Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 23, 2013

“Try-on and Error”or“It Figures "Or“You Are What You Wear”…..

You Know Bern, it MIGHT HELP if You TOOK the Bikinis OFF the Hangers BEFORE You Tried them on……,

I like peeps…

Bern….wear the muumuu.

Bernice is just too much of a perfectionist.

I remember a time when it was Luann who looked terrible in a swim suit and would be upset cause Bernice could wear anything…. funny

Sigh. . . Where does it say that a girl or woman MUST wear a bikini when she’s going to the beach or the pool? Bernice, just wear a one-piece that looks good on you and be done with it.

Hard to believe a slim teenage girl can’t find a bathing suit that fits. Bern seems more slender than the rest of the ladies (who all have interchangeable bodies as far as I can tell), but I can’t imagine that would be a problem re: fit. Probably doesn’t know her own size, since she clearly hates swimwear like poison. She and Gunther could just wear whatever casual dress they want and decline to go into the pool. No law says you have to wear swimsuits if you don’t want to.

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Meanwhile, I wonder what’s going on in Menswear.

I think Crystal’s going to steal the show, swimwear-wise.

This is so sad to say but… Is Bernice Ever Happy??? Seems like she is always grousing about something. These years of her life should be happier for her.

TJ Sack’s Trashy Boutique…."You’ll be glad here, because when you’re in a pinch, our selections are a Cinch !…=Marsha Mallow’s Sweet Deals Women’s Shop… “Great discounts for the chic peeps”… “Good deals for chicks without a lot of scratch”…=Mean Quizine… From Figure Ate Foods… a Twisted Product….“Test your package handling resolve… if you can open it, you can eat it”….=

The Iron Chic Purse Emporium… “Specializing in genuine Camel Clutches”….=Bullseye Department stores…. “The perfect store…. and you’ll know, as soon as you’ve tried on every one”….

Especially if you are trying to make a point or get an idea across, as naked people have little or no influence on society.^Like the baggy jeans issue (or as that contestant from American Idol “sang”; “Pants on the ground! Pants on the ground! Looking like a fool witcha pants on the ground!”….

Bern could be a great HS librarian.^She could probably write the book on the subject….

I stand by what I said yesterday. Bern should try a one piece suit that has a single strap and the fabric draped diagonally and snugly over the body. It would accentuate the bust line and minimize the odd extra pound on the body. Burnt orange or dusty rose or aqua would work for her, too.

She tends to be gravitating towards drab colours and all two-piece suits. Perhaps Bern needs a Timmie’s about now before continuing with her suit hunt.

Poor Delta! All the commentators are overlooking her and the fine choice of a bikini she has made! Grumpy Bernice will never be satisfied with any bathing suit, because it is not the suit that is the source of her discontent. Bernice is frustrated that Delta found a good suit quickly, while she did not; that she tried numerous suits without finding one she liked; that she isn’t as “pretty” as most of the other girls in her circle (Luann, Delta, Tiffany, Crystal, Rosa). if she’d get over her frump-and-grump routine and get a fairly simple make-over, she could hold her own without trouble….

DID YOU SEE THE BIKINI THAT DELTA HAS? WOW. NOW IF SHE CAN HELP BERNICE OVER HER INSECURITY, WHICH IS BASICALLY THE SAME PROBLEM WITH GUNTHER

Is Crystal going to wear an iddy biddy black bikini?

oh come ON, Delta…model it for us!

I once worked with a person like Bernice. He wasn’t happy unless he was unhappy as he was always griping about something.

OK, now will the actual pool party be Saturday’s strip or Sunday’s?Frankly, it could run all next week.IMHO when Gunther sees what Rosa has chosen for herself, he will quite forget his appearance.

Agree with those who would like to see a “Zane comeback” of some sort. Bernice used to just be serious and overly cynical. Now she’s bordering on flat-out unpleasant all the time. Bern is a good character, I don’t like seeing her bordering on unlikeable.

Summer is practically over, and they all are just now buying swimsuits? I can understand Gunther. The last time he wore his trunks was when he was in Grade School, but Bernice and Delta?

Bernice. You don’t HAVE to wear a bikini, you know.

Maybe Bern would feel better about her body if she quit reading so much and got some exercise.

Bern…. Chill out! Talk about “mad genius….” ;-)

Although I do sympathize with Bern, a bit. Events like this pool party are often used as ‘fashion shows" to try and show up the “competition,” when there’s absolutely no need for competition. It should just be about “having fun.” It’s, in part, why many American schools require “uniforms.”

A prime example from my “8th grade” class. Public middle school…. no uniform or other requirements other than to be “properly dressed.” This was back in the era of “hot pants.” Sure enough, one morning, a student (I’d say 12-13 but already “extremely physically mature” for her age) came to school wearing a set of “royal violet” velveteen hot pants and a matching lilac chiffon blouse, both of which left absolutely nothing to the imagination! Trust me, Tiff would have been both proud and utterly jealous at the same time!

