a few cents about fashion
october 7, 2016
chique. fashionably late. trendsetter. that is so last season. who cares about what we wear? how much of our character relates to the way that we dress?
i remember hearing stories (which may have been exaggerated) about people who'd been shot over a designer article of clothing. this was absurd to someone who wore a lot of hand-me-downs and discounted clothes. clothing is an expression of standard, though few question who is in charge of setting this standard, and why they get to decide. it speaks to people before we have a chance for our actions to demonstrate anything about our character. people base their first impressions on the way we dress. they make assumptions about how much money we have, about our character. a man in a suit is respectable, distinguished. a man in ripped shorts and a worn t-shirt is laid back, maybe a pothead. you get the point. i could use more stereotypes to illustrate, but it's clear that people begin to build their perception of others based on appearances.
when i think of fashion, i think first of the runways and the models wearing clothes that most of us will never wear in our daily lives, because it lacks the practicality we require for our jobs and homelives. but when i think of style, i think of something much more subjective. style is not based merely on the trends that clothing and accessory manufacturers push into the market; it is based on an individual's sense of what best represents their personality. and sure, there are plenty of people who just don't give a fuck and still manage to dress "presentably" to interact with the social spheres they're a part of. style evolves, because people evolve. we go through phases. i went through a grunge phase, a raver phase, a college phase (where i started to where more things that actually fit rather than hanging loosely off of me)--as i grew, my preferences in clothing changed. but there are certain things that have remained true, even to this day.
1) A good pair of jeans is hard to find. Levi's still don't disappoint, and when I find a pair of any kind that I love, I try to buy more than one pair.
2) I'm a little bit of a purist when it comes to fabrics--I want cotton, wool, alpaca even, but not polyester or any other synthetic. My skin can breathe in cotton, and the various thicknesses work for every season. Dyes look more natural with cotton. I don't mind that a lot of clothes have lycra or spandex in them--clothes should easily move with the movements of the body.
3) I prefer solids. My accessories are what add a little flair. I finally broke out of my tendency to buy all earth-tone-colored shirts and pants, but if you look in my closet, there are very few things with patterns on them. I'm not a shoe-girl, but I do love jewelry, scarves, and hats.
4) The only time I get to really wear what I enjoy wearing, I am either home or with friends. My "work clothes" attempt a degree of professionalism, but as a teacher, I've totally rocked the jeans and blazer combo. And well, I might add.
5) Certain styles or cuts of clothing are NOT flattering, and no matter how many people are wearing them, or trying to, I will not put on something that makes me feel uncomfortable.
6) I'm glad a lot of my shirts are long, because there have been too many times I've forgotten to zip up my fly. Tunic length works well for me for this reason, and is also good because it elongates my short torso. Being tall isn't necessarily important, but I think the illusions of being taller makes me feel better.
7) My parents had their bell-bottoms and at some point evolved to wearing straight-leg slacks when they became adults. I always wore wide-leg or flare-leg pants and jeans, and these are the ones I will always like. Leggings will always be something to be worn underneath something else. I do not accept them as pants, unless I am doing Yoga. (update: I now own several pairs of leggings that I wear as pants regularly. It just took me longer to accept them, but I still make sure to wear a shirt that goes over my butt, because that is how I'm comfortable in them. I don't want people knowing every curve of my body, much as it should be fine if they do.)
8) Certain styles of clothing never go out of fashion, and it's a good idea to invest in them. At the same time, it is okay to let go of items of clothing that you only wore once or twice in the 5 years that you've owned them!
9) It isn't important to spend a lot of money on clothing, but it's nice to have clothes that last more than a couple years. I don't mind spending the dough, when I have it, on a quality pair of jeans or shoes, as long as I'm sure they'll last long enough for me to feel like I got my money's worth. Cheap clothing is a waste of money, and where the clothing is produced is another issue entirely. I like the catalogs I have that tell me where things were made.
I can understand the "art" that is behind "high fashion." I can't understand the hype surrounding an aristocratic celebration of designers, though I'm glad there are some artists out there who've found a way to earn a buck. I certainly don't agree with the standards that the modeling industry imposes. Much of fashion is based on concepts that have nothing to do with reality, but with the imagination. I can appreciate art, but I can't appreciate when that art becomes something esoteric, inaccessible or unattainable for the common jane or joe.
