Author Archives: Megan

Process Post #12: The Fashion Daily’s Community Guidelines

Spreading hate has unfortunately become a very large part of the media, so much so that sometimes it almost becomes unavoidable. I have never really had a bad experience with receiving hate or negative comments from something I have posted over the years on social media, but then again, I keep all of my social media accounts private and only really follow people I know or are mutual with. That being said, I have definitely been on the receiving end of rude or hurtful comments either in real life or over text from people I wouldn’t have expected it from, and it definitely is not a good feeling. I typically don’t let these types of comments and scenarios get to me, but I can’t deny that it doesn’t hurt for at least a few minutes after either hearing or reading something negative about yourself. 

As this is the first public platform I have ever really had, I decided to keep my comments off for now as I wanted to be able to get comfortable sharing my work and myself with the public without any immediate judgment. I’m sure there are people who have come across my site that didn’t like it or had something negative to say, but had to keep that thought to themselves; as they should have regardless of whether or not I have a comment section or not. It is so easy to keep your thoughts to yourself. We do this every minute of every day, yet it seems like when it comes to the opportunity to express something hateful, many break their silence and jump at the opportunity. Everywhere you look on any media platform you will find hate comments, maybe even more than positive ones in some cases. A main reason as to why people are more inclined to share hate comments is because they can do so anonymously. An in class reading we did this week stated that, “a quarter of Internet users have posted comments anonymously” (Konnikova, 2013). 40% of which were users of ages 18-19 years old. As this article was published in 2013, anyone on social media could confirm that the number of anonymous users has skyrocketed since then.  When people can hide behind their screens and a fake username, they are less likely to have to deal with any consequences for their actions, and therefore feel that it is okay to share something hurtful. This is also known as the “online disinhibition effect” (Konnikova, 2013). This is a part of the reason why I have my comments turned off. Although it is unlikely that my website would reach a wide enough audience to receive many comments at all, I didn’t want to risk having to potentially deal with hateful comments because it can be draining, and I didn’t want to end up feeling self-conscious on a platform that I have created to be my own domain. 

Overall, if I were to have my comments on and if I do so in the future, here are what some of my community guidelines would look like…

  1. Personal attacks, along with offensive and distasteful comments will not be tolerated. These comments do not necessarily have to be directed only to me specifically. I would like The Fashion Daily to be a platform for anyone to be able to enjoy visiting, so comments that will hinder this in any way will be unacceptable.
  2. Treat others online as you would treat them in person. Hate comments will not be appreciated or tolerated in general, but at the end of the day, don’t use anonymity as a means to justify and allow such behaviour.
  3. Share your opinions, and provide constructive feedback should you have any! If and when I do open my comments up, I would love to hear different opinions and perspectives on some of the topics I post on. With this being said, this does not promote the opportunity to degrade my position or anyone else’s for that matter, and create more of an argument rather than a proper discussion.
  4. Communicate with respect when engaging in discussion with me or your peers.
  5. Comments that are not related to the topic of the post or theme of the overall website should not be posted on The Fashion Daily. This can look like spam comments, links to exterior inappropriate sources, etc.

Overall, I have designed The Fashion Daily in a way that has allowed me to not only feel comfortable sharing my content and being myself online, but protect myself as well. For now as I am still navigating what it means to be running a public domain, I would like to keep it this way. That being said, I am always curious as to what viewers of my site are thinking of the content, and would like to hear their feedback and comments one day in the future. Once this is the case, please follow these community guidelines to help keep the site a fun and comfortable space for not only myself, but for everyone visiting as well!

References

Konnikova, M. (2013). “The Psychology of Online Comments”. The New Yorker.

Weekly Inspiration: Rachel Green

This week’s inspiration is honestly my everyday fashion inspiration! That’s right, this week we’re going to be taking a look at the star of the hit tv series Friends, Rachel Green, played by the iconic Jennifer Aniston. As I mentioned in one of my mini assignments, Rachel’s character is what helped me discover my love and interest in fashion. Until I watched Friends, I didn’t really have an idea of what I wanted to pursue career wise, and I felt that my only real passion and interest was related to sports. I had always liked shopping and clothes, but never really saw the full potential of this interest until I was a bit older and was inspired by Rachel. I started watching Friends during the pandemic when the world was essentially on lockdown and all we could really do was try and keep ourselves busy at home. I fell in love with the show and as I mentioned, it really sparked my interest in fashion. With so much time on my hands, I began to sort of reinvent myself and overtime I have both intentionally and unintentionally developed the style that I have now which is very much inspired by Rachel  Green. 

