( I would have been this supermodel. )

( I would have been this Victoria's Secret model. )

( I am this ANTM Contestant. )

( Or the model type I would be. )

The best one I got was of Natalia Vodianova but the quiz wouldn't let me post that result here so you get to see her face instead =).

( Natalia! )

The dress is part of Ralph Lauren's Spring 2008 Ready-To-Wear Collection and it was worn by Jacquetta Wheeler.

But in all honesty, I think Siri wears it better. Besides, the dress seems to look prettier when Siri wears it too lol.

( Siri's Ralph Lauren Dress for her Vogue Russia Editorial )

In this chapter, I had a lot of difficulties since I wanted to see how I can transition from getting Sango from discovering one problem to only find some more.

The most difficult part of this was writing the scene between Yuki and Sango since I want to make it obvious but I also wanted it to be awkward that the initial attraction is still there but because of recent events, neither can act on it. You want to believe despite the bad qualities Yuki has that he actually has a soft side, but I also wanted that scene to emphasize Sango’s more logical side that takes a little more control than her emotional side. She knows Yuki is up to something and by saying bye to Yuki, she makes it clear she doesn't want to be involved even though she's at the center of it. And I wanted to bring about the slight bitchiness in Sango where she takes the RL dress back from Yuki and telling other girls that if things go wrong, they should get revenge on their crushes too.

This chapter is suppose to be a little more insightful on Sango's character since she seems to go from shocked, withdrawn, then vengeful all within 5 pages. I wanted her talk with Hitomi focus about who Sango is beyond the drama. You know she wants a better life for her family but you don't know what kind of life that is and now she says it for sure. Her dream is to become an orthodontist. She was already considered to be different because she had goals that are not as popular amongst girls. By being an orthodontist, this confirms that she's more into the sciences which alienates her from a lot of the female population that don't embrace and excels in math and science as much as she does. She shares their love for looking trendy, but the outfit she wore at Yuki's party was proof that her love for being in style is defined differently. She dresses more to her personality and mood rather than for an event.

I already have in mind what her future in the next few chapters is going to look like and who she's going to fall in love with. I have to introduce a few more characters though and I want to be able to develop Ayumi's history with Arata more clearly and Megumi's past as well. In later chapters, I really hope to bring out why there's such animosity between Sachiko & Sakura and Megumi, Sango, and Ayumi. And hopefully I'll be able to plant a few more male characters as there's only Akira, Yuki, Arata, and Seika so far...and two of them don't really count....yet :).

"...Why does "fat" suddenly equal "normal size"? I don't think everyone should try to be rail thin and I don't like the look of girls who are, but honestly, there is a difference between being a healthy weight and being fat. Somewhere along the way, feminism spilled over into fatism, and now people just keep trying to justify eating unhealthy foods and sitting on their asses all day. It's ridiculous, unhealthy, and not at all pretty."

"But it really bugs me how "normal girl" these days, means slightly over-weight..... It gets annoying, because I am naturally thin and everyone is always telling me I should eat more so I can be "normal"...."

OK, I don't want this post blowing up into a weight debate. I'm definitely not going to talk about how I deal with it on a daily basis because I feel like this will turn into a boohoo-support-me entry and I could really care less about people telling me to cheer up and just 'accept' myself.

Anyway, I did reply to one of those posts, and I know most of my friends don't tell me this, it's usually adults/parents. Whenever I talk about working out on a daily basis (have been starting since I came back from M'asia!), I always get these weird looks from them. The usual responses always comes down to 'why do you have to work out? You're not fat' or 'You're already normal, you don't need to lose any weight'. In the back of my mind, I'll yawn at their statements because even though losing weight to me is always a good thing, that isn't the only reason I work out. This is my logic: If I sit in front of the computer, walk around a little, drive outside for a while, and lie around the house for the 15-18 hours I'm awake, I'm not really MOVING much, am I? This was what my trip to M'asia was like but to an extreme. When I came back, I just felt so disgusted with the way I lied around and did little/no movement for a whole day. It's no wonder I didn't have much fun shopping anymore. And honestly, it makes me cringe whenever I go into Forever 21 or Papaya fitting room and the women in next room over yell "I can't fit a size 10, get me a 12!!" and I hope that I never become that woman.

