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#CurtsyCares CurtsyCelebrates Trending

Celebrating Juneteenth Today & Everyday

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Styles and cultures have been taken away from Black people for decades to be reclaimed as something more “trendy” or “appropriate.” There is a double standard between POC and white people when it comes to the fashion industry. Microaggressions frequently bash Black people for wearing the styles that they originated. Appreciating the culture rather than appropriating it comes with advocating for Black lives.

Like many trends, the bucket hat was initially invented purely for function. Often referred to as a “fishing hat”, bucket hats were first introduced in the 1900s to protect farmers and fishermen from the rain. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the bucket hat would be adopted as a high fashion item. In the 1980s, the hat became popular with rappers and remained a staple of street fashion into the 1990s. More recently, it has re-emerged as a fashion catwalk item after being sported by celebrities such as Rihanna and Megan Thee Stallion.

One of the latest trends ruling Pinterest, creative acrylic nails are everywhere. However, as decorative nail art enters the mainstream, Black women are being left out of the conversation that they started. Acrylic nails are still frequently labelled as ‘trashy’, ‘cheap’ and ‘ghetto’ when worn by a black woman. It’s important to be respectful as a non-POC when choosing to wear nails and to change the rhetoric to give credit where credit is due.

While branding first played a role in fashion as a way to showcase class and status, it soon became an aesthetic look that many still know and love today. In the ‘80s, designer Daniel Day, better known as Dapper Dan, began dressing hip-hop’s top artists by reengineering these luxury logos in a bold and flashy way. Dapper Dan helped start a resurgence in creativity in the fashion industry.

The hoop earring has evolved into an essential fashion accessory, and the staple of anyone’s jewelry collection. Black women have brought hoop earrings into the mainstream and have sustained their popularity for decades. In the 60s and 70s, hoops were a way to embrace Afro-Centric styles. We can see these iconic earring on some of the most influential celebrities such as Diana Ross and Maya Angelou.

After the past year of staying at home, baggy clothes have become all the rave, and will still be my go-to fashion choice post covid. Skinny jeans are out, and straight-leg mom jeans are in. The origins of the oversized clothing trend dates back to the ’80s hip hop era, and stems from black communities and families, as well as financial hardships. Larger clothing was passed down to younger family members from older family members to save money. Baggy clothing is a comfortable trend for all shapes and sizes.

Often called “sneaker heads”, the community made up of people with a deep love for sneakers first became popularized in the 1970s and 80s with sneakers made famous by hip hop starts and athletes. Sneaker culture and collecting unique, limited edition, and flashy sneakers became a hobby and identity for many. Basketball icon Michael Jordan released his “Nike Air Jordans” in 1985, and these shoes are often seen as the first step to becoming a sneakerhead. The resale of these rare and exclusive sneaker has become an industry in it of itself, as we see in GOAT and Stockx.

When we think of tracksuits today, I often think of the bright red tracksuit Sue Sylvester wore every day in the TV series Glee. However, Baby Phat walked so Sue Sylvester could run. Initially named “Phat Fashions, Kimora Lee Simmons launched her tracksuit empire in 1999. This street style became a fashion essential due to its comfortability and iconic look. Rappers like Jay-Z also skyrocketed the tracksuit trend into popularity when it became a symbol of wealth, that you didn’t need to “sweat the small stuff such as getting dressed”- that a tracksuit was fashionable enough. 

Head-wraps and silk headscarves are ruling the summer trends this season. And there’s no question why – whether it’s to look luxurious or conceal a bad hair day, silk headscarves can make an outfit. It is however important to recognize the origin of this trend and what it represents. Born into slavery, reclaimed by Black women, the headwrap is now a celebrated in the fashion industry to express style and identity.

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SOURCES:
https://missionmag.org/the-rise-and-fall-of-logomania/
https://hellogiggles.com/beauty/nails/acrylic-nails-appropriation/
https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/a21967443/history-of-bucket-hat-fashion/
https://zenerations.org/2020/07/26/7-fashion-trends-that-originated-from-black-culture/ https://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/hairstyles/the-history-of-headwraps-then-there-and-now https://thetempest.co/2020/06/30/style/a-close-look-at-5-fashion-trends-started-by-black-people/ https://news.ncsu.edu/2021/02/sneakerheads-not-hypebeasts-defining-a-sneaker-driven-sub-culture/

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CurtsyCelebrates INSPO

Brands Made With Love 🏳️‍🌈

June marks the beginning of Pride Month, so we are taking some time to share 10 amazing LGBTQ+ owned brands for you to take a look at! While this month is all about supporting, uplifting, and learning from the LGBTQ+ community, we should all continue to be allies and constantly educate ourselves everyday outside of just the month of June. Curtsy is proud to support all underrepresented/underserved communities. 💞 

From clothes, to makeup to gifts and lifestyle brands, we had added a little bit of everything so be sure to check them out below and comment or IG DM us any of your faves at the end!