So I'm all for a personal sense of style, as defined by a person's desire to express him or herself. I'm against school uniforms. I'm not impressed with designer labels, but I appreciate a well-made piece of clothing. And I enjoy the outfits I put together that are really "me." Ultimately, style is about comfort. The clothes you are most comfortable in do say something about you, though not enough to justify the assumptions others make about you. Character will outweigh fashion sense every time. And those who disagree are not the type of people I wanna associate with anyway.
when i think of fashion, i think first of the runways and the models wearing clothes that most of us will never wear in our daily lives, because it lacks the practicality we require for our jobs and homelives. but when i think of style, i think of something much more subjective. style is not based merely on the trends that clothing and accessory manufacturers push into the market; it is based on an individual's sense of what best represents their personality. and sure, there are plenty of people who just don't give a fuck and still manage to dress "presentably" to interact with the social spheres they're a part of. style evolves, because people evolve. we go through phases. i went through a grunge phase, a raver phase, a college phase (where i started to where more things that actually fit rather than hanging loosely off of me)--as i grew, my preferences in clothing changed. but there are certain things that have remained true, even to this day.
1) A good pair of jeans is hard to find. Levi's still don't disappoint, and when I find a pair of any kind that I love, I try to buy more than one pair.
2) I'm a little bit of a purist when it comes to fabrics--I want cotton, wool, alpaca even, but not polyester or any other synthetic. My skin can breathe in cotton, and the various thicknesses work for every season. Dyes look more natural with cotton. I don't mind that a lot of clothes have lycra or spandex in them--clothes should easily move with the movements of the body.
3) I prefer solids. My accessories are what add a little flair. I finally broke out of my tendency to buy all earth-tone-colored shirts and pants, but if you look in my closet, there are very few things with patterns on them. I'm not a shoe-girl, but I do love jewelry, scarves, and hats.
4) The only time I get to really wear what I enjoy wearing, I am either home or with friends. My "work clothes" attempt a degree of professionalism, but as a teacher, I've totally rocked the jeans and blazer combo. And well, I might add.
5) Certain styles or cuts of clothing are NOT flattering, and no matter how many people are wearing them, or trying to, I will not put on something that makes me feel uncomfortable.
6) I'm glad a lot of my shirts are long, because there have been too many times I've forgotten to zip up my fly. Tunic length works well for me for this reason, and is also good because it elongates my short torso. Being tall isn't necessarily important, but I think the illusions of being taller makes me feel better.
7) My parents had their bell-bottoms and at some point evolved to wearing straight-leg slacks when they became adults. I always wore wide-leg or flare-leg pants and jeans, and these are the ones I will always like. Leggings will always be something to be worn underneath something else. I do not accept them as pants, unless I am doing Yoga. (update: I now own several pairs of leggings that I wear as pants regularly. It just took me longer to accept them, but I still make sure to wear a shirt that goes over my butt, because that is how I'm comfortable in them. I don't want people knowing every curve of my body, much as it should be fine if they do.)
8) Certain styles of clothing never go out of fashion, and it's a good idea to invest in them. At the same time, it is okay to let go of items of clothing that you only wore once or twice in the 5 years that you've owned them!
9) It isn't important to spend a lot of money on clothing, but it's nice to have clothes that last more than a couple years. I don't mind spending the dough, when I have it, on a quality pair of jeans or shoes, as long as I'm sure they'll last long enough for me to feel like I got my money's worth. Cheap clothing is a waste of money, and where the clothing is produced is another issue entirely. I like the catalogs I have that tell me where things were made.
I can understand the "art" that is behind "high fashion." I can't understand the hype surrounding an aristocratic celebration of designers, though I'm glad there are some artists out there who've found a way to earn a buck. I certainly don't agree with the standards that the modeling industry imposes. Much of fashion is based on concepts that have nothing to do with reality, but with the imagination. I can appreciate art, but I can't appreciate when that art becomes something esoteric, inaccessible or unattainable for the common jane or joe.
So I'm all for a personal sense of style, as defined by a person's desire to express him or herself. I'm against school uniforms. I'm not impressed with designer labels, but I appreciate a well-made piece of clothing. And I enjoy the outfits I put together that are really "me." Ultimately, style is about comfort. The clothes you are most comfortable in do say something about you, though not enough to justify the assumptions others make about you. Character will outweigh fashion sense every time. And those who disagree are not the type of people I wanna associate with anyway.
I didn't even touch on the racist history of the fashion industry. There are designers who are still doing things that are not okay, and I'm referring to racist fashion, fashion based upon cultural appropriation, the amount of waste and pollution generated by the fashion industry, as well as the workers who are exploited in countries with looser labor laws which the fashion industry perpetuates. All not okay, all things I did consider when I wrote this, but failed to mention, and am adding now.
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