Usually, Jen and Allison will start their day by reading some posts from other bloggers. I do not. However, today they pointed me to a post on Cupcakes and Cashmere. Why would you want to eat cupcakes while wearing cashmere? You’ll just spill on it and ruin it. Anyway, the blogger, Emily Schuman, does a lot of DIY crafts and recipes on there. Whatever, fine, get down with your Martha Stewart self. Anyway, today she decided to rip up $100 shirt from J. Crew and call it “distressing.” Dear God. DEAR. GOD. Keep reading for my full rant. 

I’m going to try my best not to come off as mean, since I so often do, so here it goes. I understand the distressed look. I frequently have it on my face (like when I read her post), but not on my clothes. I thought that ended after the millennium  but apparently I was wrong. Unless this is some Way-Back Wednesday themed post, the look just seems a little dated (says the guy who always wears Brooks Brothers).

Then we get to the fact that this was a $100 SHIRT. $100. What Ms. Schuman did was not distressing, she ripped the shirt to shreds so she could “show her clavicle” and “be alluring.” If she thinks a torn shirt is alluring, I shudder to think of what she’d deem as ugly. Maybe by “distressing,” she meant that her DIY project was only to distress her readers.

I understand DIY projects, but couldn’t she have bought a cheaper shirt? After all, she was only going to ruin it so the quality of the stitching is a moot point. I know of a nice place called Target that makes similar shirts for $10 that you can rip to shreds and achieve the same effect.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe gas-station chic is going to become a trend. Maybe you are a trend-setter, Ms. Schuman. But then again, maybe you’ve just run out of ideas.

Stay tuned for an upcoming FitandFabLiving DIY where we put a pair of Prada loafers into bucket of bleach!