I’ve written about the need for a vacation (http://www.culturefeast.com/its-time-for-a-vacation/) and how that can do wonders to refresh your soul, your work ethic as well as your personal relationships with others. But the honeymoon of my vacation has now passed into the vaults of past memories, and life is hitting me left and right with constant things needed to get done.

Today I had a haircut appointment at lunch. Naturally, I was feeling stressed because I had three candidates coming in today all around the lunch hour so I needed 30 minutes to be able to make my appointment. Would I be able to make it? Would my hiring manager get upset if I was a bit late? Do I have time? Dang it, I really need a haircut!

After all was said and done, fifteen minutes later, I left my salon with a freshly coifed buzz cut. I instantly felt better. I recall walking outside, towards my car, and feeling a fresh breeze of hot Dallas air breeze past my ear. I got a haircut! I feel good!

As silly as it sounds, that’s all it took to make my stressed and not-so-fun day turn into a good, fun and hope-filled day. Who would have thought something so simple would do that for me? I feel better, I look better and therefore I am better.

Why write about this, you may ask? Well, I just want you to think about something. What is something small you can do for yourself to give yourself a much needed “pat on the back?” It doesn’t have to be a week’s worth of vacation on an exotic beach. It doesn’t need to be a new car or an entirely new wardrobe to refresh your look. Do something small, that you will enjoy, and I guarantee you it will add much needed fuel for your tank. After all, if a buzz haircut can do that for me, just think what the world has to offer next!

The ensemble I described was what I saw a mom wearing when I registered my kids for school the other day. Her fifth grade daughter, a ten or eleven year-old, stood next to her wearing a surprisingly modest outfit, but with platform high heels.

In 2006, Celia Rivenbark eloquently wrote what millions of moms were thinking in her book, “Stop Dressing Your 6-year old Like a Skank and Other Words of Southern Wisdom.” She opined how it was nearly impossible to buy little girl clothes that didn’t look like something a prostitute would wear. Rivenbark theorized that the girls who wore trashy clothing fell into two categories. One, they were the daughters of wimpy, uninvolved parents, too busy talking on their cell phones, who mindlessly pass their bank cards over to the girls and don’t care what they buy. Or that the mothers think trashy-style is cute and try to dress the same way as their daughters.

She hilariously pointed out that on these Nanny-type shows we always see some woman, wearing a tube top and cut-off denim short shorts, cowering in a corner, sobbing, and wailing, “I cain’t get my kids to mind me. I’ve lost control of my children.” It’s funny ‘cause it’s true.

The problem is, parents want to dress like teen-agers and the kids want to, also. When I pick-up my kids from school, I look at some of their classmates and wonder, “What are their parents thinking?” And too often, the parents aren’t. They are too busy with their own lives and, quite honestly, I don’t think they want to parent. I think some people actually want their kids grow up quickly so they don’t have to deal with them anymore.

Kids have always wanted to dress older than they are. But in the past, it seems like more parents had boundaries and weren’t so afraid to say no. Society is urging kids to grow-up way too quickly, and yet is prolonging adolescence far beyond the teen years.

When I was younger, I could eat Big Macs and chase them down with a doughnut and vats of soda, then I’d hop on my bike and ride for hours. Unlike most people, when I went to college I lost 15 pounds because I walked everywhere with a twenty pound bag on my back. When I graduated in my early twenties and got a desk job, I found out I wasn’t blessed with a fast metabolism and the weight came on. About thirty-five pounds. With the exception of those times I was pregnant, I’ve stayed around there all this time. I’m still considered to be normal on the weight table gamut-albeit on the upper end.  For years though, I’ve wanted to lose about 10-15 pounds, but this goal was motivated by female vanity, and slipping into a smaller size, rather than health.

However, for the past few months I’ve noticed fat starting to move to places where it wasn’t before. So I decided to see a personal trainer.

