Link-tastic! 9 July 2010

My goodness, Fabulous Readers, it's Friday again already!

Franca at Oranges and Apples muses on gender divisions in the crafty world, and it's a subject that bears a lot of thought. The majority of top fashion designers are men, but men are very seldom thought of in terms of home or craft sewing, especially when it comes to making women's garments. There's a lot of history behind why some crafts are "men's" and some are "women's" (and some are perceived as relatively gender-neutral), but why do those divisions persist? Is the supposed lack of interest of fashion to men part of it? Is it related to the home/workplace divide?

WendyB breaks down the price of gold (literally!). Fabulous Husband also makes jewelry, albeit mainly in silver, and has the same issues: silver currently costs over $18 an ounce, but most people's mental total of "what silver jewelry should cost" is based on a price that's less than half that, from just a few years ago. What Wendy doesn't talk about (but has previously, if I recall) is how much time, effort and skill goes into making good jewelry - and how hazardous it is. In order to craft a piece of jewelry, a jeweler will work with 2000°F+ flames, highly toxic chemicals, and power tools that can cause some pretty serious injury.

Is white the answer to summer heat? Maybe not. Cheap JAP delves into history, science, and (of course) thrift stores to see if black is actually cooler. I'm eager to see what she finds to beat the heat!

Of course, if you can hit the beach (or the pool) in this weather, you can stay cool in a swimsuit. Read up on the history and culture of swimming clothes first at Worn Through.

Angie from You Look Fab talks about how to wear tops with skirts. With my skirt-centric wardrobe, I gleefully violate her first "rule" - I find it harder to match trousers and tops than skirts and tops! Of course, to her suggested ways to wear skirts, I'll add with a jacket and layered under a dress or tunic.

Great methodologies from Sal at Already Pretty: inventorying your wardrobe and honing your style and is it flattering? 

I'm very lucky that every single one of you Fabulous Readers is a kind, good-natured (or at least exceptionally polite) person who would never post a gratuitously nasty comment here. However, I know that other bloggers aren't so lucky. Minh-ha from threadbared and Gretchen from gretchen blogs both look at the unfortunate phenomenon of comments that go beyond disagreement or constructive criticism and into mean personal attacks.

Also from threadbared: Superman saves us from designer knockoffs! He may be the Man of Steel, but is he faster than a speeding fast-fashion merchandiser?

And a little bit of feminist thought to chew over for the weekend: Does Jezebel feed on women's insecurities as much as traditional fashion magazines - just in a different way? Not included in that article: the rebuttal to the original Jezebel post by its subjects.

Have a wonderful weekend, Fabulous Readers!