Yes, I'm one of those rare kind who is a big time space nerd that religiously reads Vogue. I mean really, Vogue is my bible. Sadly, I have absolutely no fashion freak friends in real life. I feel like there is some unspoken rule that if you are "serious" about your job, and if that said job is unrelated to fashion industry, you should not be a fashion freak out of fear that you may come across as "vain."
I object.
Legendary Anna Wintour could not have explained this any better in the documentary, The September Issue:
I think what I often see is that people are frightened about fashion. Because it scares them or make them feel insecure, they just put it down. On the whole, people that may say the mean things about our world, I think that's usually because they feel, in some ways, excluded or...not a part of the "cool group." So as a result, they just mock it. Just because you like to put on a beautiful Carolina Herrera dress or a pair of J Brand blue jeans instead of something basic from K-Mart, it doesn't mean that you're a dumb person. There is something about fashion that can make people really nervous.So. True. I know I'm making a generalized statement here, but some people think that in order to be taken "seriously," they have to look like, excuse my honesty, crap. Sure, if you show up at your work wearing a Dolce&Gabbana evening gown, you probably won't be taken seriously, unless your job requires you to put on that said dress. But then again, that's called common sense.
So why does fashion make some people nervous? Is it because fashion freaks secretly trash talk all those non-fashionable people behind your back? Before you go cry in the corner and throw one of your Forever 21's at us, let me explain.
First of all, most fashionistas are not born with this amazing sense of fashion. We have made some seriously ill-advised fashion choices in the past. At the very least, I know I did on more than one occasions. However, instead of being absolutely clueless about what looks good on me and what doesn't, I invested a significant time and effort in learning everything about fashion styling. I have gone through numbers of fashion magazines and studied each styling in the photo spread or one of those ad spreads. Also, whenever I go shopping, I try on more clothes than I would buy, so I would know what works for me and what doesn't. Unless you are a model, chances are that there are some looks that you just can't pull off no matter how much you love. For me, I look downright ridiculous in anything that has frills or anything that's in the soft color family, even though I like those super girly looks. What can I say, pink frilly dress and I were never meant to be.
So when one of the fashionistas make some "bitchy" comment about some outfit, we actually know what we're talking about. Honestly, we mean well and we just want you to look the best version of yourself. Some people who are "sort of" into fashion take that as a serious offense but we just shrug it off. Sure, inner beauty is what matters the most, I absolutely agree. You can wear the most amazing Alexander McQueen gown with a pair of Jimmy Choo stilettos, but if you forget your brain, well, what a waste of a lovely outfit. Now, imagine you're meeting someone for the first time. Do you want to make a positive impression and build up from there, or make a negative impression and work your way up to turn that negative number to positive? and no, you can't just pull off more negativity in hopes that negative times negative becomes positive. That doesn't work in real life. So really, what's "vain" and "dumb" about knowing what would make you the best version of yourself? I would say that is one intelligent move.
In case you are wondering, yes, I have given some styling tips to my friends. Let's just say that after following my styling advices, they started getting compliments on how they look, and they have never gotten that before. Yup, I pretty much rock. :D
With that, I'm closing my own September Issue.
xoxo,
N
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