Saturday, February 20, 2010

Fashion frenzy; confusion, then clarity, now...

All this study of fashion is making me crazy.

I thought my identity was surfacing, but plunging into this world discussing identity, beauty and clothes has me drowning.

I went on a date last night and tried on at least 5 different assemblages of my latest thrift store finds, and I just ended up in a tangle of material...

My roommate, an innocent bystander in my flurry of confusion, just laughed at me. I was desperate for someone's opinion and asked her if I looked funny in my patterned skirt, tights and cowboy boots. Her response, simple, yet profound in my opinion, was that whatever I chose to wear, honestly did not make a difference.

"The thing is, it really doesn't matter."

WHAT. Oh, yes. But of course! I had already determined this. I don't care what people think anymore. That's right. I was "free" from that... remember Anna, I had suggested that you let Vogue know.

Ha.

Yes, so apparently, I am still a member of the court— or at least striving to be. I want to look like I belong, or at least look good. I still have yet to determine what that even means for myself.

What is my style? My roommate is right; it sincerely does not matter. But yet, I feel as though it does. I long to be free from this...

Well, let's just pretend for a moment that it does matter. If it did, what would I like my style to be? I would want to be an effortless bohemian beauty, hippie-chic if you will. But simple. There is so much beauty in simplicity I believe.

This completely contradicts the style of Louis XIV, and I'm not sure what Anna Wintour would say about it, but, let's pretend for a moment, that it does not matter. Oh, but it doesn't.

ALL THAT'S REAL IS WHAT YOU FEEL...This is a theory that expresses the power of perception. It impacts us immensely, as can be seen in both the historical context of the French court and our modern context with Vogue and how individuals conform to gain acceptance of the aristocratic powers that be...

2 comments:

  1. I totally understand this Lauren. I think about clothes a LOT. I don't know why, sometimes I even daydream about different things I would like to wear. Mentally arranging and rearranging, adding pieces from people I see on the street, then bemoaning the sad fact that there are just some things I'll never be able to wear on my top half. I guess if I had to live with one style of clothing for the rest of my life, it would be clothes that fit. I know jeans are your problem, but tops are mine. I look pregnant if I put on anything but an empire waist something or other and how often can you wear just one cut? I NEED TO START SEWING MORE!!!! I have all this jersey and no time!

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  2. Like Jessica, I too think about clothing a lot. Listening to your capstone project this quarter, has made me realize that I am very aware of clothing, and make a conscious choice in disregarding a lot of fashion trends--that there is this difference between not following certain fashions because one doesn't follow, and not following because one chooses not to follow.

    Another thought... I had an interview with Accenture on Friday. I, of course, wore the full suit. A skirt suit, because that's more conservative than the pant suit. A suit because that is just what I was suppose to wear. And I was sitting there waiting, watching how the kids interviewing with Mircosoft, only wore business casual rather than business formal, and wondering what would happen if I just interviewed in whatever I felt that wearing that day. At least I would make an impression, but was that the one I wanted to make? I think of it as role playing. I dressed up because that is just how the game is played. It very much is about acceptance.

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