One of the ways I relate to Rachel the most is through her development of style. I have always had a somewhat good sense of style, but I have definitely gone through many changes and preferences to develop the more creative and fashionable eye that I have today. In Friends, we see similar developments and changes in Rachel’s style as she goes through different jobs and experiences before landing a job in the fashion industry, where her sense of style became more prevalent and a center point of her character. This occurs in the later seasons of Friends, and is where I am mainly going to focus in as I found that these were the times that Rachel was in her fashion icon prime! 

Overall, Rachel wore so many well put together outfits through the entirety of the show, and she embodies the 90’s style and aesthetic very well alongside demonstrating timeless fashion as well. To start, we’ll explore Rachel’s more professional sense of style that we see develop as she begins working for the big name fashion companies like Ralph Lauren. What I have incorporated most from this era of style is the use of blazers, skirts, and turtle neck tank tops sweaters. Each of these pieces have become a focal point of my closet, and I try to incorporate them into as many looks as I can. Before seeing Rachel’s sense of style, I barely wore skirts and didn’t really like to do so, and I had never thought about wearing a blazer. It’s funny how a bit of influence and inspiration can suddenly spark your new interest and desire to try something new. I’m glad that I did step out of my comfort zone and begin experimenting with these different clothing pieces, because it really sparked my passion for developing my personal style and taught me the power in dressing up. Here are some outfits I have worn that were inspired by Rachel Green’s more professional and sophisticated attire….

When Rachel is not at work, even her off-duty sense of style is ultra-fashionable. We typically will see Rachel still looking very stylish, but in a more comfortable and casual manner. Whether this is through a plain graphic tee and jean combo with some sort of uniqueness to it through the use of accessories or color, to pairing sweaters with skirts to dress down a usually more professional and put together clothing piece. Rachel’s style is bridges the gap between comfort and chic fashion, which I think helps make her sense of style so noticeable and influential. Here are some more dressed down Rachel Green inspired looks I have put together…

The last thing I will note about Rachel’s overall appearance, is that her hair is a major contributor to her overall look! And I’m not just talking about “The Rachel” haircut that dominated most of the 90’s trends. The layered haircut that Rachel has during the later years of Friends with face framers was very ahead of it’s time, and is now the go-to haircut style for many people today, including myself. I know that I was definitely inspired by this layered C-shape haircut Rachel wore, because it really added to her overall style and appearance, and made her look more put together at all times!

Overall, Rachel Green’s sense of style has definitely influenced me, and I have integrated many elements of her style into my own. This week, I challenge you to embrace your inner Rachel Green and look to, and look to incorporate more timeless fashion pieces into your everyday look, while still adding a chic and unique touch to it. This could be anything that you normally wouldn’t wear, or that in your head you believe you wouldn’t wear normally or at all. For me this was skirts. I didn’t realize how much skirts could add to an outfit and in general how much I actually liked wearing them! I had always thought that that they were maybe uncomfortable or just out of my style range, but once I incorporated one in an outfit after years of not doing so, I learned that it was actually the complete opposite! See where having an open mind can take you!? I hope you enjoyed this weeks Weekly Inspiration, and have fun channeling this iconic Friends character this week!

What’s New?: Shining Responsibly with BioGlitz

As I was browsing the latest innovations and headlines in the fashion industry, this one really caught my eye, and I found the topic to be fascinating the more I read and searched their website. BioGlitz is the first company in the world to manufacture and produce biodegradable glitter. As a lover of sparkle and glamor, I was super intrigued by this innovation. I love to wear some glitter and sparkly makeup when I am dressing up, and I have never really considered just how much glitter can actually be harmful to the environment. This caused me to do some of my own research, and below I’ll share a few things that I found. 

