Monday, July 4, 2016

Fashion and Style

Yet again I am here posting a random thought.

To be able to explore more on this topic, I picked up an online course on fashion, which I eventually did not finish. Hence my take on this subject is more personal than professional.

I have always been intrigued by the subject of style, fashion, and the types, and yet have had my own fair share (or more) of wardrobe malfunctions that I will never be proud of. But this is not about those bad times, it is about the rest.

After a few malfunctions, a couple friends who also happen to be colleagues gave me their valuable contribution of time to avoid another malfunction. When they thought everything was fine, one of them told me that the main aspect of all this is to be comfortable. I am compelled to believe in him given my experiences.

However, there are a lot of people who would walk that extra mile in pain wearing a smile to try hard to cover the agony they compel themselves to carry. In fact, a close friend always tells me "Beauty is pain" and she does things painful to her to seem beautiful. However, I have recently in the past been rebellious to please people to be accepted. It is a never ending saga to go about pleasing people by putting yourself in pain or betraying your own ideas in life.

There is another close friend in my circle, who actually does care for people. She probably cares for them a lot more than she does for herself. But the topic I am here to discuss is about her sense of dressing. I like her in any outfit she is in. I was pondering why, and realized that it is her confidence that makes her carry herself comfortably. She is unapologetic in saying no to a way of wearing whatever is uncomfortable to her. She only chooses what she feels comfortable to her. Surprisingly, I don't know if it co-incidence or not, she looks fabulous even in the most senseless colour combinations, and patterns of stitches that make the very outfit(I somehow overuse the word dress. I am trying hard not to abuse it by not using it at all)

The former friend I mentioned tends to wear clothes that don't look bad, and are not bad by themselves. But I don't find her appealing always. It is very rare that I take a moment to spare her my attention. On the contrary, I take time to keep my mind off her presentation or try to un-see what I saw. I always get reprimands from her, with her comments that I dress like an old woman. Sometimes the latter also worries I am turning into an old and grumpy woman.

At one point, I absolutely had to snap. When she(former) wanted me to alter a dress of mine to make it appealing to the "current trend" I just could not stand it. Because it was one that I got stitched to my interest. I was unapologetic to say "I don't believe I should wear what the self-proclaimed fashion gods believe I should be wearing. What I wear is pretty comfortable and fashionable to me" In spite of this agitated response, I still get unsolicited advises on how I should be fashionable by following a current trend.

Fashion, in my opinion is whatever one wears, and not always following a current trend or a person. I was a 15 year old when an old man in a bangle store told me that fashion is whatever one wears, and one must wear what one likes to wear. I still find that empowering. For fashion to be stylish, one must be confident, and to be confident, one must feel comfortable in one's own skin. Because it is not just what we wear, it is also what we don't do to our clothes, our skin, our hair or our very structure.

It is easier said that done for me to tell that you should like yourself however you are, when I beat myself up on not being slim. But there are times you must tell yourself that nobody is perfect.
Perfection is your own perception of how you want to be. If you want to be fashionable and stylish, be that! Not being that, is what self proclaimed fashion gods en-cash on. There is nothing to be ashamed of in getting your clothes stitched by a tailor, when you pick your own fabric, colour, and pattern, and he goes by how you want it done. You are your own stylist!

Beauty is not pain. Neither does it lie in you (inside nor out).
When someone says you are beautiful, it is the beauty in their eyes that gives you a compliment. 

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