This blog is long overdue. I am passionate about writing and the power of the written word and I am also passionate about fashion and the power of expression through fashion. So this blog will be a place for the discussion of fashion, including fashion history, daily/weekly fashion finds and notes, and fashion and its role in greater society.
What is fashion? How did it start out, what role does it play in society now, and what importance does it hold in our role as people working as a greater community? These are striking questions, and much of the time, people look at fashion as simply clothes. And that couldn't be farther from what fashion actually means for people. Perhaps fashion started out, some time ago, as merely clothing to cover the body, but it quickly became so much more. People began to see the potential of clothing and what they could do with it, how it could be manipulated and tweaked. People began to see what it could provide us, other than merely a shield from the sun and the elements of Earth. Clothing may have begun as simply a means to cover oneself, but what it has evolved into is something farther reaching— something fluid, something meaningful, something free, something communicative and community-building.
Clothing, for me, became one of my greatest loves at a young age— and with many who love fashion, this is true of their lives as well. I have always loved clothes; I've always loved shopping for new things to fill my closet; I've always loved sharing myself through the clothing I've worn. But that, I think, is what is so key about what fashion truly is. When I was young, I just loved clothes. As I grew, and as I developed my own voice and into more of who I was supposed to be, clothes became more to me than things I shopped for— they became the voice via which I spoke of myself. And that is the beauty of fashion and why it means so much more than simply clothing that hangs upon a body— it is pieces of art that express that body. Fashion becomes a voice and not simply a cover.
Clothes are beautiful things. But not simply because they are intrinsically beautiful and aesthetically pleasing— though they are both. Rather, they are beautiful because of the power they give the individuals who wear them. For the wearer whose voice is woven into the garments he chooses to wear, clothing has become a means via which he can communicate to the world around him— without even speaking. What we choose to hang on our bodies communicates so much more than we probably think or imagine. Clothing can be a beautiful, freeing voice for some, and a real struggle for others.
I remember when I first met my best friend in this world, she had no idea how to dress herself. Clothes were not, for her, the magical transformative voice-giving vehicle they were for me. She truly struggled with clothes and how they made her feel about herself. She told me that she struggled with body image issues for her entire life, and that all shopping meant for her was frustration; that all fashion meant to her was confusion. She said she normally dressed to cover the curves that she felt so uneasy about, to drape clothes over herself that would somehow hide the physical imperfections she saw when she looked in the mirror— this was all clothing was to her. Fashion was not freedom for her, but condemnation.
I remember one of the first mornings we got dressed together in our dorm room. I told her to pick out something she would normally wear. She picked out old baggy jeans and a comfy t-shirt. Now, let it be stated here that there is absolutely nothing wrong with jeans and a good old t-shirt for the hustle and bustle of everyday life. But what I saw in that decision wasn't a choice that was driven by comfort or ease; it was a choice that was made to cover something up— to cover someone up. And that was what was heart-breaking to me.
Clothes are not for covering up oneself; they are for expressing oneself. Clothing can be an invaluable means by which we communicate ourselves to each other, and we must treat them in this way. My best friend quickly learned that she was trying to hide herself from the world by what she put on her body— but clothing is made for sharing ourselves with the world. Clothes are an amazing vehicle via which we can express all kinds of ideas and truths an emotions— it's truly an exploratory media that has no limit in its potential for artistic expression. What my friend quickly learned is that the clothes she chooses to wear speak of the person she is to the world. When she tried to hide herself with her clothes, that translated to how she thought of herself in relation to others. When she finally began to dress outside of her comfort-zone and wear things that she truly loved, she started realizing what it meant to truly and more completely love herself.
So what is fashion? Clothes? Bags? Shoes? Material things? Fashion is not a cover for the body; it is not a shell that acts as a shield to the world. When clothing becomes a voice, and not simply a cover, that is when fashion is born. When clothing becomes a means by which we earnestly communicate and share with the world, fashion rears its head and says, "Yes. This is what this was meant for; for so many greater things."
So be free enough to allow yourself to speak to the world via what you put on your body, love yourself and the skin you're in, and realize that everyone and everything— including fashion— was made for something greater. <3
comments and responses that will continue this discussion are more than welcome <3 share yourself <33
~Olivia of WangGuk, page curator
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