“…The real issue with glitter isn’t that it’s annoying – it’s that it truly does get everywhere: not just in your home, but also into the farthest-flung corners of the Earth” (The Guardian, 2020). Glitter is a micro-plastic made from a combination of aluminum and plastic. Microplastics are a known hazard, and countries are beginning to see the environmental impact of glitter so much so that various places within the UK have banned glitter from being incorporated into certain things such as holiday products (2020). Since glitter is a microplastic, there are several ways that it can be problematic. A study talked about in this article states that, “microplastics can become airborne and come down in rain – literally rain down – on protected natural areas we expect would be pristine” (2020). Because these micro-plastics can be airborne, they are able to cover a great distance, and truly travel everywhere, as well as further than the eye can see. These microplastics do not just travel upwards, but also end up in the ocean and on the seafloor which has greatly impacted the health and well being of all marine life. This is a primary reason as to why these plastics are of such concern. One last disturbing study mentioned in this article that I will mention, is that on average, humans ingest about five grams of micro-plastic each week because of how many of these particles become airborne. This is not all necessarily related back to glitter, but these sparkles definitely are an unnecessary contributor to these harmful causes. 

Thanks to BioGlitz, customers are now able to enjoy using glitter without the harmful impacts the product currently has on the environment, and the hope is that this product will eventually replace the current glitter production means . A great hashtag that they have adopted as a motto on their site is, “#SHINERESPONSIBLY”, which I find to be a very effective use of words that reflects what BioGlitz is all about. After reading through their site, I discovered that the idea and development of BioGlitz has been around since 2014, which was cool to read as I assumed that this was a more recent development and innovation. Bio Glitz was founded by Saba Gray, who is a strong believer that glitter is a universal tool that can be used for self expression. Along with this strong belief, Gray is also dedicated to sustainable fashion, and once she discovered that her love for glitter didn’t necessarily align with her beliefs and values, she wanted to change that; and hence, the invention of BioGlitz.  

Image from BioGlitz
Image from BioGlitz
Image from BioGlitz

“Our Mission Is To Raise Environmental Awareness And Encourage Fearless Self Expression Through Spreading Sustainable Shine” (BioGlitz, 2023). This mission statement encapsulates all of BioGlitz values, and I think that this innovation is going to be a great turning point and asset to designers as the fashion industry turns to more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. For a sustainable product, the BioGlitz products are very affordable, and there is a wide variety of options that can satisfy anyone’s sparkle needs. I will definitely be a BioGlitz customer in the future whenever I need some new glitter, and I can’t wait to see this innovation make its way into the fashion industry!

If you want to read more about BioGlitz and take a look at their products, I’ll provide a link to their website here: https://www.bioglitz.co

References 

BioGlitz. (2023). https://www.bioglitz.co

Matei, A. (2020). Glitter is an environmental abomination. It’s time to stop using it. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/22/glitter-environment-microplastics-hazard

Enhancing Your Eye Color Through Clothing Choices Part 2

Enhancing your eye color through clothing choices Part 2 is finally here! To recap, in part 1 we explored the best colors to wear if you have…

  1. Hazel Eyes
  2. Brown Eyes
  3. Dark Brown Eyes
  4. Green Eyes

For the second part of this post, we will take a look at which colors will best compliment the eye colors of blue, grey, and amber! Let’s get started.

Amber Eyes

To sort of start where we left off, we’ll take a look at complimentary colors for amber eyes. Amber eyes are a beautiful mix of yellow, orange, and brown, that create a very warm tone as well as a golden look. This eye color is not very common, with about only 5% of the population reported to have this unique color!  

Wearing copper and golden browns will intensify your eye color, and it will magnify the yellow and brown tones in your eyes, which will really make them pop. One colour that you may not expect to have been complimentary to amber eyes is blue. Blue is on the opposite side of orange on the color wheel, making them complimentary colors. Wearing shades of blue will lighten your eyes and intensify the lighter yellow, golden tones that make the colour so distinctive!

Blue Eyes

Next, we’ll take a look at the most desired eye color in the world! I know I’ve definitely found myself saying “I wish I had blue eyes” a few times before. Some of my friends have gorgeous blue eyes, and that is a characteristic of theirs that I have always admired. There is something about blue eyes that makes them special and so pretty!

