Too school for school

Ok, so I’ve probably grown to be a bit of an opinionated twit over the last couple of years – but there are some things that really get my back up and then if something triggers it I can’t help but express my annoyance. And obviously I’m not saying anything I think is ‘correct’ or implying if people think otherwise then they are ‘wrong’, we all have our own opinions, this is just mine.

So, the whole issue of ‘trends’ and being ‘cool’. I have grown to hate 'trends'. And coming from someone who works in fashion that is probably a sin. Who cares. I LOVE clothes. Clothes are a hobby of mine, I think about them all the time, I am inspired by them. And to many people this would make me sound like a vacuous loser I’m sure. But I have grown to kinda hate ‘fashunnn’.

At work this week, while looking over a look book I pointed out an outfit that I really wasn’t keen on. It reminded me of what the little girls were wearing when I was at primary school, a mash up of dress/skirt and trousers with odd proportions. Co worker goes on to say something along the lines of how ordinary people wouldn’t ‘understand’ that that was ‘cool’. They’re doing that on the catwalks now you know?

My immediate response was ‘Right, and why does that make it cool?’ Just because it is on the catwalks why does that define it as being cool? And who decides that that is cool? And why on earth do ‘ordinary’ people need to ‘understand’ it? If you like it you like it, if you don’t you don’t. So because something is on the catwalk that means that it is ‘cool’ and so you should wear it? And surely changing your style season by season to fit in with the trends isn't real 'style'? What bullshit. I didn’t really get a response...

Now as a lover of all things 70s I probably look like a sheep now when I’m wearing my flared jeans and fringed bag etc because of the massive hippy 70s revival. But that’s always going to happen, nobody dresses really originally, in fact I am completely unoriginal when it comes down to it because loads of people are into the stuff I am. But I will always love that stuff, I won’t be throwing my 70s gear away when it is no longer fashionable and I was into it before it was 'cool', as were many of my friends.

As people who live and breathe fashion, shouldn’t people in ‘fashion’ embrace their own passion for clothes without slavishly following trends that dictate what we should be wearing? Colour blocking for example, this is one of my pet hates right now. It’s in every magazine – how to wear this, what colours to wear, how to wear that. As it would be of course, they’re fashion magazines. Of course I’m not saying that colour blocking is horrible or that all people who choose to wear it are sheep – so anyone who loves this of course I am not meaning to slag you off. But within the last month or so all I see are people wearing acid bright jeans or primary colour jumpers with a clashing skirt or shoe. And it just feels like – you would never have been wearing that a few months ago. And now you are it doesn’t look cool to me, it just looks like ‘today I am channelling – colour blocking! Because that’s cool now don’t cha know!’ And is that real style – really? 


Over and out!