I didn’t think I was too far off track. I exercise and do a mild version of Pilates. I’m not into junk food all that much but I do like to indulge in a bottle of wine imbibed over the course of a weekend. In spite of this “healthy living” I still had a bit of a muffin top creeping over my low-rise jeans. (For men who may not be aware, for the longest time, this was the only style of jeans available for women to purchase, however it is slowly getting better as designers and store clothing buyers realize that most American women are not built like heroine-chic models.)

The trainer said I had to “eat clean” which means no processed foods, eat a lean protein and a fruit or vegetable at each meal and have a “meal” five or six times a day. Also, no alcohol.
For the first week I had headaches from sugar withdrawal. (Thank God I didn’t have to give up coffee because that is what fuels my writing. I’d shoot up on straight caffeine if I could.) After a month of eating like this, I’ve gotten used to it and it isn’t too bad.

The weigh training is a different story. I didn’t realize I was so out of shape. I always feel like I’ve been beat up afterward. But when the pain wears off, I feel buff. My favorite activity is going around the house with my biceps flexed and saying things like “Someone call the vet ‘cause these puppies are sick!” Or “Someone call the zoo and tell them a couple of pythons got loose.” Or “The police pulled me over ‘cause I was carrying these guns!” If you have some more sayings that I didn’t list, feel free to add them to the comments section. I need new material.

As you can tell, I’m feeling pretty confident and after a month of this regimen it will only be a short time until my transformation into a MILF will be complete.

Rachel Zoe, the famous celebrity stylist is. I made a recent trip to my local library and stumbled across her book, Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty & Everything Glamour, purely by accident. The colour of the cover did not jump out at me, but the words “Style A to Zoe” did. I inquisitively picked up the book, leafed though the pages, and saw that it was more than just your regular picture book of celebrities.

Reading this book, I was extremely surprised at how talented and knowledgeable Zoe is. The tabloids and gossip blogs have obviously done her no justice. For the past few years, all the information I was getting about Rachel Zoe was from online tabloids that only associated her with Lindsay Lohan and Mischa Barton and their “not so great” fashion selections. This is far from the truth. Zoe offers personal photographs of how she works and whom she works with. Included are personal entries from top designers, including Valentino and Frank Zambrelli who praise Zoe’s talent and eye for all things style related.

Zoe’s book is made up of eight chapters, including a detailed introduction of her life and the reasons why she became interested in the fashion industry and why she became a stylist. Included in her stylebook is a glossary of terms (A to Zoe), something that I thought was a cheeky way to finalize her work. Throughout the pages, Zoe dishes about how to properly accessorize (or as she puts it, “excessorizing”), how to pair chunky jewelery with smaller pieces, selecting the right shoes for the right outfit, selecting a classic bag over the “It” bag, how to correctly apply makeup, and even offers tips on how to design and style your home by incorporating art, fabrics and functional furniture.  

What I enjoyed the most about reading Rachel Zoe’s book was the fact that she related to every female in every age demographic and every salary bracket. Zoe insisted throughout to explore vintage and thrift stores in search of jewellery and signature pieces that make you the fabulous woman that you are. She encourages everyone reading to host their own red carpet event and not to be afraid of getting dressed up and looking (and feeling) great.

Rachel Zoe’s expertise with style and fashion was a great and easy read. Her tone was set as if she was sitting across from me as we chatted over lunch or coffee. Her tips were fabulous and any woman who thinks of herself as being fashion forward (or not), should pick up this book because they will find at least one piece of advice to take home with them to use over and over again.

Go there today at PapayaClothing.com and take advantage of their Really Big Sale where you can get up to 30% off Papaya clothes online. The wait is over! Shop 'til you drop!

And feel free to keep visiting me here at CultureFeast. You don't have to forget me, just because Papaya's around.  