The best way to bring out the blue in your eyes is to wear blue! This could be any shade of blue, but I have found that when my blue-eyed friends wear a color that is a similar shade to their eyes, it really makes them stand out. White is also a great color to wear if you have blue eyes. The bright white color highlights the blue in your eyes as well as the lighter undertones, which really makes the color stand out. Because there is no competing color when you are wearing white, anyone with vibrant coloured eyes such as blue or green will be able to benefit greatly!

Grey is also a great option to wear if you have blue eyes. The soft and deep tones that you can find in different shades of grey highlight the deeper undertones in your eyes, allowing for them to appear more striking and noticeable. Lastly, this one may come as a surprise, but wearing pastel shades of orange is a great way to compliment the blue in your eyes if you are looking to wear a pop of color!

Grey Eyes

The last eye colour we will be looking at for this series of Exploring Style is grey. Grey is another very unique eye color. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with grey eyes! But nonetheless, from the pictures I have seen it is a beautiful, soft color.

Like I mentioned, grey is a soft color and therefore it will stand out best when paired with more colourful soft tones. Sage and Olive green are perfect examples of this. Both shades of green will bring out the lighter undertones to your eyes, making them appear a much lighter and vibrant grey. Soft shades of blue and particularly denim blue will be able to do this also, and make your grey eyes pop! Lastly, wearing shades of dark grey or even silver will compliment your eyes well. Wearing the same color scheme to your eye color or a a similar shade is a great way to emphasize the color of your eyes as they will almost “match” your outfit.

Overall, you can and should wear any color that you like! This guide is just meant to demonstrate that you are able to emphasize some of your natural features/characteristics through the use of fashion. This week, try and put together an outfit that will enhance your eye color. See if you can notice any differences in the appearance in your eyes, and be ready for lots of compliments!

References

Featured Image Generated by DALL-E

Process Post #11: Expanding The Fashion Daily?

For this week’s process post, I will be discussing Transmedia, and how I can incorporate it more in my online presence/publications. With so many different modes of communication online, the need for a source to have multiple platforms is crucial in order to maximize your potential audience and overall engagement. Firstly, you may be thinking, “What is Transmedia?”. In short, Transmedia is essentially the technique of storytelling or sharing across multiple different media platforms. Whether that is through social media, apps, products, or games, these are only a few examples of Transmedia outlets that a creator can use to expand their brand image.This is something I have yet to incorporate into my website. Since I have designed this website for a class, I think that I have created a solid primary platform for The Fashion Daily, and I am shocked with how many viewers have visited my site from around the world and let alone been able to come across it with such little promotion. As I am not necessarily looking to establish The Fashion Daily as a serious brand for myself yet, I am happy with the level of engagement I have seen without the integration of Transmedia. If and when I would like to take up this page outside of class and have it become a more serious and established platform, Transmedia outlets will be a crucial aspect in the growth of my website and The Fashion Daily name altogether. 

In Bryce J Renninger’s, “”Where I can be myself…where I can speak my mind”: Networked Counterpublics in a polymedia environment”, it describes how Transmedia not only enables audiences growth, but it allows for viewers/audiences to connect and share the media as well.  In a reference within the article from IIana Gershon, they state that, “people figure out together how to use different media and often agree on the appropriate social uses of technology by asking advice and sharing stories with each other” (2014). This is especially true with social media. As my website caters to more of a late teen – young adult audience, having a social media presence would greatly help grow the audience of The Fashion Daily, and it would allow for a new creative outlet. My friends and I are constantly sharing media with each other on a daily basis and it is often how we find out about new trends, interests, products, etc. Social media is often where I discover brands and products that I then share with my friends. If The Fashion Daily were to have a social media presence, I think it would really increase engagement due to this widespread use of social media sharing. As I mentioned above, my website and content cater towards a younger audience, which like myself, most likely relies on social media to share and consume content. If The Fashion Daily were to have an Instagram account for example, this media outlet would make the website more accessible and known amongst my target audience as they would be more likely to search for fashion trends and information on that platform, rather than a website URL itself. 

Overall, if I were to integrate Transmedia into my website, I think that creating an Instagram account would be the next best platform to share my content on. On Instagram, fashion is always trending and creating a good aesthetic is what will allow for you to gain a following. With The Fashion Daily being a fashion blog, an aesthetic would be easier to develop and express, and therefore I think that Instagram would be the perfect place to expand the creativity of the website I have designed so far. While I will not likely get this up and running before the end of the semester, keep an eye out for The Fashion Daily on your explore page in the future!