My classmate was sent home at lunch for the day. Neither the students (nor faculty for that matter) could concentrate. She arrived the next morning in the standard “Catholic” girl plaid skirt and white blouse. I guess she learned her lesson.

Point being, It’s about FUN! Not “Competition!”

“Ya know what ah mean Bern???” ;-PPPP

Let Bern find the perfect suit…about time she got a break!

Hanha ha …..I can relate

am now leaning towards the idea the Bern is based upon Larue from the television series Gidget. In fact she is in the same shot like Bern where she is sitting on the beach in a Muu and looking like she doesn’t want to be there.

^^Actually, if you visit the comments on the Luann FB page, you’d see that Delta & Bernice were at least partly patterned on Karen’s lifelong friends, who comment there, now and then.

I know, have Gunther make you a 1920’s bathing costume, that would cover you up and look trndy at the same time. Have Quill bring you a burkini from Austalia, they were developed for the female lifeguards that were Muslim, very chic and designed for the water.

Really bad thought — she’s very thin with a poor body image. Could this be the start of an anorexia storyline?

Here’s a tip Bernice: You have to feel good about yourself BEFORE you can like how you look in swimwear.

They have to leave their underwear on if they try on the suit — AND there is usually a ‘protection pad’ in the bottom that says so…

There you are! Was wondering how you maintained silence with all the posters dissing Bernice’s attitude…

Mate? I thought these were teen people, not teen bears

not funny

You apparently fail to understand that the reason some posters are providing possible sound tracks is for entertainment. What is entertaining about reminding everyone about the tragic loss of a young woman to a mental illness related to body image issues?

That was the snake’s fault.

This shows how little you understand depression. It isn’t caused by being around someone who seems to have something while you don’t. True depression is a chemical imbalance,and it contributes to such things as poor body image — seeing yourself as ‘fat and flabby’ when the mirror says the exact opposite.

You can’t cure true depression by hanging out with someone who has an ugly boyfriend. And you can’t get rid of it by blaming it on someone talking about stuff you don’t want to hear.It’s very interesting that Bern was attracted to counseling as a career, because alot of people who go into couseling and psychiatry were (and continue to be) in need of this themselves. It usually makes them more aware of other people’s issues and able to help, until their own depressions or neuroses overwhelm them.

A better story line for Bern would be her seeing a therapist, not finding a boyfriend.

I don’t know where you’re getting that from anything I’ve said. Since my comments about your postings disturb you so much that you have to hit below the belt, I won’t trouble to offer any comments on your ‘stuff’ anymore.

And I won’t trouble to wish you g’day, mate.

As talented as Mrs. Carpenter was, she also was nobody’s fool… very talented drummer, loved baseball/softball, and had certain real estate equities… as demure as her image seemed, she was also quite lively… and on the albums with Richard, there were several in-jokes (both hidden and spelled out) and humor, like on the “Song For You” album, at the end of side 1, they sang: “We’ll be right back… after we go to the bathroooom”…….

100% agree. Tragic story.^I also concur.. both she and Richard had some tough things to battle, behind the scenes…..

The ironic thing about this whole “women must be thin as a rail” thing, is that most men prefer women with curves! The problem is that most of the big-time fashion designers are gay men, who’s ideal body image is that of a young MAN, which is exactly what some of those models (cough) Kate Moss (cough) look like!

The solution? how about Mimu, the singing robot?(She also models wedding dresses in her spare time!)

She is the perfect weight and height for a young (Japanese) woman and never ages or loses/gains weight :P

screengrab

Another thing about Mimu, she happens to look an awful lot like Naoko Yamano of Shonen Knife!

Now, yesterday, Bernice did say that she has a battle with trying several things, and not being able to like them… could it stand to reason that she has trouble finding clothes with the right fit, and not just a case of having a poor self image?..=I used to date a girl who wore a size “0”…. she wasn’t what people would consider a “beanpole”…. she actually had an hourglass shape…she wasn’t flat chested, she wasn’t “thin hipped”… she had a nice figure, but she just so happened to be very lean… she had to really come up with some strategies to find clothes that actually was cut in her size, but also allowed room for her particular shape..=And here, Bernice was saying that a one-piece was sagging and baggy ……that’s not just a generalization of “not looking good”… when something sags, it sags …maybe the size that she is, is made way too big in certain areas, and actually does cause sagging and bagginess in those areas…=Even though she seems to have a curvy shape, maybe she really can’t find clothes that will not only be her size, but also fit her , and maybe Delta could?… it also seems to be where the gag is, how Delta seems to have things “go right for her”, whereas Bernice “has to struggle with everything”… whether it’s just her perception, or the gag that Mr. Evans seems to play upon, with both characters….