❤️ Ash + Chess
Ashley Molesso + Chess Needham  are queer and trans couple based in Richmond, VA. They create stationary, greeting cards and prints that use amazing bold colors and artwork for their audience to bring joy and make political statements through their work!

🧡 Because
Created on “color, happiness, and excitement,” Because is a brand where fashion doesn’t have to be taken too seriously. Hawwaa Ibrahim always felt like the “other” growing up as a non-binary, Black, queer, Muslim and so fashion was the place they felt free. From pom-poms as jewelry to crochet rainbow sweaters, Because will help you express yourself, inclusively.

💛 Flavnt Streetwear
FLAVNT was created with the goal to give everyone, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community confidence and pride in their clothing and showing self-love to the world around us. The clothing created is to inspire and include always. 

💚 Folly Fire Cosmetics
“Fierce Beauty without the BS” – that is what Folly Fire Cosmetics is all about! This new Vegan, cruelty-free and clean product beauty brand is full of bold and vibrant beauty products that make all people feel beautiful from the moment they use it!

💙 Gc2b
In 2015, the Trans-owned brand gc2b was founded to create chest-binding shirts for the Trans community. There was a massive gap in the market for Trans people to find chest-binding garments that were comfortable and unique in style so gc2b has been an amazing company to watch and support!

💜 Heartshake Studios
The Southwestern inspired designs, colors and style of Heartshake Studios paved the way for the creative couple Kit and their husband to start their own business in homegoods, art and more. The handcrafted and vintage feel of all the pieces in the shop make anyone feel at home!

🤎 Musée Beauty
Sisters Tara + Kaya brought their love of makeup and art together to create Musée Beauty – a place where people could quite literally use their face as a blank canvas and create art. This cruelty-free, queer-owned makeup brand is bold and beautiful!

🖤 Otherwild
Founded in 2012 by a queer-identifed woman in L.A with the focus in ethics and interdisciplinary arts driving this brand, Otherwild is the perfect place to find unique homegoods and apparel.

🤍 Peau De Loup
Peau De Loup is an androgynous, genderless brand for all people. When the founders came together to create this business, it was because they found themselves not being able to fit “men’s” clothing. They decided to create their own pieces and Peau De Loup was born. The perfect button up for everyone can be found here!

💖 Suay Sew Shop
Suay is an ethical and sustainable home goods and clothing brand. Based in L.A., this brand sources products from recycled clothing waste to create everything from pillows to clothing! They are responsible for diverting 500,000 pounds of clothing waste to their development centers to create their home goods since 2017.

💃🏽 Meet the author & shop her Curtsy closet!
photo of blog author, nikki
Nikki’s one of the content creators over on the Curtsy social channels! She has loved so many pieces that she’s bought from sellers on the app to help expand her girly + feminine, cottagecore style! Check out her Curtsy Closet to see when she adds some items to it next!

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Categories
CurtsyCelebrates INSPO

AAPI Owned Brands on Curtsy 🌸

While it’s still Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month, we wanted to celebrate by highlighting some awesome AAPI owned brands available on Curtsy & beyond. 💛🤎 For some inspo by style, peep the below 👇🏽

It Doesn’t FitLet’s be real. We’re still coming out of a pandemic so if you want to transition out of your matching sweat suits and athleisure, go on with your bad self. Brands like Comme des Garçons, Uniqlo, and even higher end brands like 3.1 Phillip Lim do street style real well.


Or maybe you have allllll the postponed & everyone-who-got-engaged-during-quarantine weddings to attend? Don’t worry, we got you there too. Jenny Yoo does great bridesmaids dresses but also has some great wedding guest options. And we can’t forget about Oscar de la Renta (of which 1/2 of the amazing design team is Laura Kim), and Vera Wang.



Ok but really though, who is excited for vax girl summer? 🙋🏻‍♀️ With brands like Derek Lam, Jason Wu, and Anna Sui, we’ve got you covered with our deals on tops, dresses, denim, sunnies, and more on Curtsy. Also, don’t forget Uniqlo and our girl Vera Wang also do a mean slip midi dress.

Still in a shopping mood? Check out these AAPI-owned ✨beauty & accessory brands✨:
Glow Recipe 💋
Live Tinted 🌞
Jins Eyewear 🕶️
Coco Floss 🦷

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