We've got two great draws this week. A draw for a pair of Yoga Jeans, and a draw for the Simone dress of your choice! You're welcome to enter both draws - you have to scroll down the page a bit to get the link for the Simone dress draw.

You only have to enter once and you have a chance to win the Yoga Jeans of your choice! Contest closes August 10th. 

 Contest Closes August 10th.

Any questions? Don't hesitate to leave me a comment!

Don't forget to mosey on over to plum.ca to sneak a peek at our fall collection.

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This week on the blog, I have some very special news to share. And while I'm bursting with jokes about how this is a 'plum place' to work, I'll resist the temptation to pun and just come out and say it.

At the national Big Brothers Big Sisters convention earlier this month, Plum was honoured with the Community Mentor Award for 18 years of continuing support. What does that mean? In their own words, "this award is presented annually by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada to a company that has made a meaningful contribution to a local agency to better serve children in the area with mentors." 

Since 1994, Plum has donated $110,000 to Big Sisters through event sponsorships, auction donations, and  annual in-store fundraising campaigns. Plum also sponsors Big Sisters’ annual volunteer recognition event to show appreciation to the hundreds of women who commit to making the lives of Little Sisters better.

Of course, we would never be able to generate the kind of support and awareness that Big Sisters needs without our fabulous staff and equally fabulous customers. Once again, a huge thank you to anyone who made a contribution during our May-long fundraising campaign! 

Plum founders and owners, Katie O'Brien (left) and Ed Des Roches (right) with Justine Greene, Executive Director of Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland.

This award was made possible by the company owners, Katie O'Brien and Ed Des Roches, who wanted to support organizations that would resonate with their employees and customers. Big Sisters aids tremendously in the confidence building and development of women and girls, something we can all recognize the value in. Right on!

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Welcome to day two of the Keep it Real Challenge! What is the challenge, you say? Well, let me tell you.

Individuals and organizations have been asked to use social media (primarily Twitter, blogs, and Instagram) to encourage a positive and realistic portrayal of beauty in the media. On day one, June 27, tweets were sent to fashion magazines and their editors (using the hastag #KeepItReal) asking them to include at least one non-digitally altered image in each issue of their magazine. Today, bloggers have been asked to use their blogs as a platform to discuss the issue and offer their own insights. 

You can read all the details of the Keep it Real Challenge here: Keep it Real

I also encourage you to read the story of the awesome fourteen year-old girl from Maine who inspired the challenge. Click here to read about Julia Bluhm.

I have been so inspired to see people (and a fourteen year-old girl, no less!) pushing back against the unrealistic and often very negative images of women we see every. day, in every form of media. Being bombarded with image after image of blemish-free, cellulite-free, PORE-free digitally altered models takes an obvious toll on the self-esteem of the media consumer, be they man or woman or child. 

Let's talk about Barbie for a minute (groan, I know, I'm sorry). Barbie has always been under fire for creating an unrealistic standard of beauty. But let's get real; Barbie is literally an unrealistic standard of beauty. If a person did look like that, it would not only not be pretty, it would be biz-arre. 

The problem with digitally altered photos in magazines is that they represent the same unattainable beauty Barbie does but use real women to do so. A woman without pores or imperfections simply does not exist in reality. But by airbrushing away these features on models and celebrities, the media insinuates that she does. You could, if you only used product x, y, or z. Even the most critical of media consumers can wind up comparing themself to something that does not and cannot exist outside of a computer program! 

That's why it's imperative that editors begin to integrate images of non-digitally altered women into their publications. They must provide a baseline of reality and offer a diverse range of images. In turn, we must be critical consumers of media and always question editorial and advertising choices.

Thanks for reading!

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