#artoftransliness

Hi, I know this has been going around the blogs a lot (both the photoset and this particular commentary/criticism). I just want to say that while the general information in shitrichcollegekidssay's post is correct, there isn't any way to tell the race of this individual by looking at a photograph of them, or even by looking at an individual themselves. (Look up the Mass. Senate race between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown for a high-profile example of this situation.) Just as it's bad manners to assume aspects of another's culture, it's also bad manners to assign race and racial identification based on our own perceptions of someone and not their background, experiences etc.

Sorry for this meta-disclaimer. Love the blog!

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First of all, apologies for the poor quality photo. (It’s hard to make out, but the tie is black & white houndstooth and the shorts are navy & white striped.)

If you’re 5’3” like me it’s hard to find clothes that fit. My go-to store is The Gap, because their slim-cut XS shirts, t-shirts and sweaters usually fit me pretty well and they have frequent sales. Other stores that stock XS include J. Crew(though their slim-cut shirt sleeves are looser than I like, plus they’re very pricey), Mexx (where I got the shirt and tie in the photo) and Bluenotes. Things to keep in mind for shirts:

When shirts are too long your height is emphasized, so I always tuck in my collared shirts. That usually looks neater/dressier too.

Larger patterns, such as a large plaid, can look disproportionately large if you’re not that tall or broad. It’s usually better to pick a smaller pattern for shirts.

Try to wear clothes that fit instead of going a size up - it’s usually more flattering. Regular cut shirts are very baggy on me, so I always get slim cut shirts.

Accept the fact that the sleeves probably won’t be the right length. Unfortunately sleeve length is an uncommon and awkward alteration to make as well.

It took me a while to realize this, but it’s better to save money than buy something you like but won’t wear because it doesn’t quite fit.

It’s much easier to find pants, I find, even if they’re always too long. Most stores carry my size (29-30W), and either I wear 29/30 and the legs just bunch up a bit, or I hem them. I usually don’t bother with hemming unless they’re dress pants or work pants. Things to keep in mind for shorts and pants:

If you’re not very tall, wearing relaxed fit pants or even straight legged pants can emphasize your height and make you looks disproportionate. As my friend once put it, “you in skinny jeans is like a normal guy in normal jeans.” Slim cut and skinny cut pants are often more flattering and create the illusion of height. Also, the great thing above skinny jeans is that they just bunch up nicely at the ankles around my shoes so I never actually step on the hems and rip them like I used to. (My favourite pair of jeans are 511s from Levi’s, which I sadly can never replace because I got them in an outlet store in the US and they’re crazy expensive in Canada.)

Wear your pants low. Girls’ clothes tend to emphasize long legs, whereas guys’ clothes tend to emphasize a long torso. Wearing your pants just above or around your hips gives you a more masculine profile and can help hide hips.

Wear shorts that end above the knee instead of below. Once again, this creates the illusion of height. It’s actually kind of hard to find shorts cut like this. Mine above are “preppy” cut, I think, from Abercromie & Fitch, from a sale last year. My other go-to shorts are from The Gap, and have a similar length.

Finally, shoes. As far as I’m concerned shoes are the hardest things to shop for (I’m 6.5-7 in women’s, or 4.5-5 in men’s). My one pair of dress shoes are some boys’ shoes I found in a discount shoe chain. Otherwise, all I wear are unisex styles - nowadays desert boots mostly, and Blundstones. Clarks’ original desert boots are basically identical except for colour options for their men’s and women’s lines, and their high-tops (Desert Mali Boots) are pretty similar, though women’s sizes have an extra pair of eyelets for some reason. My desert mali boots are definitely my favourite pair of shoes. Blundstones, by comparison, are like Converses in that they are completely unisex and don’t have separate men’s and women’s lines. Vans also makes some of their shoes in the exact same style in men and women’s sizes. Or, if you fit them, boys’ shoes are way cheaper than adults’!

Recently we've gotten a lot of questions about top surgery that could perhaps be answered by some of the articles we've written. We realize that it can sometimes be difficult to sort through and find our older articles, so we decided to link to all of our articles on top surgery in one post so they'd be easier to find. If you go to our main page, you'll also find our original articles are organized by subject matter in the sidebar. I know very few people on Tumblr actually go to the main pages of blogs that they follower, though, so it can still be frustrating to find our older stuff! 

How to Optimize Your Top Surgery Results 

Chest Tattoos and Top Surgery

How to Emotionally Prepare for Top Surgery

Questions to Ask Your Top Surgeon During Your Consultation

More Questions to Ask Your Top Surgeon

Nipples and Top Surgery

2013 Top Surgeon Masterpost

Things to Pack (Or Buy) For Top Surgery Parts I and II

Side-by-Side Photographic Comparison of Zak's results from the DI and Adrian's Results from the Peri