I think this is the first article typed thing i've ever written on this blog and i'm well aware that people tend to stop by here for the visuals buttttttt i'm in a writing mood and this has been bothering me for a while...
People often question me about my appearance (and I use the word 'appearance' here as an umbrella term for clothing, hair and make-up... not physical attractiveness) and why it's so important/interesting to me. So many assumptions, many of which are inaccurate, are made based on it that I find myself torn between trying to answer these questions honestly and just brushing them off. I feel that misconceptions tend to come from a lack of understanding about physical appearance and what it has the ability to convey if you look past the deeply entrenched notion of superficiality being synonymous with it.
I will write in very broad terms, generalising slightly so as to make my distinctions clear...
Fashion is throw away, whim driven, forgettable. Fashion is a popularity contest between consumers, a pretty, fickle air-headed beast running a race against itself with no finish line. Nobody wins but everyone gets tired. Fashion is for those who follow and lack the ability to create. It is rhythmic and formulaic. It is a conceited dictatorship. Fashion tells us how to be right and how to be wrong, it favours very few and is exclusive in the most vulgar ways. It is a draining force with an insatiable appetite. Fashion is a self-plagiarist. It is ruthless, it never forgives. Fashion does not care for self-expression, only self-categorisation.
Style is your own. Style is the layers of your personality worn like a second skin baring your soul to those with the insight to see it. Style is your evolution through life, the mistakes you've made, the triumphs you've had, the knowledge you've accumulated. Style is the goal post which keeps moving down the field so as to push you to be better, think bigger, search wider. Style is your uniform, the character you create for yourself each day and therefore must live up to. It is what you have on and what you leave bare. Style is innovative and it chooses you but at the same time it is an organic creature, intractable in it's very nature. Style requires awareness and connection. It is deep thinking, open- minded and international. Style demands respect even if it raises eyebrows. It seeks the approval of no one except it's owner but is modestly grateful when others appreciate it. Style is humble even when it is loud because there is always room for advancement. Style does not conform to social boundaries because it is limitless and unafraid. It allows you to embrace all the pieces of yourself, even if they do not traditionally fit together. Style finds inspiration in different cultures, literature, film, light, darkness and anything else within the reach of it's imagination. Style is an artistic projection without being pretentious, it knows that black will forever be the new black. Style borrows but never steals. It can contradict itself without being a hypocrite. Style is hungry but never ravenous. It never feels inadequate because it is authentic. Style is forever daydreaming. Style knows that you are one of seven billion but also that you are one in seven billion.
So in keeping with this thinking, fashion is something that defines it's wearer whereas style is something defined by it's wearer. It is integral to the way I am. To trivialise my style by brushing it off as fashion/the fashion thing/trendiness/whatever is to trivialise my being, cover my mouth, disregard my intelligence and devalue my chosen lifestyle, passions and the ideals which shape my hopes for the future of what I wish to become. And yes, it is that important!
To many people I know that all this probably sounds a bit whimsical but all the advancements of my imagination are restrained from materialising right now (for financial reasons) and I have far outgrown the looks i'm stuck with wearing everyday. In general they do not represent me in an accurate light, like I am wearing somebody else. I have vision without choice or outlet. A creative block and a constant reminder of my own stunted self-esteem. As such I find 'fashion' and 'style' questions even more impossible to answer at the moment. yet I am asked everyday. Funny really.
Anyway, that's it with my thoughts for today, I could go on ranting forever about this because i'm genuinely fascinated by the whole thing... Perception is such a peculiar force!
The next time anyone asks me about this 'fashion stuff' whether out of some level of genuine interest or out of malice, i'll simply refer them to this article. Ha.
Toodles to you bitches xx
(P.S. Title= lyrics to 'Harajuku Girls' by the ever stylish Gwen Stefani)
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