I grew up in the 80s and, looking back, it's really easy to see how I fell for glamour. After all, it was everywhere. Was there such a thing as a low key dressed down 80s look? If there was, I paid it no attention to it whatsoever because what I wanted was to be... Continue Reading →
I don't care if you exercised. If you got a personal trainer and toned up, trimmed down, fitted back into the clothes you wore before the pandemic hit. I don't care that you got moving, went from couch to 5k, or beat your personal best. I don't care that you want to be a "better... Continue Reading →
I've spent more years than I care to imagine working out how to love my reflection. It might sound strange to anyone who doesn't identify as a woman, or wasn't raised as female, but the constant stream of messages we receive about how our appearance is the most important thing about us takes a certain... Continue Reading →
When I gave up reading women's glossy magazines in my 20s, it was partly because I found very little of interest to read in them any more, and it was partly because I was erroneously beginning to think that so-called "women's things" were unimportant (thanks for that patriarchy!). I thought that reading about superficial stuff... Continue Reading →
I like hearing about creative projects, especially ones by women for women. Having recently discovered Ovation - a new forum for women and female identifying creatives in British theatre, aiming to provide opportunities for networking and skills development - I thought I'd help them spread the word with a quick blog post. The Ovation website... Continue Reading →
I've had a fondness for burlesque for a decade now. The costumes, movements, and facial expressions all help to tell a story, and the best acts are often the ones that do something the audience doesn't expect. I've always preferred a little subversion to a lot of 'glitter tits', and thankfully there are plenty of... Continue Reading →
[SPOILER ALERT] This article contains mild spoilers for Westworld season 2, mostly in the form of discussion of costumes. I recently finished watching season 2 of Westworld and am still processing the clever storytelling, the visual brilliance, and the excellent performances from a delightfully diverse cast. Despite being set in a 'wild west' theme park,... Continue Reading →
I started planning this post months ago, when I was first writing about getting married, but it somehow slipped off my To Do list until something reminded me last week. A colleague who I don't see all that often (I work for a very large organisation) asked me for my email address, "because you've changed... Continue Reading →
The number of more positive articles on fat bodies is finally starting to increase, in the wake of the popularity of 'plus size' (ugh I hate that term) models like Ashley Graham, Audrey Ritchie and Tess Holliday. It seems like culture (and capitalism) has finally accepted that we're getting bigger, and that there's a lot... Continue Reading →
I haven't had a guest blogger week on Rarely Wears Lipstick since the days when I used to post regularly and wanted some content to schedule in before I went on holiday. At first I asked friends to write something, then I started to put callouts to my followers on social media. Every guest post... Continue Reading →