References 

Renninger, B.J. (2014). Where I can be myself…where I can speak my mind”: Networked Counterpublics in a polymedia environment. New Media and Society. Volume 17, Issue 9. SAGE Journals. https://journals-sagepub-com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/doi/epub/10.1177/1461444814530095

Feature Image Generated by DALL-E. (2023).

Process Post #10: Understanding and Improving User Experience

As I was showing one of my friends my website on her laptop, I noticed that the layout looked a bit different and the size of the pictures on my homepage did not appear the way I had arranged them from the perspective of my computer. I had thought that my website would not appear the same on all mobile devices as it also looks different when I open The Fashion Daily on my phone, but I was not quite sure how to go about fixing this. I had tried to alter the design of my homepage by changing the size and spacing of the images to see if that would make a difference in the appearance on other devices than a macbook, but then the homepage didn’t look right on my computer. So to sum it up, I am still working on making my website accessible for all viewers and hope to try and achieve this by the end of the semester. 

It is important to consider how your audience is going to be viewing your website, especially if your content is directed to younger Gen Z viewers. According to State Of Mobile, a statistical article we read for class, 7 of every 10 minutes on mobile was spent in social, photo, and video apps in 2021 (2022). On top of this, the average daily time spent on mobile devices was 4.8 hours per user, which is ⅓ of the average total daily waking hours (State Of Mobile, 2022). With this information, we can infer that users spend a great deal of time on their phones and rely on them to get their information or search the web more so than other devices. With this in mind, it is safe to assume that a good portion of my potential viewers could find my website while browsing on their phones, especially because my content and theme cater to more of a late teen – young adult audience. Based on my Google Analytics, the majority of visitors to my site are using a desktop, with only a few using a tablet. Nonetheless, it will be important for me to make my site more accessible to viewers using all platforms as I would like for everyone to be able to have a good user experience, and be able to view The Fashion Daily in all of its entirety. 

References 

Data.ai. (2022). State Of Mobile 2022. https://posiel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/dataai__state_of_mobile_2022__en.pdf

Post feature image generated by DALL-E

Process Post #9: Digital Breadcrumbs

Image above generated by DALL-E.

Growing up, posting and social media in general always made me nervous. I specifically remember in Grade 8 when we had a presentation on social media and the presenter said something along the lines of, “I could find any of your past or present posts, snapchats, etc. What if I pulled some of them up now?” I was completely freaked out. I had nothing to hide in my digital footprint, but the idea of anyone being able to see my social media presence seemed really scary to me. It’s safe to say that I began to use social media much less after that presentation, and I actually boycotted Snapchat for almost two years! However, while it is still unnerving to never really know who is seeing your posts, snapchats, and whatnot, I did begin to get back into social media as I got older. While I’m still cautious of my online activity, I nowhere near as fearful and anxious about being present on social media as I once was, and I have become more willing to share parts of my life on these platforms. When I first joined this class, I was super excited to be able to have the opportunity to design my own website, but having a public domain was a bit daunting. On my social platforms like Instagram I am usually just sharing pictures of myself and the things that I get up too, not necessarily opinions, ideas, and knowledge that I would be sharing here on The Fashion Daily. When I am writing, I try to keep my posts as real and true to myself as possible. I use this platform as a personal self expression outlet for my love of fashion, and I try not to let the idea of this being a public domain affect or restrict the things I am wanting to share and explore. 

I figured that my website probably wouldn’t reach a wide audience over the semester, and I honestly never intended for it to. My goal was really to design this website for myself. When I added Google Analytics to my site and could visually see how many visitors had been on the page, it was kind of nerve-wracking. The majority of users are friends and family members that I have shared my site with, but the number of visitors to my site tell me that a few strangers (maybe classmates as well) have stopped by too which was cool to find out. The first few times I checked my Google Analytics and saw that I had gained a few viewers I was a bit stunned and nervous at the idea of it like I mentioned above. Now however, I find it really cool and check my analytics quite frequently in hopes of finding that my site has gained more viewers/visitors! 