So after some quick searching on Google, I found this on the Full&Fabulous and CDC. They claim that the average size American woman is 5'4", weighs 150 lbs., and wears a size 14 dress.

I know what I say might offend people but this comment goes around enough already. I honestly think that's fat. That's so unhealthy that a 5'4" woman can wear a size 14 and be considered normal. It's even more gross when I read that 33% of American women wear a size 16 or larger. And I think it's even more wrong for Full&Fabulous to claim that 'the "ideal" woman--portrayed by models, Miss America, Barbie dolls, and screen actresses--is 5'7", weighs 100 lbs, and wears a size 8'. First of all, it is entirely untrue that typical 5'7" girls weigh 100 lbs. I'm pretty sure this data on an ideal woman's figure is cooked up to make you feel like the media is mocking your body to a greater extreme by having stick thin models who look like they weigh 100 lbs. when they're actually not 100 lbs. because of tricky camera angles and photoshop.

However, if you do your research correctly and look up accurate measurements of models and actresses, the best and most successful models today all weigh more than 120 lbs. It's their body size that is more important than their weight. There have been talk about models in the past that died of anorexia and most of it is because they were 5'10" models weighing at 100 lbs. or below. That's a whole different ballpark there but I'm talking about the ones that were most successful but ironically are the slightly heavier ones.

That's because the most successful models are often the healthiest ones and therefore last the longest in the industry. That's not to say that they don't receive constant pressure to keep their weight down because that definitely exists but that spoke to me how I should see myself too. If I want to look healthy and fit into my clothes without having parts of my body spill over them, I can't let myself lie around the house like how I usually do. It's not that hard to just set aside an hour a day to run and do some weight training, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to lose weight in the process.

And lastly, I know how many people (mostly adults) would disapprove of my thinking that in order to be happier about your body--if you're dissatisfied with it--you have to be thin, if not, fit. Why else would more than 75% of American women be unhappy about how they look? Why are their so many cosmetic surgeries being done on weight reduction? Why would the diet industry rake in more than $40 billion per year?

Being happy about how you look comes from being a size 8 or less is a fact. Ask anyone who's ever lost weight and dropped to a size 8 or below. They will always tell you how much more beautiful and happy they feel because they hit single digits at last. I don't know why there's this double-standard in American society where I'm expected to embrace all shapes and sizes and that someone who's a size 16 isn't their fault because they 'eat' unlike 'real' girls do. And even worse, if I don't embrace that kind of body type, I'm considered to have a warped perception on beauty or that I don't accept myself and my body or I'm a victim of a culture that has conditioned me to believe there's only one kind of beauty. I'm sorry. I don't appreciate all shapes and sizes. I refuse to. And I don't believe any of that garbage on loving your figure even if it's a size 14, because women who are a size 14 know that's not true. Why else would we instinctively want to be just like the Victoria's Secret model instead of a plus size model? Don't give me bullshit that you don't cringe (mentally) when you see a girl walk by and her stomach has created a new layer above her jeans yet admire the next girl walking by of how well she fit into that dress.

I'm just tired of the media sending these confusing messages. They should just be straight up about this and put this in simple terms despite how many people it offends, because this is true. Size 8 and below equals to happiness in terms of satisfaction with your body. So, don't make me accept that fat, lazy, and poor health habits should be a minority on how beauty should be seen too.

This is why I dislike Whitney Thompson. Don't give me shit on how you have a real woman's figure because you eat and thin models don't. You're in the wrong business if you got some nerve boasting that you'd make a better model than Kate Moss because you think she doesn't eat while she's got more than 20 ad campaigns down and more than 50 Vogue covers and all you got is 1/2 of a Seventeen cover and won some stupid TV competition.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm referring to the mildly or very pretty main female character who is more innocent than a bunny rabbit, as dumb as a doornail, and pretty much needs a man whenever she is or isn't in trouble. Examples include virtually every CLAMP female lead including Cardcaptors Sakura, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, Taranta Ranta, etc.

