Anniversary: Part I

It's been one year since <3 Life <3 Style was launched! That's pretty exciting...for me at least. Interesting how it just flew by! Last year I was completing my senior year of high school [that's me, left, and my HS buddies on the right] and now I attend college in SoCal (which I've actually grown to like...despite my initial hesitance) I started this with the idea that this could be an easy-to-access online site that could provide some style cues while incorporating some of my own fashion experiences (who could forget that tiresomely long Marc Jacobs expedition?).

Of course, the primary reason I came up with <3 Life <3 Style was to show that a love for all forms of life and style can go hand in hand and it can be easy to achieve. Not only was this formed as a guide to help those who already abstain from animal products, but to also help inform people of the current animal welfare situation, in primarily the animal skins industry- more prominently, the fur industry. It seems ludicrous to me why anyone would want to wear someone else's skin(s) at the expense of a living, breathing being's life. Especially if these animals are being treated in such horrendous ways after living crummy lives cramped in cages with no room to move: clubbing seals in Canada, skinning cats and dogs alive in China, electrocuting chinchillas by their em...private parts.

On the seal hunt: "In 2006, 98 percent of the harp seals killed were pups under just three months of age (they kill the pups because that's when their fur is the whitest)...governmental regulations regarding humane killing were neither being respected nor enforced, and that the seal hunt failed to comply with Canada's basic animal welfare standards. Shockingly, the veterinarians found that in 42 percent of the cases they studied, the seals had likely been skinned alive while conscious." In regards to whether the the seal hunt is economically important: "No. Sealing is an off-season activity conducted by fishermen from Canada's East Coast. They make, on average, one twentieth of their incomes from seal hunting and the rest from commercial fisheries." [hsus.org] And the government subsidizes the hunt. And that is why I do not hold Gucci or Versace in high esteem at all.

[Gucci: style.com]

It's not as if these animals don't have nerve endings. How could anyone support this? People need to get out of this paradigm and stop looking at fur as a luxury item (Prada already did). The fur demand needs to stop being fueled. And you can do your own part by signing petitions, contacting your elected representatives concerning legislation thru email or phone, from the comfort of your own home. And most letters for sending off are already written for you on sites...all you have to do is send it off. And the reason I have all those links on the left labeled "Care" is so that instead of ignoring the issue and thinking it has nothing to do with you, you should educate yourself, and then make a conscious decision. It does concern you.

You know, it's really no longer about whether or not you think it's morally right to wear fur or not. It's about how these animals are being treated just cause people want to feel all this hair on their back.

Really want fur? Go faux. Or else, kill for it yourself. That's what it is, unecessary killing for the sake of vanity, when there are so many other humane choices.

Besides, there's already too much dirty work going on in the world.


Justify this, and this and this and this. Take your pick.

[credit: PETA2, HSUS]

Oh, and the W magazine spread with kate moss? That really peeves... Dior goat fur coats, Dior mink and raccoon fur coat (all John Galliano), Dior raccoon fur coat, Azzedine Alaïa Mongolian lambswool jacket, a disturbing Gucci gray and red fox fur cape, a Fendi goat fur coat...

The way the spread is shot is notable (Ryan McGinley) but there's no way you can make such torture look beautiful. what happened to fashion being fun?


And then of course there's kate moss's other baby...the burberry campaigns.

http://www.bloodyburberry.com

Right now, the site is ranked number 24 in search engines, even clicking it can help by trying to move it up in ranking.

The photography in itself is definitely worth checking out. I thought it was pretty smart, actually. Burberry has got such a name, but it's not a good one. At least, anything with blood shed in its name I don't really count as good. What you can do.

If you're another blogger, then one of the best things you can do is pass the news along to your readers as well. Even if it's just a little snippet at the end of a post or two, or a video clip. Hey, you know what they say, along with "the camera adds 10 pounds", the camera doesn't lie.

And of course, Anniversary: Part II is coming in a day or two! [ chockfull of a buncha finds! :) ]