions come disagreements… Obviously the reason there are different political parties, with the main two being Democratic and Republican, is because everyone thinks differently and has different stances on different topics. In the past this was how people voted for their preferred candidate party. But with the rise in popularity of social media, many are using it as an outlet to express their personal opinions or concerns on the political world and this is causing a mass issue of polarization. 

 

By definition, political polarization is “the divergence of political attitudes to ideological extremes”. For the most part without social media, this extreme divergence was much less if not existent at all. Specifically, the 2016 and 2020 elections have seen a strong pull in change from disagreements to full blown “cancel culture”. Cancel culture is when a person or celebrity says something to the public, or on social media that people might not agree with and because so instead of educating that person, they are “cancelled”. This basically is full blown exile from public acceptance and could affect that person’s platform drastically to the point of putting current or future employment in danger. 

 

On the other hand without social media, the public would not even be able to hold that kind of power to hold someone accountable at a national level. But again, at what cost could this power have on a person’s life? As we’ve seen, this kind of polarization created by social media can be dangerous and sometimes even fatal. For example, the riots that took place outside the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021 were created out of former President, Donald Trump’s, remarks on how he had not lost the election that took place in November. Student Olivia in a New York Times article on the matter states, “They defaced flags, tore apart the democratic procedures that they apparently supported like a group of sulky toddlers all fighting over who got the cherry lollypop, and began the destruction of a symbol of worldwide freedom.” This created a divide that was so extreme that Trump supporters genuinely believed he won the election and violently protested against President Biden’s win. The polarization that Trump created on Twitter that created this chaos ended in the permanent suspension of his account as a result.

 

Political polarization at first glance may sound just like a divide between ideas. For example pro-choice vs pro life, pro gun vs anti gun, for or against the death penalty, etc. For the most part each political party or candidate sides with one of these issues and not the other and that is how people find who they most identify with. But social media has taken these to a whole new level that make political polarization a true threat to the United States democracy and political system as a whole. Platforms such as Instagram and Twitter allow people to repost other people’s or companies posts. For instance, if someone on Instagram posts an illustration that is anti-abortion on their timeline, people can take that post and repost it to their “stories” which are shown on their page for 24 hours. Notes, comments, etc. can be posted on top of it expressing their interest in the topic/illustration which is then shown to all of their followers. The problem with this is that these posts and comments are so biased that it basically strips away an alliance from half of that person’s followers who are most likely in favor of the opposition which in this case would be pro-abortion. 

 

The track that this will take us on is a very dark one because it’s taking away any room for disagreement and leaving it to a right and wrong answer for everything in this world. When voting this could mean that there will be even more aggressive protests for parties, cyber abuse on social media, etc. Many have seen this take a toll on friendships and even families because it seems like there is only one option in politics. The best solution to solve and further prevent political polarization from social media would be to leave space for open conversation and discussion. A lot of the time social media is made to be one sided and it’s almost like the users are lecturing their followers rather than sharing their ideas with them. Discussion is essential in politics and this is what will prevent polarization from destroying our nation.

 

Sources:

https://www.pewresearch.org/topics/political-polarization/

by Alexa Narlinger

RCL Post 3/17

I will address exigence for this issue brief by comparing schools that have implemented metal detectors into the security of their schools with those that haven’t and the consequences on both sides. By including statistics of school shootings (and proving that they are rising) I can further implement the urgency that comes with my topic. I think that this will provide a kairotic element into my issue brief when opening it.

 

The audience that I will target for my issue brief is nationwide school institutions and boards. Obviously all K-12 schools need to be implementing metal detectors at entrances and exits, however if this issue was addressed at a state level its more than possible that no progress would be seen in the country as a whole. Additionally this would need to be done via government because of the divide of different schools in the US (boarding, public, private, charter, etc.) These targeted audiences would thus include the US Secretary for Education, Incumbent Miguel Cardona, and the US Department of Education. 

by Alexa Narlinger

Current Corsets

Movies and film manipulate the way people and society think and function all the time without us even knowing it. Most times it’s simply just because it’s an inspiration, or a muse if you will. It could be a new slang term, a traveling location, basically anything in the industry that is seen as desirable to viewers can be copied into real life. But above all things taken from the screen, trends of fashion trump them all. 