So many people happy about an upcoming party.

Whatever the actual figure is (please pardon the pun), it may be more of the population than one may suppose… one example is the constant…. er…“innovations” (Vanity Sizing, as one example)…. and the difference in cut from manufacturer to manufacturer, and the constant ,synthetic “cookie cutter” approach they seem to be taking with television, music, and yes, even clothing….=Where one may have been able to find the best fit about 30-40 years ago, the clothing industry’s own ambitions as well as the corporate hunger to make money has seemed to bring about a more widespread change…. and add to that the negative images pushed upon young and old alike, and it seems that any way you slice it, there are more challenges in this regard (both clothing and image wise) than ever before…

And yeah, a good tailor is a solution for some things (especially for business wear)….but it also seems to speak to another issue that seems more prevalent… the downplaying of people being able to make their own clothes, or even learning to alter them…. it seems “home ec” is going the way of music programs and even gym, fading from the landscape of school…..

I believe Bernice is planning to be a vet. Whatever, she needs to decide before starting college next Luann year.

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Yes, she expressed interest in becoming a vet a long time before the ill-fated counseling intern interview with Ms. Phelps. I think she’d be great with animals (see her arc with training Royce to be a helper dog), but again, whether a vet or a trainer, she’d have to work with the animals’ people. If she can’t handle that, perhaps she could go into some kind of research or be a perpetual PhD candidate.

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She was great with Royce and did a terrific job with his training. And she was devastated to give him up. Maybe she’s still mourning losing him. Losing animals can rack kids up. Anyway, she has a definite talent with dog training and she could possibly have a very fulfilling career working with a leader dog organization. Or something like that.

This arc made me miss “Cathy”

I might have mentioned before that when I was in college lo, many years ago, I asked a pre-vet student why he chose to go into vet medicine. He said it was because he didn’t like people. I was quite surprised—I’d thought he’d tell me about how he’d been inspired to help animals when he was a kid, or had a special rapport with animals, or something along those lines. Didn’t at all expect what he said. Thought it was a fluke. Later, I asked a couple more vet students and got the =same answer=. I don’t know any vets personally, so can’t say more than this. I wonder if I’d get the same answer from pre-vets now.

Bern, you hold a green suit with black dots on it in your right hand. Go with it._________

I’m kind of drawn to the pink number, but that’s me. A one piece can look awfully nice too, just search for some images of Sofia Vergara.

“A headband is a cloth band worn across the forehead, just slightly above the eyes. What Bernice is wearing is called a barrette, and is usually made of plastic.”

A headband can be either plastic or cloth. A barrette is a clasp that holds the hair up. I would say Bernice definitely wears a headband.

“depression can be caused by chemical imbalances, but also by life altering events. Marraige, divorce, business failure, money problems, reading your posts, and so on. Now of course the chemical companies what to sell their drugs, so they will say it is all chemical imbalances. Not so. My theory about Bernice’s company can be every bit as correct as yours about imbalances. I will stick with mine until proven otherwise.”

I agree. The key word here is “clinical.” A clinical depression is a diagnosed chemical imbalance in the brain. Just being depressed or having the blues doesn’t necessarily mean a chemical imbalance.

They get to the party.Bernice and Gunther both complain about their suits.So they switch.(Bottom halves, at least)*This arc is just about poor self-image, teen-style. Remember how awful it was? Not so important now! So kids, hang in there. Life gets better as you get older and get prespective.

Bernice may be somewhat between sizes (that’s more difficult). I’m happy to have shrunk my waist enough recently to be just right in all size 10 jeans so I’m happy. Swim suits I could care less how they fit as I’ll only wear one around grandkids and strangers. More important to look good without.

That is a headband. A barrette is a clip.

IMO…. that would be a really stupid reason to go into the Veterinary trade…. have never yet seen a dog or cat walk into a clinic unaccompanied by a human, nor have I ever seen an animal dig out a checkbook to pay the bill for its care.

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Exactly.

It could be a one panel job where everyone comments on their reaction to the whole week,possibly seeing how it turned out differently than they made a big deal about it, =And then everybody could end up doing almost the opposite of what some suspected, which could be actually doing everything but getting into the pool……

Gosh, I’ve actually read all 166 comments…but in all those comments no-one mentioned what Luann will be wearing! Or does she have a swimsuit that everyone here knows about, if so, I’ve missed that one… ;)

“A headband does not go over the top of one’s head like what Bernice is wearing, so it’s a barrette.”

Of course it does, I can’t imagine where you are getting this idea. A headband can go behind the bangs too.

a great body makes any clothes at all look goodor no clothes at allmy clothes look badwhat does that say?

Now Bernice knows how Luann felt when they were in middle school!