Of course, the next thing you see the author try to do is make some sort character interaction between the male lead and the female lead. Because the female lead is obviously as dumb as a doornail, an actual conversation won't do any good, but she definitely needs to be saved whenever she accidentally trips over a bug and needs her man to carry her to the hospital room and whenever she is picked on by (usually) ugly boys (lol) and needs male intervention. She's..you know...really stupid and can't do well in school despite the amount of tutoring her parents put her through and all she is concerned about in life is to have a boyfriend or...you actually have no idea what she's concerned about. She's just there reacting innocently to whatever is going on.

If she gets raped/molested by her boy, she'll still want to go back to him and have second doubts as can be seen in HoneyXHoney Drops, Desire Climax, and every smutty one-shot ever made. She'll have conflicting feelings on why she wants to be around him if he's just going to rape her again which kinda makes the normal person go 'ummm what'?

I can go on and on about this stereotype here that (thankfully) doesn't exist in real life. Even shy girls I know, know exactly when crossing the line is crossing the line, and the girls I know and are friends with usually save themselves on almost every situation that calls for a guy. However, I'll just rant on a few series that I feel play on this stupid-innocent-girl stereotype so bluntly that it's unbearable...and the series that do make the female lead shine.

( The Worst )

( My favorite shoujo manga )

I'm too tired to finish this. So this is all I'll write for now.

( YOU CAN ONLY PICK ONE )

 I understand now why people think today that many of the high fashion models are ugly. When I go through alot of the Supporting Cast posts on TFS, I can see why. Sure beauty comes in many different ways but some of these people...seriously? A lot of modeling today has to do with the clothing now so as long as the girl has the height and the body, you can make up all the stuff you want about the face being beautiful, but you know it isn't really there. You send her off to runways anyway because it's important that the girls don't outshine the clothing. However, there's this one quote that Iman said one time which is so true. It went along the lines that when you buy clothing, you want to look and imitate the model. Why would you want to imitate a washed out, vacant, dead and pale-looking model?

However, in my time looking through ad campaigns and editorials, I have found one thing is certain. While runway tends to pick up anyone with the height and body type, ad campaigns and editorials in real high fashion magazines (not cop-outs like US Vogue, US Elle, or any US magazine really) still stick with the same kind of models-must-be-pretty-and-have-talent. It's about wanting to be like that girl you see in the magazines, not the vacant faces on the runway. Honestly, I don't see how the designer brand will suffer any sort of loss by having their models outshine the clothing. But the good thing from all of this is that different types of beauty that don't fit into the cookie-cutter 90's mold gets appreciated. 

And these are the ones that I think earn that respect.

The thing about Coco Rocha is that she can do everything at the same time and can do it right. I don't want to transform this post into the whole models need to eat a burger a thing, but there's only a handful of models like her who are this famous and look this healthy. She's done so much to raise awareness on the modeling business and how the models in the business needed to be given the same kind of benefits as athletes, actors, and singers. Usually you find retired models or Z-List models doing this but Rocha does all this while doing shows for Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Versace, and Dolce&Gabbana, ad campaigns for Gap, Dolce & Gabbana, Yves Saint Laurent fragrances, and Tommy Hilfiger, and editorials for US Vogue, Vogue Nippon, Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, Harper's Bazaar, V, and Numero. How many models can say they opened their first show by tap-dancing? Also, did I forget she's only 19? .___. 

Jessica Stam is undeniably one of the prettiest models out there. You find a lot of models that might resemble her but none of them have a face as refined as hers -- the laid-back, sophisticated, dreamy sort of face that a lot of models have a difficult time grasping without looking like they've smoked something. If you don't recognize her, then you obviously haven't seen the multiple ad campaigns that has her face plastered all over Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, and Bulgari. She has previously done work for Prada, BCBG, H&M, and Kenzo. If that wasn't enough, she's found in almost every single big name fashion magazine including US Vogue, UK Vogue, Numero, Harper's Bazaar, and V. She's thisclose to becoming a household name as she is friends with many actors and singers including Mary-Kate Olsen and has been recognized by US Weekly and People magazine for being one of the best-dressed and dating a couple celebrities.