***UPDATE***

As of Friday evening, the Papaya website is apparently down again. I don't consider this to be a false site launch because I'm not seeing the placeholder that was there before. The server simply cannot be found, which may mean that the company's server was overloaded with traffic upon opening. All types of technical problems are possible. I wouldn't worry about it. Either they launched the site and changed their minds (which makes no sense) or they're servers can't handle the traffic and they'll need to upgrade. 

Check back here and I'll update this page as I hear news.  

*** UPDATE 2***

I just checked the Papaya site (July 31, 2007 11am CST) and it's back up and running. Go check it out. 

Being the domain name junkie that I am, I've already searched for good domain names should I seriously consider undertaking such an enterprise. unfortunately, there's no time in the day. I'm gonna be a daddy, I have a full-time job, three blogs which don't see enough action already, and a company blog which also needs more of my attention.

So here's a free tip: if you're reading this and you love women's fashion (hopefully you're a woman, but whatever), find yourself a domain and do some serious research. Find all the Papaya Clothing store locations you can find and post a list of them on your website. Become a resource for desperate shoppers all across the country.

Or you can just visit my website and keep your fingers crossed that my efforts will make a difference in getting their website finished.

To all the women who have left the 300 or so comments on this blog about Papaya Clothing, your action made a difference! The site is now live and you can shop online from anywhere! Finally!

The people truly do have a voice. I have received several comments from people claiming to be Papaya Clothing employees, proving that the company took notice of your comments here.

If you would like to receive a weekly email update of new CultureFeast blog posts, please leave a comment on this post with your first and last name, email address, and the statement, "Add me to your weekly email!"

We want to keep you all posted on what's happening around here, but we ONLY want to send updates to those who want to be emailed. 

Post your comment today, and we'll add you to the list! 

Thanks,

Daniel
Editor | CultureFeast.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I want to hear from the people. For all of you who have been visiting my website, hoping to find more information about Papaya Clothing stores in your area, let me first apologize. I don't know much more than that they have a Papaya Clothing Store in Grapevine Mills Mall and apparently at Stonebriar in Frisco. But let's get to the point.

I wrote a blog about Papaya Clothing stores and their affordable prices at the beginning of November 2006. That was five months ago. I just checked, and their website is still "under construction." No sign of progress and no contact information is provided on the URL. That's not going to cut it.

I literally receive as many as 300 visits to CultureFeast.com a day from Google and Yahoo searches for "Papaya Clothing Store" or "Papaya Clothing store locations" or some variation. My one little blog post about the cheap and stylish clothes at Papaya five months ago drives up to 11,000 visitors in a month to my site. That means that someone needs to get on the ball and finish their site.

So here's the deal. We all know that I work for Vizion Interactive, a Dallas web design and search engine marketing company. I'm going to approach Papaya Clothing and show them my site visitor stats and see if VIZION can't help them launch their website. Papaya is just too hugely popular to not launch and optimize the website as soon as possible.

That's where you the reader come in. I want to hear from you. If you are looking for information on Papaya clothing online and you come across this blog post, I want you to leave a comment here, telling me what kind of information you want from them. Do you want to shop and buy online? Do you want to know where the nearest store is located? Do you want to know if they're hiring? Do you want to know if they offer franchising options? Or do you just want to know what everybody is talking about?

Post a comment here. Your voice will count in getting this website launched.

Thanks,

Daniel Dessinger

I'm extremely sensitive to heat. Sit in a leather / suede chair long enough, and I've got to stand up and walk around for awhile. Give me a 70 degree room or cooler, plus a ceiling fan, and I'll be a happy camper. Not today. Oh no. Not with silk. Bastard silk. I officially hate silk.

If you've ever tried to wear boxers under jeans, you know that they have to be made out of a sturdy enough material that they won't bunch up as you put your pants on. Seriously. As a matter of fact, they're not worth buying if they're not sturdy enough to stay in place. The only thing more frustrating than a shifting pair of boxers is a hot, itchy, shifting pair of boxers. Okay, the boxers themselves aren't itchy. It was the stupid tag, but it's placed in such a way as to provide constant irritation throughout the day.

