Once upon a time there were clothes, shoes, handbags and jewellery, some of the accessories which we adorn on our bodies every day and are connected to fashion, a universal language that we express through our clothing. Fashion is more than just clothing, I perceive it as a subculture because most of us adapt and conform to it. It transcends class, culture, race, religion, sex and ethnicity. We live in the world where people are constantly trying to define themselves and one of the most direct ways that people do so is through their clothing and appearance. And with these fashion expressions came the practice of style, an element that most individuals believe they possess, sadly not quite rightfully so.
Popular culture is no longer regional. The advent of cable television, DAB radios and internet has created a world where information circulates so fast that fashion statement will be on the streets in a matter of days. Popular online communication systems such as; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have revolutionise the way we communicate online. Instagram uniquely continues its march to being the most popular mobile social network and photo-sharing community in the world. It serves as a platform for fashion enthusiasts to easily exhibit photos of their style to friends and followers.
So this makes me to say that: Fashion is the froth of life, it’s like a contagion shared among individuals.
However, I get filled with a certain level of antipathy towards individuals who share their photos on Instagram or other social media sources and feel the urge to portray themselves fashionistas when they actually have no fashion sense, and you can’t even classify their style. Style should be able to speak for itself or else be describable in the eyes of the onlooker. Style bloggers such as; (Hiaddie, Style is My Thing, The Shoe Gawker, Style Pantry, All Things Slim, BeLoudBeYou and Kiidiosa) are some of the most dominant black bloggers on the blogosphere. These women don’t take style lightly; they take it to the extreme and have become style icons in their own right. Being stylish doesn’t merely mean following fashion trends, you could still dress like you belong in the 80s or like an old-school Hollywood movie star when your outfits are pleasing to the eye.
Take for example Dita Von Teese, the burlesque ace whose style rivets around the 1940s vintage look yet its modern and outstandingly noticeable. Also my former college friend and fellow fashion designer Kesshia Kumari whose style is so 80s and has been dressing in that era since the day I met her in college in 2003. One style moment that I won’t forget about her was when she came to college wearing footless tights, during those days footless tights weren’t in vogue. And as fall /winter 2004 approached, footless tights started to flood all major fashion shops and people started wearing them, including me.
Most of the times girls wore them beneath shorts or Paul’s Boutique washed out denim miniskirts and teamed with buggy tops to achieve that “authentic 80s look”. At that time footless tights also pioneered a way for cotton jersey leggings which are now fashion fads even among women who are unconsciously fashionable. Keshia always used to say; “I don’t follow fashion, fashion follows me”, always ahead of her fashion game. She had the type of style most girls would kill for, although she wasn’t what I like to call: an ‘immaculate’ fashionista like Victoria Beckham or Kim Kardashian but she was the Rihanna-esque, always put herself together in an effortlessly insouciant manner.
Girls used to laugh at Keshia for being peculiar with her style but those who laughed at her often imitated her style and became her ‘fashion disciples’ because majority of the stuff that she wore then is what is in fashion today.
Retrospectively, Kesshia is a perfect example of ‘from the sidewalks to the catwalks’! It’s the cool people like her who spend hours in the mirror experimenting with style and putting outfits together to look idiosyncratic who actually set trends and the rest follow including the fashion industry who are always the first to recognise trends.
For those who aren’t aware, fashion starts from streets because it’s the first place where most fashion designers look for inspiration for their next collection, and then it makes its way to the catwalks then to the shops and customers. It’s a ‘fashion bubble up process’.
Subsequently, this article isn’t solely about fashion and style, it’s also about teaching people how to be individuals and try not to fit in. Some fashion trends are not for everyone. You can’t be a size-plus woman with fat bulging over your belly and opting for the ‘bandage’ trend just because you saw your favourite celebrity wearing it. This look suits females of a certain physique. Ladies in particular don’t just wear clothes because they fit you, wear clothes which suit you and are designed for your body shape.
Women are generally more concerned with image, the older one gets the more pressure they feel to look younger. It seems as though people can’t distinguish the different between ‘dressing young and dressing younger’. For instance; dressing young is when a woman or mother dresses like their daughter or teenage girls and most of the times they end up looking inappropriate and uncomplimentary. Dressing younger refers to a woman who maybe 50 year of age and wants some fresh, trendy or funkier clothes in their wardrobe that will make them cut off a few years without having to look like her granddaughter or young girls.
There’s something out there for everyone so look for what suits you and flatters your figure. Explore the inner you, maybe perhaps you could try drawing yourself to a style era or someone you admire, they could be famous or an everyday person with a similar body type to yours and see how they dress, and then inject your attitude into it to form your own style. Following fashion doesn’t naturally qualify you for the fashionista status, and trying to dress like someone else you’re just gonna end up blending in and looking like models on the catwalk walking shoulder to shoulder.
On a contrary, as I’ve gotten slightly older, I’ve developed a discerning attitude and gradually departing away from obvious trends as I only want to invest my money on pieces that I can wear season after season. I don’t mind wearing my clothes again as I’ve become experimental with my style and love playing with looks.
So whether you are a fashion partisan or simply a wannabe, whatever fashion means to you just dare to be you. Coco Chanel once said; “fashion fades; only style remains the same”. Dictate fashion with your style, don’t let fashion dictate you. Artist Janelle Monae explained that her androgynous look which consists of tuxedos is paying respect to the uniform worn by her parents and that is what she stands for as an artist.
Remember, fashion signifies different things to everyone, as for me; it’s a about expressing myself, sharing my unique pieces with others, it’s a passion and a dream job that I am slowly turning into a career.
Doreen Faith is Ugandan and UK bred Fashion Designer, Writer, Business Consultant and Proprietor for @darebrand.
Twitter: @doreenfaith
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