Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Toasted, Fried AND Burnt....

I received an email today with the following request:
We at NowPublic are working on coverage of the top ten worst fashion trends of 2008, and we are putting together a collection of photos. We came across your amazing photo on Flickr and it would be a great addition to our story. We would very much appreciate its use, with proper credit to you of course. It was followed by a link to a page at which I could grant them the use of this amazing photograph.

So, you ask, what was this amazing photo that would fit into the TOP TEN WORST FASHION TRENDS OF 2008???

The (I thought) wearable muslin of Simplicity 4366.

I'll be the first to admit this is not the most flattering, stylish photograph, but I wasn't trying to take a flattering, stylish photograph; I wanted a photo of the fit of the pants. Probably the folks at 'NowPublic' didn't even realize that.

But still.

What were they thinking???



Here's the text that very likely would accompany this amazing photo, quoted from the above link:
5. Plaid pants

Ahh...popularized in the 1970's, and re-appropriated by grunge kids in the 90's. Leave plaid pants in your youth with that ratty old chain wallet you wore with them.

If you need plaid in your life, I wholeheartedly suggest you invest north of the waistline; a button-down shirt, fitted equestrian blazer, or tunic are all acceptable alternatives.


Thank you very much for your advice.

I did send a reply:
I would prefer that you do not use this photo.

Thank you very much.

Um, just a suggestion.... if you are looking at a photo posted for the purpose of displaying the fit of a home-sewn pattern, it *might* not be terribly considerate to ask the seamstress if it could be included in an article about Fashion Faux Pas. It, um, could ruin her day.

Just a thought.


I need some ketchup with my fries....

21 comments:

  1. Oh Lisa - that is the one thing I hate about Flickr! Anyone can search your photos and approach you about groups...ummm, I didn't post them to be a part of some dayum group! So I understand how you feel!!!!

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  2. Really? No, REALLY? What a-holes. I think they are great.

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  3. How terribly rude. What right minded person *would* want their picture included in a bad fashion article? You might want to check Flickr, because when you upload photos (in the future) there is an option to make the photos public or private. I am assuming that the private means no one can roam through your albums and no one will see it unless you want them to or you post it on your blog.

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  4. Forgot to add, then Tany must be part of bad fashion too, since she just made some plaid pants, too.(IMHO, very fashionable and hot plaid pants!) Wonder if they asked her.

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  5. Sigh. It's all-or-nothing w/Flikr; either everyone can see them, or only folks specifically and individually authorized by the owner can see them. I couldn't link to it from my reviews if didn't flag it Public (I tried that when I first signed up).

    I just didn't think non-sewing folks would be at all interested in my pictures!

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  6. And I loved Tany's pants, too! 'Course, I'd be hard put to name anything she makes that isn't fabulous....but I could say that of several folks, you three included! Thanks for the encouragement! It's salve to the burn... ;)

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  7. It left me speechless. And that's just as well since they're too low to deserve any commentary.

    Your pants look great.

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  8. How about asking them if you can link to their website because you're writing an article on the top ten worst etiquette faux pas. What a bunch of knuckleheads!

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  9. OMG!!! I cannot BELIEVE you got that letter. Unbelieveable!!!! Man...how terrible!!! Have you heard back from them?!?! Just curious. Well...I think they look great!!!

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  10. That makes me a bit mad, Lisa. I'd like to see those poopy-heads try to sew a pair of pants themselves and see what they think. I didn't know Flickr accounts were public. Just another reason to stay with Picasa which gives a choice of sharing photos--or not. I'm too mad to write much more without embarrassing myself. I'll just say that I think you did a fantastic job on this pattern and I think it turned out very nicely. Your response to them was restrained and polite, which gives me even more respect for you than I already had.

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  11. I love plaid pants, and you did such a good job matching the plaids.

    Don't let the knuckleheads get you down!

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  12. I had to follow the links to make sure it was legit...not just somebody poking fun. But it appears that the person who wrote the article delegated the photo-finding to an intern who is studying engineering...my hunch is that the intern just did a search on 'plaid pants' and, since that is part of the label on this photo it came up. You really couldn't ask for a better photo of *just* plaid pants, but the engineering student intern had no clue what the circumstances of that photo were, I'm sure, and just sent off the standard permission request without even considering how it might sound on this end....

    Anyway, the whole organization came off looking pretty bad here...wonder if they care....

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  13. Wow. How creepy. Reminds me of junior high, only with permission slips.

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  14. Are ya kidding me? I think you handled it quite well. And frankly, I don't see anything wrong with your plaid pants.

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  15. Not sure if this will make you feel any better, but I got the same request for a recent photo of a dress I just completed. I got a lot of complimentary comments on my blog about the dress. I even asked blog readers to comment on some of what I thought were fitting issues. And then to get that email! I also researched the sender but it sounds like a different person than yours. I chose not to reply either way.

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  16. I had to stare at the picture of the pants to figure out what about them would be the worst fashion trend part of it. The only think I can come up with is the plaid - but have they ever seen a runway show? Ignore it. It sounds like some one with nothing better to do with their time than to try to insult people. And as you say, I'm sure they have no idea what the picture was for. Even still, I would definitely wear the pants.

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  17. Boy, your pants look pretty good! Those plaids all match up beautifully - but of course they would not have noticed that...nor how good the fit was!

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  18. Wow - that is bizarre... Your pants are wonderful - great fit, beautiful job working with the plaid - the works! I wish I could make pants that well! Clearly this didn't have anything to do with YOUR pants - some "genius" decided that plaid pants were a fashion mistake and then searched for pictures of plaid pants to include with the article. Still, did they even think for one second about how such an email would be received? Very bizarre...

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  19. Oh my gosh! The researcher has no class!!! Nor common sense. Reminds me of my post on my summer dress I dubbed, "My Jessica Simpson Dress". A big Jessica Simpson devotee found my blog post but at least was complimentary about it. Devoted to the point about her boobs and other body attributes, most of which I don't have LOL. It was a good reminder that it's not just sewers who read our blogs.

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