i thought this post by mikeijames was especially on target...how do you identify yourself?
"It's sort of like the independent film getting a voice now. People consider independent films a new type of genre (using some of the same techniques used to take early nineties alternative into the mainstream). I think that many stores are recognizing that there are two unique fashion consumers. One's the conspicuous (the gucci girl, the chanel princess) and one's the fashion elite (people who can actually pull off imitation of christ for example). Though they rarely dabble in each other's world (i'm picturing the fashion avant garde pairing Demeulemeester pants with an unlikely Prada tank or the fashionista pairing her Chanel turtleneck and tweed pants with a totally funky Boudicca coat)...both spend incredible amounts of money for things they like."
originally posted by mikeijames in the 'state of fashion'thread...hope you don't mind, mikeijames, but you said put it so perfectly...
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"It is not money that makes you well dressed: it is understanding."
ChristianDior
Honestly,I hate being typecasted as a partictular type of style. Like pigeonholing people who happen to wear alot of black and are kind of moody to a certain Goth style. That's not really my thing.
When people ask,I tell them simply that I am just introverted and expressive. But if they still don't get it these list of words often come into play...romantic,moody,quiet,quirky and nonchalant. Can't paint a picture any brighter,non?
oh dear...i better answer myself...while i fully understand your reluctance to be pigeon-holed. scott...i will diagnose my fashion addiction as marginal....i straddle the line...i will take alittle from that side and a little from the other and put it all together...
once again...i do not really fit in, but i'm not really out...just hovering somewhere in the middle...
i actually like this, because i can see both sides of the equation most of the time and i find that helps me in many ways...
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"It is not money that makes you well dressed: it is understanding."
ChristianDior
in refference to 'mikeijames' post, i somehow fit into the fashion elite ( )
*i dont follow trends, mainly because i 'work' with them.. i'd rather play the game of experimenting with the 'next' wave and make it my own being one step beyond.
*i experiment quite a lot with quality basics and vintage finds
*apart from very rare exceptions i dont wear 'designer' clothes (when i do its either new designers or MMM, vintage and my own designs that make up the biggest part of my wardrobe)
*i like unusual mix of colours and fabrics and i wear as little black as possible.
*i certainly dont care about how other people 'take' the way i dress and i like to surprise myself with odd looks.. i really dont 'fit in' when in parties etc but i end up getting all the compliments mainly for i looking so 'out of place' all of the time
first i must say that i am quite to be quoted like this but i feel that i fit into the fashionista category. although i quite understand the allure of the underground labels, within my group of peers i don't have the personality (nor really the physical looks) to pull off most stuff presented by these designers. i ususally can incorporate one or two funky things in with conservative designer wear.
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everything is never quite enough.
I suppose if another would,perhaps,put me into a certain category I would probably go with avant-garde(though I find the notion of that word a tad tedious these days)since that is the side of fashion I am normally attracted to...that creative,more experimental side with a heavy dose of substance and soul. And hopefully realistic as well.
im a fashion-ist (which is a mixture of fashion and fascist)
i guess im kinda fashion elitist. i cant stand people who wear sloppy ill fitting clothes.
actually im gonna stop there because my next comments will be rude. and i'll start to sound like a certain herr. Karl
thanks Lena, i will not dissapoint you with my collection i can promise
i think part of the reason why i consider myself a fashion bitch is because i have this unrealistic fantasy about what people should look like rather that what people DO really look like. which is a good and bad thing, good because as a designer you need to create a fantasy which people want to buy into, and bad because its sort of soul destroying and makes you a bad person
I love BEAUTIFUL design which is why I adore clothes by Yves Saint Laurent , Claude Montana , Hedi Slimane , Issey Miyake , Yohji Yamamoto and even Giorgio Armani .
They could or can CUT and they have an archtectural sense of volume which makes their clothes FIT and easy to wear .
I used to know Ossie Clarke when he was at art school in Manchester studying architecture , before he changed to studying Fashion at the school of art in London .
Ossie had this gift - he could just LOOK at a person's body and cut for it WITHOUT A PATTERN !!
Such a loss to fashion , but he had it ALL and just threw it away through drugs , sex , etc .
( Incidentally , I was SO sad to hear that Claude Montana has gone the same way !!! ) .
i know it's slightly ot-but ...wow...ossie clark!!! ...i'm SUCH a fan... i'll stop now, but i'd love to discuss him in another thread...guess i'll do a search...or start a new one...
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"It is not money that makes you well dressed: it is understanding."
ChristianDior
In a blah city, a blah lifestyle, and a blah personality, my everday style is basic and *shudder* typical!
But my ALTEREGO on the other hand....I can hardly keep up with it! If I was to put it into a class it would probably be "avant-garde" as Scott put it.
I was always envious of people with a certain passion for a sport or a hobby and felt lost in a way for not having a passion of my own. But for the last few years, I realized how "passionate" I am about fashion! Discovering this in my late 20s is a huge disadvantage though That is why I like to be known by the tFS'ers by my ALTEREGO's style classification
i think people choose their-style for several reasons...some to fit in with a group, some just for ease and comfort, some to separate themselves from the pack...some, as a political statement...some use it as a creative outlet...( i do that)
i know that when i'm feeling insecure, if i put on the right garment , it's like a suit of armour that protects me from the world...inside my armour, i feel safe and i can project an air of confidence, even if i'm not really feeling it...
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"It is not money that makes you well dressed: it is understanding."
ChristianDior