I think a part of the reason why I no longer shy away from using social media and other platforms such as this website is because I realized that in this day and age, it is almost impossible not to leave any “digital breadcrumbs” behind, as Pod Academy would describe it (2016). Throughout this article, it describes how we both intentionally and unintentionally leave digital footprints or “bread crumbs” of ourselves in our everyday lives. Whether that’s sharing your location on your phones, searching something on Google, or even using debit or credit cards to complete our everyday transactions. Activities that we engage in daily gather information about us and our movements, and there is not much that we can do about it. With this in mind, the thing that we can control is how much of our lives we share online or how many “breadcrumbs” we leave behind. This realization allowed me to feel more powerful and in control of how I share my life online, and also helped put my anxiety of sharing my online self at ease. Nothing that I have posted or shared online is anything that I really need to worry about or feel the need to hide (except for maybe some embarrassing photos and videos I posted when I was 10!). I have always given thought to what I share online, and like one of the interviewers stated in the article in regards to the possibility of being watched by cameras through different technology devices we use, “ When I first heard about it, I got really nervous, I was like, “this is so ridiculous!” we’re being watched. But then as the days go by you just don’t notice it anymore and you just take it for granted that you’re being watched every single minute”( Philip et al, 2016).  I don’t necessarily take it for granted that my every move is being watched, but I do just tend not to think about it. Doing so allows me to just continue living my life and focus on what is within my control, like being present and enjoying the moments in life that only my eyes are seeing; with no cameras. 

Overall, The Fashion Daily is a larger “breadcrumb” that I am leaving behind in my digital trail, and I am proud to do so. This website is evidence of hard work and displays my love for fashion, which I am more than happy to talk about as well as share with the world. This week, I encourage you to reflect on the digital breadcrumbs you have left behind in your life so far. Think of instances where you are proud of something you have left behind in your digital footprint like a post for instance, and some moments you maybe wish you didn’t share. If you would like to read more on the idea of these “digital breadcrumbs” that I have been mentioning, you can check out the article here: http://podacademy.org/podcasts/digital-breadcrumbs-our-data-trail/

References

Philip, G., Lazo, J.A., Jamali, R., Jaroodi, R.A. (2016). Digital breadcrumbs: the data trail we leave behind us. Pod Academy. http://podacademy.org/podcasts/digital-breadcrumbs-our-data-trail/

Mini Assignment #5: Presenting Myself Online

For this assignment, my task was to create an infographic that summarizes myself online. I have included characteristics that I believe I am, what I try to portray, what I hope I provide to viewers of The Fashion Daily, and something that I would like to improve on. Below, you can view the infographic I have created using Canva!

Exploring Style: Styling Your Hair the Old Fashioned Way, a.k.a, The Best Way!

Image above generated by DALL-E.

Recently, I have discovered the secret to achieving voluminous hair styles in a healthy, heat free way. That’s right, we’re going back to the 1960’s and pulling out the hair rollers!! I always knew of the hair roller technique, but the process seemed too difficult and time consuming so I never gave it a try until recently. I always relied on heat powered tools like a curling iron or a straightener when I felt like changing up my hair style or dressing up, but now that I know how to use these plastic rollers, it will be my go-to method! As we know, applying heat onto your hair regularly is very damaging and can greatly impact your hair health over time. Plastic hair curlers are the perfect way to reduce the possibility of harming your hair, as well as achieve what I think are better styling results! 

There are several ways you can style your hair curlers depending on the sort of look you are going for. For example, if you are going for a more voluminous movie star look, you will want to place the curlers in when your hair is about 80-90% dry, and start by placing the roller on top of the section of hair you’re curling, followed by rolling the curler upwards (leaving them in for about 30-40 minutes). If you are going for a look where you want the ends of your hair to curl inwards and towards your face (perfect for face framers and layered haircuts!), you will want the curlers to be rolled downwards. To achieve this, you will want to place the roller under the piece of hair you have sectioned out instead of on top, and roll it towards your head from there. Again, you will want to do this when your hair is about 80-90% dry, and leave the rollers in for about 30-40 minutes. To get the best results, you may want to roll sections of your hair in different directions, using both of the methods described above. I am definitely still learning and practicing how to master the use of these rollers, so instead of me providing a tutorial I suggest you take a look at TikTok as that is where I have discovered these different techniques so far! If you are not on TikTok, there are plenty of step-by-step tutorials on Youtube as well that are just as helpful! 

