Birthday Celebrations...

As promised, I would like to share with you some little bits and pieces about my 18th birthday celebrations. 

It all started by organising the theme of my birthday party. I chose to incorporate a Hollywood Glamour concept where all of my guests would walk the red carpet as they arrived, and take photographs in front of a backdrop; similar to the ones they have on the red carpet. The theme was successful as all of my family and friends dressed in their best formal attire. 

Another aspect of the night was the mini ice- cream cart that came to the restaurant for an hour serving all sorts of flavours of homemade ice- cream. Flavours included salted caramel, lemon, chocolate and milk chocolate.

The fact that you only turn eighteen once gave me an excuse to buy a new dress and some accessories. I ended up wearing a black Manning Cartell dress from the Chadstone boutique, as well as simplistic nude coloured pumps, and costume pearl earrings. I wore my hair to the side and curled, inspired by a hairstyle I had seen on Jennifer Hawkins. For makeup I opted for a natural approach in terms of eye- shadows to enable me to accentuate the lip area with a bright red matte lipstick.

My mum and I spent months organising and planning a night that went so quickly. I am truly sad that it's over, but have so many beautiful memories from a celebration shared with beautiful people.

Let me know what you thought of my outfit by leaving a comment below.

Chelsea Elizabeth xx

Walking the Red Carpet...

As you may have noticed if you follow me on Twitter, it was my 18th birthday on Thursday. To celebrate, I have organised a little party tonight. The theme is "Red Carpet" and involves all my guests entering the venue via the red carpet, followed by some photographs in front of a backdrop. So stay tuned for a blog post sometime today that will show you my transformation from my natural self, to red carpet ready!

Chelsea Elizabeth xx

The Societal Implications of Objectifying Music

Have you listened to the radio lately? Well I have. To be quite frank, I have noticed that so many songs are becoming highly explicit. After hearing Pitbull and Austen Mahone's latest song "Mmm Yeah", I thought it had a good beat and would be great to add to my gym playlist. However, after listening to the words closely, I was appalled. 

Playing piano and singing myself, I understand that there are artistic qualities to every piece of music. I value such unique elements of every artist, though find it difficult when it entails the objectification of women. Does one's "booty" really define who they are as a person? The chorus itself is even extremely suggestive and does not set a good example for the youth of today.

I'm not sure about you, but I do not want my younger brother, or any children for that matter, thinking that it is acceptable to chant "Mmm Yeah" to someone "walking down the street". It worries me that in today's world it is basically impossible to shelter young people from the implicit connotations of such music.

The sad reality is that it is not only Pitbull and Austen Mahone who participate in the vicious cycle of degrading women. Remember the biggest hit of 2013; Blurred Lines? An interesting article found on the societypages.org* highlights that the song "is about male desire and male dominance" over a woman. It shows the implications of Thicke's lyrics in the eyes of rape victims. 

Project Unbreakable testimonials from rape
victims who report that their rapists used the
 phrase, 'I know you want it' as chanted in
 Robin Thicke's  popular song 'Blurred Lines'.
Image via the link below.

So the next time you sing along to such songs on the radio, remember the example they are setting to society. Do we want youth to grow up believing that the size of one's "booty" is a deal breaker? Or that the notion of consent is simply a series of "blurred lines"?

Let me know what your stance is on the issue by leaving a comment below or tweeting me at @_chelsealiz.

Chelsea Elizabeth xx

*http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2013/09/17/from-the-mouths-of-rapists-the-lyrics-of-robin-thickes-blurred-lines-and-real-life-rape/ 

Put Your Hands in The Air Like You Just Don't Care

In nearly one week it will be my birthday, and as you can probably guess, I am quite excited. For this reason I thought it would be interesting to create different styled blog posts daily, right up until my birthday. Let me know via twitter @_chelsealiz or leave a comment if you have any suggestions for any of this week's nightly blog posts. Remember by tweeting me, or leaving a comment, I will give you a shoutout in one of my posts. 

Upon collecting some old photographs to display on the night of my birthday, I found this photograph of me, waving my arms in the air like I just didn't care; and quite frankly, I don't think I did care. 

Taken in Ocean Grove, Victoria exactly two summers ago, this photograph embodies some of my fondest memories. You see, the photograph was chosen from many that I cherished. It was from 2012 when my family, along with two other families, stayed in a holiday house. 

There's always something beautiful about sharing a holiday experience with your closest family friends. And that was exactly what it was; beautiful. We were distracted from the consumeristic ways of the world. We would sit around the bonfire in the backyard at night, simply telling stories, and just having fun. We would eat and spend most of our time outdoors, only returning inside the house to sleep. 

While this may seem quite basic and perhaps a little boring, I can assure you it was far from it. Having no internet connection, and no access to television, encouraged us all to appreciate the alluring nature that surrounded us. We would spend hours at the beach, attempting to jump over waves and laughing as we failed. Though I had little contact with my the outer- Victorian community, I can tell you that it was the best mini- holiday I have ever experienced. 

Chelsea Elizabeth xx

June Designer Wish List...

Winter is killing me. Not because of the freezing weather that it brings, but for another reason; fashion. Winter fashion here in Melbourne is incredibly beautiful. There is nothing more enjoyable than browsing the luxurious collections held by Myer and David Jones. It is this passion I have for adoring the designer gowns, coats and accessories that adds to my sadness (my sadness being the price tag). So, I have collated the most lavish items that I admire for the month of June. 

Let me know what your wish list entails,

Chelsea Elizabeth xx

The Explicit Nature of Fashion; The Culprits and The Consequences

Appalled. This is how I felt when pictures emerged on Twitter of Rihanna at the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards ceremony- CFDA. For those of you who have not seen Rihanna's explicit outfit, it involves a sheer crystal coated gown. The gown itself is intricate and luxurious- yet I feel this look is destroyed by Rihanna's lack of undergarments... 

According to mirror.co.uk, both Rihanna and her stylist "wanted to make [the outfit] a little bit scandalous". While this was achieved, what sort of example does it set for the youth of society? Aren't there alternative ways to attain a "scandalous" style?

Don't be fooled. Rihanna is not the only celebrity that chooses to express herself in such uncensored attire. There's also Miley Cyrus, who infamously flaunts her body, often leaving little to the imagination.

While I understand that self- expression is necessary and rational, I feel that it can be accomplished in many forms, and not only dressing semi- naked to an internationally recognised event. Women such as Rihanna and Miley should be empowering their younger audiences to manifest their emotions and personality through music, literature, and other forms, rather than encouraging them to associate fame and popularity with objectification. 

Being young myself, I see the impact of such displays amongst young people I know. Many upload revealing photographs onto social media platforms, and receive an array of attention because of this. This obviously encourages these individuals to continue this vicious cycle of objectification, disallowing others to understand their character, but rather their physical attributes. Does this mean that in order to receive admiration one has to dress in a graphic manner? While I strongly feel the answer should be no, the society in which I live tells me that the answer is increasingly becoming yes. 

Chelsea Elizabeth xx

PS- Leave a comment to let me know what your view on Rihanna's outfit is? Did you like it, loathe it, or do you feel it contributes to the dangerous cycle of objectification?

Follow me on Twitter at @_chelsealiz and I'll follow you back!