If Rocha wasn't a good example enough on what models should look like and what shape they should be in,  Ksenia Kahnovich is the definition of what all models should look like. Out of every single picture I've ever seen of Kahnovich, there is not a single bad candid, angle, or image of her to be found. No matter what she does with the camera, she comes off as a beautiful Russian model. She puts the 'slender figure' back into modeling, the 'pretty' back into models that can handle a face with or no makeup at all, and 'class' into every outfit she wears. I believe no one thought that a reality-TV show contestant like Kahnovich (who won Russia's Next Top Model when she was 17 years old) would in such a short time be walking on the runways of Gucci, Emporio Armani, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Versace. She's also in editorials for Harper's Bazaar Russia and Vogue Paris, and will be featured in this fall-winter season's Gucci campaign.

 Sasha Pivovarova is my favorite model of all time. There's something about the way she can make the most boring editorial in the world come to life with just the look in her eyes. She is the only model that gets any sort of praise for looking demented, crazy, sick, girly, psycho, and fierce all at the same time. She's also one of the most versatile models in the industry. While other big-name models are geared towards a certain type of look, Sasha's editorials range from classy to cute to downright psychotic yet all of them turn out memorable and artistic. Unlike many models, she started late in the industry since she was more focused finishing her college education, which breaks the mold of the pretty, brainless models. But she's also one of the more polarized models as she's often criticized for looking like a Holocaust victim, looking like a clone of Australian model Gemma Ward, and accused of being overrated, which is understandable as a result of her 6 straight Prada campaigns, her iron grip over countless editorials in US Vogue, Vogue Paris, Vogue Italia, Vogue UK, Vogue Nippon, Vogue Korea, Vogue Russia, and Vogue China, and that she's opened 3 Chanel runway shows, and closed for the Chanel Haute Couture runway show this past month. She's also walked on more than 40 runway shows per season including John Galliano, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Fendi, and Valentino. That's a shitload for a model who started working at the age of 21. 

There's more that should definitely go onto this list, but I need to study now. This is definitely too much for me =).

( The outfits since it's breaking my margins )

I'm thinking about doing a whole bunch drawings like a collection kind of thing for each series I really like. Like the outfits should be designed after being inspired by a certain character's outfit or the character themself. Here's some ideas to run off of.

- Kingdom Hearts: That'd be hella crazy to try and make Sora's outfit as wearable clothing!! And all the nobodies. I'd prob have to mix the colors with black, the nobodys' weapons, and each nobody's hair color to make it work.
- SSBB: LOL, it would be really hard especially with the more cartoonish characters. I know that Alexander McQueen has the more royal-ish type of type of clothing so I need to find a way to make Marth and Ike look more fashion-sensitive lol. But I don't know if I'd feel like drawing 37 inspirations of 37 charaters.
- Naruto: The folk kind of culture in Naruto is so unique. As much as I prefer Bleach's storyline and character, Naruto's artwork has a very fairytale, historic theme to its clothins and it would be so much fun to play with the collars, leggings, and belts since they're on almost every single clothing design. Actually, this kind of reminds of the series Takeru but Takeru has a more ancient-Samurai/nature theme to it and Naruto has a much more modern/wearable trend to it.
- School Uniforms: This is gonna be my next entry!

Sango's Dress:
Her dress was described as a cheery yellow dress that would cause her to stand out a bit from the club scene. I had a different dress in mine but the website took it down and I wanted yellow to be the color that captures her mood because she's meant to be a cheery but out-of-place kind of character.


Source: http://www.forever21.com

Ayumi's Dress:
Well, Sango mentioned that her two friends dressed like complete hos so I wanted to pick a dress that was more party-going and made a bolder statement than Sango's dress. However, Sango did mention that Ayumi's dress was nice before she fell asleep so I had to find a way to combine classy with party.


Source: http://www.forever21.com

Megumi's Dress:
I wanted a dress that would match Megumi's character. So I got a dress that would get the party girl in Megumi.


Source: http://www.bcbg.com

Yuki's Outfit:
Since he's a rich kid, I wanted to make sure even at his own parties, he would dress nicely and have the sort of name brands that Sango thought he had. This took me a while because I was wondering to decide whether or not Yuki would be wearing designer's clothing or more commercial and then I realized, this is just a high school kid so he'd obviously go for more commercial/wearable clothing.


Source: http://www.gbyguess.com

And lastly, Sango's Anna Sui handbag that made her famous:


Source: http://www.luxist.com