I highly recommend using the plastic hair rollers that I have been mentioning throughout this post so far, rather than other options such as velcro hair rollers. This is especially true when you are just learning how to put in the rollers properly and getting the hang of things.

When I got my first set of rollers, I had thought I had done my research properly and purchased velcro rollers as many websites and content creators recommended this kind. I was hesitant because I just envisioned my hair getting stuck in the velcro and it being a mess, and that vision soon became a reality. Not all of the rollers got stuck in my hair, but the few that did were a pain and just caused me to go into a state of panic because there was no way I wanted to cut out a big chunk of my hair! After about 30 minutes I was able to get them out, losing a bit of hair in the process, and boycotted those rollers for months until I gained the desire to try them out again. I figured that since it was my first time using the rollers I must have put a few of them in the wrong way and hence the mess I was left with, but the same thing happened the second time I tried them out. So, I concluded that my hair type is not suitable for the velcro rollers and went back on Amazon to try and find some all-plastic ones. After a bit of searching, I found some really good plastic rollers that came with a covering to help hold them in place, and these were game changing! They are super easy to use, and I have never had them get stuck in my hair. The rollers have also allowed for me to achieve the voluminous movie star hairstyle that I desired, and with a bit more practice I think I’ll be able to perfect it! Here’s what the plastic rollers look like…

The last tip that I will mention is that curling your hair before you put in the rollers can help you achieve a very voluminous look that is harder to achieve with just the use of the rollers. I have tried both ways and like the results, so I suggest trying out each method to see which you prefer! Of course, not applying any heat to your hair and just using the rollers on their own is the healthier option for your hair, but once in a while you may want to curl your hair before hand. Make sure to use heat protectant! That is one way you can help keep your hair healthy and protected from the heat of your curling iron or straightener! If you are going to curl your hair before applying the rollers, stick to using the large size rollers to prevent your hair curls from becoming super tight (unless this is what you would like to achieve of course!). Just remember, the smaller the hair roller, the tighter and more bouncy the curl in your hair will be.

That’s all for this issue of Exploring Style! Have fun testing out your hair rollers, and watch how they can make your hairstyle elevate your look!

Peer Review #3: MindfulNous

For my last peer review of the semester, I had the pleasure of taking a look at Maren’s site MindfulNous, which you can find here: https://mindfulnous.com definitely go and check it out! Through this review, I will be analyzing the content and design of Maren’s website, as well as the intended audience and marketability of the site. Let’s get started! 

Marketability and Intended Audience Group

Just by reading the name “MindfulNous”, I was inclined to believe that the overall theme of this website was going to be around mindfulness, well-being, and self-awareness. I also could infer that the intended audience was anyone who was looking for clarity within themselves, as well as guidance and practices that will help them become more mindful and present. After reading through the content and becoming familiar with the site, my first impression was pretty much spot on! The overall look of the site is very fun as it includes lots of colour and a creative signature logo, so it welcomes a wide age range audience. Based on the content, I would say that more specifically all stages of adults, ranging from younger to older, could resonate with this site and fully understand  and appreciate the context of the content the most. As discussed in the early weeks of our class in Micheal Warner’s journal article, Publics and Counterpublics, Maren has created her own public with MindfulNous within the broader public of meditation/mindfulness, and she has done a great job at doing so! 

A feature that Maren has incorporated into her site that I haven’t even touched on for my website personally, is advertising. When you are on MindfulNous, you can find advertisements located on the sidebar of the website, along the bottom of the page, and in the occasional pop-up. As we read On Advertising – Maria Popova, by Tom Bleymair, opinions on advertisements being a part of websites are both negative and positive (2013). As a visitor of a website, it can be annoying to be bombarded with various pop-up ads when you are trying to read an article or navigate the site. This is not the case for MindfulNous I will note, as the advertisements on the site do not disrupt the users visit/experience!  On the other hand from the perspective of an author/blogger, ads on their websites can be used to aid and drive traffic to their affiliate marketing links, which have the ability to be highly profitable. Overall, I think the incorporation of advertisements onto Maren’s site has definitely increased MindfulNous’ marketability, and I admire her for taking this step in advancing her website! 