Yes, I'm talking about the comfort level of my knickers. Get over it.

Why the hell did I every buy silk boxers in the first place? I know why. It was mostly curiosity which I have since left for dead. Sleeping in them may be okay, but the rest of life does not favor silk. Not for me. You do whatever you want. My silk days are done.

Even if I didn't get the other pair of pants, I'd be seriously stoked if I could get a pair of jeans and three shirts for eighty bucks. Life just isn't fair. They charge the heck out of us because they know we don't mix and match as much. That means we don't buy as much, which means they've gotta milk us for all we've got. Back to the subject... Look for the launching of the Papaya website, which is currently under construction. The deals are so good that even if you shop at three or four other favorite stores, you can save some serious cash getting at least some of your basics for way less than the competition. If you are in the Dallas / Fort Worth area, you can visit Papaya at Grapevine Mills in Grapevine or at Galleria Mall in north Dallas.

Some of you are too young or too uninformed to know that crime rate increased and SAT scores dropped within 5 years of removing prayer from schools. From one step to the next, from sex education to evolution, public schools have removed godliness and propriety from schools and replaced them with lawlessness and no respectable authority to emulate. Yet now we're worried about leggings? Seriously? You're going to give your child the right to learn about sex from someone else, have access to free condoms whenever they want, and give them the right to be tested for pregnancy without your knowledge, and you're worried about whether they wear leggings? Priorities are more than a little screwed up.

From the news reports on 20/20, you hear about how a growing number of students refuse to show respect to their teachers. They are allowed to be openly rebellious and rude. There is no standard. That is what happens when you remove the moral code from any part of a society. Tell you what - allow teachers to be a source of faith and hope in school classrooms and let the girls wear leggings. Within 5 years, you'll see whether dress code was the problem.

Though the compulsion to write flows strongly through these veins, I cannot escape an addiction to math and statistics. I like to crunch numbers for potential scenarios. I like to know how the numbers break down - which blog posts are viewed the most, which search terms lead people to my website the most, etc.

The overwhelmingly most popular blog post was The Metrosexual, written over a month ago. It is seriously leaving most other posts in the dust. Of course, you have to keep in mind that the older a post, the more time it has had to be viewed. So that always plays a factor. The second or third most popular post was about Texas Bowfishing. Apparently, people have an obscene fetish for gar.

The picture on the right is of Carson Daly. He is one of the premier American metrosexuals in the celebrity spotlight. As mentioned in the previous Metrosexual post, the epitome of the Metrosexual is British soccer phenom David Beckham. Now there's a man who can't go anywhere without a thousand women trying to do something unspeakable. Daly is nothing in comparison to Beckham's star power and marketability. But he'll do for the moment.

I've asked women before what's the big deal with metrosexuals. I partly understand it, and I also fundamentally cannot. Let's look at it this way: I think it is safe to say that the majority of women either dream or have dreamed of a tall, muscular, strong man sweeping them of their feet and romancing them in a magical world of something or other. Okay, with that said, where does the scrawny metrosexual fit in?

Granted, the big muscular guys are frequently jocks, which means they spend most of their childhood and adolescence surrounded by morons. No offense. It's a simple fact that people who specialize or focus on one thing do so to the detriment of other aspects of their lives. You can't be experienced and talented at everything.

David Beckham represents a metrosexual hybrid whose appeal is more understandable because he is so athletic. I mean, he kicks ass as a soccer player. And I do know a few other guys who fit the bill of soccer metrosexual. Maybe someone should coin a new term for that kind of guy... maybe a header-o-sexual.