 

2021 Netflix series, Bridgerton, took the world by storm with its dreamy, dramatic fictional story of the dating season in Regency Era England. The show accurately showed the fashion and clothing articles worn at the time such as corsets, and gowns with layers upon layers of shiny fabrics and silk. Obviously, everyone was immediately obsessed with the patterns and colors of past fashion being showcased so why not bring it to life in modern times?

SHOT OF FASHION SEEN IN BRIDGERTON

SHOT OF FASHION SEEN IN BRIDGERTON

Today materials like those seen on the gowns would cost hundreds upon thousands of dollars, so that obviously would be hard to copy… but what about the corsets worn under the gowns? This is exactly where the trend came about. Although corsets were originally used as undergarments to suck in women’s waists, now they are being manipulated to mimic a cute, trendy top. My favorite part about the trend is that women are wearing these corsets with casual pants like jeans which are such a simple, basic clothing article worn today. 

 

There are many variations of these new corset tops. Although some still incorporate the laced up back that slims the waist, others are now elastic or clip in the back. Some have straps or sleeves, and others are strapless. They may all have different aspects and details, but one thing remains of the influence of the past like in Bridgerton, the patterns and colors. By combining the colors and patterns of these extravagant gowns with the plain corsets worn underneath, there is this perfect mesh of old and new. Many popular ones come in a satin color but my personal favorites have flowers and shiny details of leaves or vines. 

 

CORSET FROM PRETTY LITTLE THING

CORSET FROM PRETTY LITTLE THING

 

These corsets do look expensive (and some are), but there are also reasonable options at a much lower price. Pretty Little Thing, one of my favorite online fashion brands, has a strapless white lace corset on sale for only $30. On the other end, from a high fashion brand such as Intermix, their floral corset top is priced at $395. Either way I think that these tops are a great way to honor fashion of the past while also modernizing it for life and fashion as we know it today.

CORSET FROM INTERMIX

CORSET FROM INTERMIX

Image Sources:

https://www.vogue.com/article/bridgerton-fashion-runway-looks

https://www.prettylittlething.us/petrol-blue-sheer-lace-structured-corset-top.html

https://www.intermixonline.com/r13/corset-floral-velvet-camisole/R13W9338-02E.html?adpos=&googleshopping=us&scid=scplp6006030388_P&sc_intid=6006030388_P&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid-shopping&utm_content=&utm_campaign=SC%20Shopping%20-%20NonBrand&gclid=Cj0KCQjwi7yCBhDJARIsAMWFScN1aaxQAOZvSrUTgMey2e4DR-oWLYBdDBn56oIrNnZo7pDQ7vDeV8YaAjEkEALw_wcB

by Alexa Narlinger

3/15 Issue Brief Topic

The issue that I am going to address is increased security in K-12 schools in America. Since Sandy Hook, school shootings have increased and up until the Covid-19 pandemic, were at an all time high during the 2019 school year. Although many districts have implemented new measures like SRO’s (Security Resource Officers), schools would further benefit from new security implementations such as metal detectors. It’s proven that schools with metal detectors have decreased crime within and around the school so if this policy were to be enforced at all schools around the US, we could see a decrease and maybe even the disappearance of school shootings.

 

The “cause” of the issue I am addressing is inadvertent when looking at the four causes. This is because the problem was brought about by the US educational system’s lack of caution since the problem first came about decades ago. If right after Sandy Hook schools immediately started putting in metal detectors around the entrances and exits, Parkland, STEM, etc. could all have been avoided. Obviously there are other issues within this subject such as mental health, but by implementing metal detectors now, schools are preventing firearms and other weapons from being brought into the classroom by not only students, but also outside threats. 

 

The policy instrument named in the “Making Policy” entry that would best fit the crafting of this policy for my issue brief would be system changes. To successfully keep school shootings down and keep kids safe in their learning environments, you would have to alter how the US educational institution provides security. Although this policy instrument can be seen as the most dramatic of the four, this is exactly what needs to be done to prevent any more innocent people from losing their lives to something that could have been avoided.