Design

MindfulNous appears as if it has been around for a long time (and I mean that in the best way possible!). From plenty of well thought out and interesting content, to a design layout that incorporates every feature you would expect to see on a long-time professional blog/website, Maren has done an excellent job developing her website throughout the semester and I very much admire her for that! What I like the most about the design aspect of Maren’s website is the use of colour throughout the entire home page and in each of her pages as well as posts. As we learned earlier in the semester from a guest speaker we had in class, Mauvé Page, sometimes the use of too much colour can be overwhelming and distracting for viewers. However, MindfulNous uses a balanced and effective colour scheme that enhances the overall design of the website. For instance, Instead of having a white background like most websites do, Maren decided to have a very light beige, almost pale yellow background that distinguishes the navigation bar/menu from the content of the page, and makes the entirety of the site visually easy to comprehend and follow.

On the theme of colour, integrating coloured text into blog post titles was also a very effective design technique as it ties back to the blog’s logo that we see at the top of the page. I also noticed that each category uses a certain colour for the related post titles, which I thought was a really nice touch! One thing that I noticed however, is that the yellow titles in the “Mindfulness” category bring out the background colour of the page, which slightly reduces the immediate visibility of the post titles as they do not stick out quite like the green titles under the “Philosophy” category do for example. A suggestion for this may be to make the post titles a darker shade of yellow if possible, but overall if that is not an option the current yellow text should not have much of an impact on viewers. Like I stated earlier, Maren has done a fantastic job developing her site, so in order to try and provide any constructive feedback I’ll have to get into the very specific, minor details! 

Content

Each content post on MindfulNous is well thought out, informative, easy to read, and inspiring. Maren has done a great job keeping up with both her original posts and PUB 101 assignments, which has kept a steady flow of content throughout the site. One of my favourite sections on Maren’s blog is her “About” page. Here, I gained an idea of Maren’s inspiration behind MindfulNous as well as who she is as a person, which allowed for me as a visitor of her site to see the website from a more personal and meaningful perspective. I especially like the four pictures and categories at the end of her “About Me” introduction, that enlightened me that Maren’s favourite activity is swimming, her favourite food is a smoothie bowl (good choice!), and that one day she would like to visit Costa Rica! This short list of personal facts was a really nice touch! 

What I really like about Maren’s posts is that almost all of them have a feature image or some visual to go along with the content. After reading through all of the posts on this website, I felt inspired and reminded to stop and take the time to relax and look after myself. I felt this way especially after reading the Mindfulness vs Mindlessness post. This post reminded me the importance of appreciating and living in the moment, and how much peace doing so can bring you. As a student it is so easy to become hyper fixated on school work and the various stresses that come along with doing so, so this was a good reminder for me to practice being more present amongst all the chaos. Something that I also really like in regards to content, is that Maren has incorporated her studies into her website by adding a “Philosophy” category. The posts in this category differ from the rest of the content and main themes of mindfulness and well-being, but still fit nicely within the website not only because Maren is studying philosophy, but because philosophy itself often explores reason, wonder, and awareness; which appears to align with some of the characteristics and values of the site. 

One recommendation I would make is not so much directed to the posts themselves, but to include a short blurb at the top of each category’s page that describes what the main goal of the category is, as well as what type of content you can expect to find there. I have been working on incorporating this into the category pages on my site as well, and find that it adds a lot of clarity and enhances navigation for users! 

Overall, I am a huge fan of MindfulNous! I very much admire how much Maren has been able to develop her website throughout the semester, and was definitely inspired to incorporate some more features onto my own site! As far as the content, I think that MindfulNous can act as a good reminder for us all to incorporate more mindfulness into our lives, and I highly recommend that you check it out! Here is a link to the mindfulness content!: https://mindfulnous.com/category/mindfulness/

References

Bleymaier, T. (2013). On Advertising – Maria Popvova. 

Page, M. (2023). Design. Lecture 6. The Publication of Self in Everyday Life. Simon Fraser University. 

Warner, M. (2002). Publics and Counterpublics. Quarterly Journal of Speech. 88.4. http://knowledgepublic.pbworks.com/f/warnerPubCounterP.pdf