But I think it's safe to say that the majority of metrosexuals are not so athletic. They're usually scrawny little guys who dress well, stare into the mirror too much for their own good, and act like they're God's gift to women and fashion. Quite a few of them have one thing or another going for them - some are musicians, some are successful businessmen, and some are artists with above average art. That I understand. After all, I reeled in my wife by singing and writing. I understand appealing to a woman's heart and her sense of beauty. Then again, don't we all use the weapons in our arsenal to compensate for whatever we're lacking? Guys join bands all the time because they want the fame and the easy access to women who, under different circumstances, wouldn't give them the time of day.

But why are these guys being elevated to the status of gods when many of them couldn't defend themselves in a barfight? Not that I'm advocating barfights, mind you. But my point is that somewhere along the way, a lot of women have changed what they want, and I want to know why. There's got to be some semblance of masculinity in a guy, doesn't there? I mean, you want him to defend you if necessary, not vice versa, right?!?!

Until I learn otherwise, I'll chalk it up to Hollywood. Seems like they decide for the masses what is going to be cool, desirable, and worth striving for. If you watch enough television and movies, you constantly see the same thing presented in a certain light, the concept has more of a chance to work its way into your mind and affect the way you think.

Whatever. It's just a bunch of guys wearing women's jeans and eye liner, right?

i have several friends (men) who buy and wear women's jeans because they like the cut and fit better. they buy bath products from Victoria Secret or Bath and Body Works. They occasionally wear eye liner when they go downtown for concerts and clubs. They own too many bottles of fragrance (not all for men either). They spend more time in front of mirrors than i spend eating meals each day.

i don't know how, but i have an idea of what "metrosexual" means. i don't know where it came from. but i've looked into it, and here's what i've got. i just had to satisfy my curiosity.

"metrosexual" is a term coined in 1994 by British journalist Mark Simpson, who used it to refer to an urban male of any sexual orientation who has a strong aesthetic sense and spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle. the term comes from the combination of two words: metropolitan heterosexual. it refers to a young man concerned with self-image, self-indulgence, and money

he is the fasion-conscious target audience of men's magazines.

metrosexuality was promoted primarily by magazines such as GQ, The Face, Esquire, Arena, and FHM. they filled their magazines with images of narcissistic young men sporting fashionable clothes and accessories. and they persuaded other young men to study them with a mixture of envy and desire.

outside Britain, metrosexual has congealed into something more digestible: a heterosexual male who is in touch with his feminine side - he color coordinates, cares deeply about exfoliation, and has perhaps "manscaped."

in major urban areas such as San Francisco, Boston, NYC, Seattle, and Dallas, the metrosexual may be seen as a modern day fop or dandy. Like Victorian-era gentlemen, metrosexuals are sometimes considered especially masculine in the sense that they can relate to and empathize with women in an attempt to foster a relationship (or a sexual tryst) with them.

Mark Simpson's own definition of 2002 is "The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis -- because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference. Particular professions, such as modelling, waiting tables, media, pop music and, nowadays, sport, seem to attract them but, truth be told, like male vanity products and herpes, they're pretty much everywhere."

David Beckham, international soccer superstar, is the metrosexual icon. hes athletic and capable. he's very good looking. he spends unimaginable amounts of time and money on his appearance. he's worshipped and adored by millions of young men and women.

strangely enough, the term is used as a sort of parisian, upper class sophisticate/cool compliment at times, but was coined as a satirical criticism of the impact of consumerism and vanity upon traditional masculinity through media such as glossy men's magazines.
a metrosexual is vain. vanity is required. a retrosexual is someone who rejects being finicky about physical appearance. he would be the opposite of the metrosexual.

the retrosexual lifestyle is most popular and societally accepted among men aged 18-24. however, the term is rarely used as in self-description by those men. they prefer terms such as "real man", "old school", or "masculine". They reject the term "retrosexual" because the very use of it implies the normality of metrosexuality and the need of a similar term to describe its opposite.

A retrosexual may also be known as a man who rejects casual sex as mindless and immoral.

** most information on this post was found on Wikipedia.