All posts tagged: Badass Files

File No. 11: Desirée Velázquez, fashion designer

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Pop culture would have us believe that being a fashion designer is one of the most glamorous jobs available. Thanks to Project Runway we know it’s not true. The aspiring designers experience nervous breakdowns at Parsons The New School for Design making every moment count because, as Heidi Klum has taught us for some time, in fashion one day you are in and the next day you are out. This was the case of Desirée Velázquez, who did it all off-camera and with no pay. “I moved to New York with $1,000 and a credit card. That was it”, recalls the 28-year-old freelance fashion designer, while sitting at Astoria Coffee, wearing her signature cat-eye and red lipstick. Desirée is a CAD designer for Carolina Herrera and was part of the launch of Katy Perry’s shoe collection with Global Brands Group last year. The break came after she experienced her first layoff at Ohne Titel, a small fashion company founded by Parsons alumni Alexa Adams and Flora Gill that closed last spring. She took the opportunity …

Female Breakups Are Just As Shitty

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I endured my first breakup when I was 17. Yet, as devastating as it was, it never compared to the second. Throughout my entire life I thought it would hurt more to be dumped by a man than by a female friend, but I was wrong. It was worse, way worse. The thing about friendships is that, somehow, they never seem to equate to romantic love in the eyes of society. Everyone looks for a partner, even when they already have a circle of friends to support them when shit goes crazy. The incessant search for a romantic partner keeps alive the narrative that we need another half to be okay, and that no matter how fulfilled we might feel with our friendships it will never be the same. But, as my former best friend slammed my apartment door as she left that summer night, I found myself being dumped again. The truth is that a friendship breakup needs to be mourned, just as we sit for hours watching sad movies and eating ice cream …

Wearing Black Makes Me Happy

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We all do something to feel powerful. I dress in black. It’s one of the most distinctive characteristics of my personal style, aside from wearing a leather jacket (black, of course) and red lipstick. Although it wasn’t always the case, my mornings have become prettier, easier and more inspiring since I started wearing black as armor. This phenomenon started in January 2015 when I moved to Madrid, Spain to study at the Complutense University. Because of the low temperatures, no one cared about trends and it no longer mattered if my coat and boots didn’t go together. So, during my first month in Madrid, I substituted my red trench coat for a navy and black one I got at the Zara sale in hopes to simplify my mornings. The constant travel also contributed to this change. You can enjoy the not-so-routinely routine of planes, buses and trains crossing all over Europe way better when you don’t think about what you are wearing. But, my mother taught me to never let style go, so I instilled …

4 Books to Read This Summer

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Admit it: summer is not only a synonym of vacations. It is also a time when we, unconsciously, reflect on the past six months of the year, weighing whether or not we’ve kept the promises we made ourselves when the new year rang in. If we have failed, the guilt trip is bound to come around. And if we have, we constantly look for ways to keep them up, mostly through reading. I am one of those people who, like Joan Didion, writes to find out what she is thinking. I also read to find out what the fuck is going on in my head. I seek wisdom from other women writers, while I also try to find stories that make mine seem okay, like I’m not the only one with existential crises or lousy friends. So, this summer, as I prepare to embark on a Master’s Degree come fall, I’m grabbing a bottle of sunblock and my favorite bikini to escape to the nearest beach with a book in hand to do exactly that: …

File No. 9: Claudia Hilario, blogger, Bodega Blush

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I was present during some of the initial conversations that sparked the launch of Bodega Blush. Just a few months prior, I met Claudia Hilario, its founder. At this point, she was an editor at Primera Hora with 10 years of experience behind her. But, a dream is unstoppable, and so, Claudia’s was no exception. A few weeks after revealing her plans to us, Claudia left the company to launch her own blog. As an accomplished editor, it’s a move not many have the ovaries to make. But, when you have a clique of badass friends and an idea, it’s justifiable that you leave your job to create an online platform dedicated to all the things you love: fashion and drinking. Bodega Blush now has over 1,000 Facebook likes and has done collaborations with big name brands like Sally Hansen and Tito’s Vodka. The goal is to demystify the notion that women and alcohol are mutually exclusive. And so, we toast to Claudia and her big dreams, to her daughter Elena and to the many …

In Defense of the Clitoris and the Female Orgasm

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Written by María de Lourdes Vaello The vagina has stood at the conjunction of two very different life experiences. On one hand, it has been the axis of hateful rhetoric from people, whom have not grasped a profound understanding of the emotional and psychological burden that the female genitalia represents, and on the other, it has constantly proved to be a symbol of resistance and empowerment to many women across the globe. Historically, women were believed to be unable to climax, so they were used by men for their own sexual pleasure, while her experience was regarded more for reproductive purposes. Which is why, when women discovered the clitoris as a tool of self-pleasure and shed public light to a subjugated subject (the enjoyment of intimacy, far beyond the interest of giving birth), people reacted in different ways. Young women are taught that the vagina is like a “flower”, a term that although could romanticize the organ, it also portrays the vagina as an object that withers through coitus. Therefore, once the vagina is penetrated …

8 Essentials for Shark Week

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I have a friend who announces her period on Facebook every month with a blood-related photo. It’s a ritual now to see her photo monthly to realize that ‘Shark Week’, as we call it among our group, is approaching. There is no science that proves that women’s cycles are synced, but, in personal experience, most of my friends get their period at the same time that I do. Coincidence? The verdict it still a mystery. Be it true or not, one thing is for sure: camaraderie and periods go hand in hand. PMS is better when you have friends to rant along with you because, what is better than hating patriarchy and mother nature with a crew of badass femmes? Furthermore, sharing is caring, so is the case with tampons, chocolate and romantic movies. So, what should you carry to help yourself and your friends feel better during this time? Here is the plan. Once you start that first pimple popping out and a minor cramp that feels like someone ripped your uterus open, head …

I Am Mine: Reclaiming the Vagina in Nymphomaniac Vol. I

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The vagina is an enigma. Throughout history, religion has tried to hide it, politics have punished it and patriarchy has held it hostage. The rise of feminist movements in the 19th century began reclaiming ownership of the vagina, but even in the 21st century the word creates controversy and many women continue to restrain their sexual desires at the request of patriarchal regulations. But, the work of several artists has allowed for conversation to spark and has empowered females around the world to acknowledge their carnal rights. Such is the case of the film Nymphomaniac Vol. I. This work explores female sexuality and its intricacies, from the term vagina to the nature of sex and patriarchal constructions of femininity. Nymphomaniac Vol. I acts as a space for debate and acceptance that serves to understand that sexuality is as much a biological right for women as it is for men. Religious constructions One of the biggest sources of female oppression in our society is religion, specifically the faith of Christianity. Its foundations lie upon the belief …