Hipster Sexism

This term is appearing more and more often to describe the way fashion images objectify women.
One main company that has been picked up on this is American Apparel. The sports apparel wear brand is notorious for its use of sexualised imagery in it's adverts. A number of them have been pointed out and band by the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) and I'm not surprised. But is it this imagery that sells? Ultimately this imagery has gained AA attention and mad them the brand they are today, so is this a bad thing?

This is not just happening in fashion but also in film. The latest summer blockbuster Spring Breakers is full of Disney Channel sweethearts, that have charmed their way to the top by being squeaky clean teenagers. However their rolls in the film are far from this. They are portrayed as sex objects, and although the rating of the film is far above the age suitable for those that watch Disney and associate these characters with this, the internet is a vast place and kids these days can access a lot of things via this. For example I gained these images from the film via Tumblr, which has no parental controls on it.

Photographer Terry Richards is none of his risque images too. He is one of the worlds biggest fashion photographers but just because it's labelled 'art' doesn't necessarily make it okay.

I feel this issue will stay an issue for a long time, as long as it's selling, photographers in the fashion industry will continue to sexualise women, whether it is meant to be taken seriously or is meant in a parody way. However, I personally don't agree with it. When I eventually have a family of my own I find it quite frightening to think that my daughter could see these images and think that its a correct portrayal or has to act in a certain way. 

Easy VS Joni

Just about everyone and their mother knows or has heard about the American Apparel Easy jean, but how could you not, they are stunning. However, what is not so stunning is the price tag. At a whopping £64 (and I thought toppers jeans were pricey for what they are, but clearly not) they are at the higher end price range for jeans. Yes they do look amazing on, they're figure hugging in all the right places and similar to their disco pant they seem to suck you in which is always a plus.  The only thing which I don't love is the length. They don't vary in leg lengths which mean you have to spend more money having them taken up if you don't like that scrunched up effect by your ankles which I personally don't. The assortment of colours they come in however is great. They have anything from your standard light and dark denim to light wash pink and turquoise.

And then along comes Topshops 'dupe' version called the Joni jean. I couldn't say I wasn't curious so had to check them out. I'm personally not a denim lover so for me this was a real test. They come in both the standard range, tall and petite which I really like because I'm only 5'2 and find the petite length 28 is perfect for me so I snapped up the black pair. They arrived 2 days ago and all I can say is I've been converted. These jeans are amazing. They mould to your body shape, just like the AA easy jeans say they supposedly do, they are high waisted and look EXACTLY the same. These also come in a range of colours which is nice for SS13.

So for me, purely because of the price, I'd go for the Topshop ones because you're getting exactly the same jean, potentially a better leg length for us taller and shorter gals for half the price. So if you've loved the easy jean but couldn't afford the price tag, pick up the Joni's asap, it's definitely worth it.

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