Attention whores...love em or hate em...?

[softgrey]

^^what's a facebook wh*re?...

...
you mean if they post loads of pics of themselves on their profile...?

 

[YoninahAliza]

I can't stand attention whores, they always make everything about themselves when sometimes it really isn't about them, its about others. On one hand I feel sorry for these types of people, obviously something is lacking in their life so they feel the need to always cry for attention. Yet, on the other hand some just always want to be the center of attention, whether its by wearing crazy getups or by being loud and obnoxious.

 

[ChrissyM]

^^what's a facebook wh*re?...

...
you mean if they post loads of pics of themselves on their profile...?

oh god... i think the facebook whores are a breed unto themselves...
posting about every unnecessary status update in their day
posting an obscene amount of self pics where they are "sexily" mugging for the camera
i'm thinking of one girl in particular that i know who posted an entire album of a vacation she took by herself..
which included copious full body photos of her on the beach... that she set the timer on her camera to take.. so awkward!

obviously she got my attention and i don't feel good about it


but fashion-wise i think the whole anna dello russo and carine comparison is really interesting...
anna is definitely an attention wh*re and i think she looks like a clown most of the time but somehow i'm curious to see what she'll show up in...
carine just always sort of looks like herself no matter what she's wearing or how on-trend her outfit is...
you can't say the same about anna dello russo...
except that she almost always looks like a caricature...
she has those fleeting moments where she wears age appropriate, stylish clothes that flatter her... but alas, those moments are rare

i for one, am most definitely NOT an attention wh*re...
i like for my clothes to be stylish and perhaps a bit more daring at times than what others would choose to wear, but on the whole i'm not going to be stopping traffic and causing a big reaction
i think on the whole i can be rather shy/reticent among people i don't know, so i like for my clothes to reveal a little bit of my true personality -- meaning that i'm not as much of a wallflower as i initially project

 

[wekilledcouture]

^^ Also ones who post statuses that are aimed at boyfriends or ex's and are just complaining about stuff.
I hate that, i just think um.. don't you have them on facebook, as if them reading that is going to do any good for the situation!
And people complaining just to get sympathy and attention.

 

[Zarina]

In fact, I don't think the problem of being an "attention wh*re" has very much to do with dressing. You can dress outrageously and still be very conscious of other people. And you can wear a simple tee and jeans and dominate a whole group of people.

 

[Katie123]

i agree but i think that applies more in terms of the 'real' world, not fashion. there are SO many extrovert people in fashion because in the end of the day, it's all about the people you know, so the more 'life of the party' you are, the best for you. so i think people like anna della russo that dress up for photogs and to get attention during fashion week feel like they HAVE to take it a step further because there are so many 'dominating' people that they must stand out in the obvious way. i don't know if in the end it all boils down to insecurity but there's definitely a lot of 'wanting all the attention for yourself' in there...

 

[Petit Lucille]

I think the relation with fashion is when people use a certain style that isn't true to themselves in order to get attention, and they yell for it while wearing it as an instrument to enhace the loudness. And then, other people relate non-conventional fashion=attention seeking even if it is not necessarily true.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

agreed completely. anna dello russo has openly admitted that now she dresses for the photographers and bloggers, doing various clothes changes a day. she obviously loves the attention, otherwise she wouldn't go out of their way to please them.

i read an interview with tommy ton (jak & jil), in the new Industrie mag i think, where he said that last fashion week carine actually wore the same coat to every show, making it impossible for the street photogs to get any fresh shots of her. she's obviously not in it to be papped or get attention, in fact, it looks like the opposite!

That seems to be a trend... often times the most talented, powerful people in fashion (Carine, Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, Emmanuelle Alt, pretty much every designer) rarely make a scene with the way they look- their work speaks for them. It's the bloggers and the, er, personalities that tend to overcompensate for a lack of authority by becoming these fashion caricatures, in a way. Or maybe it's just their way of expressing creativity- on themselves as opposed to on the pages of a magazine or in a collection.

 

[tigerrouge]

A person in a position of power doesn't need to spend their time playing a pantomime horse.

Yet there are people who have made a career out of dressing eccentrically in ways that have involved a lasting commitment, which I rather admire - Anna Piaggi has been doing her thing for decades, long before the internet ever materialised, never mind the rise of blogging as an excuse for an endless cavalcade of visual extroversion. Regardless of fashion or public opinion, Anna has continued to dress as she does, and to share her thoughts. I doubt many people possess her sort of stamina.

 

[Mchunu]

I can't believe that there would be anyone who would love an attention wh*re...

 

[iluvjeisa]

^I think that depends a lot on how you define it...attention wh*re indicates a person that would do anything in order to get attention. I would not put someone with as refined style as Anna Piaggi in that bracket.

 

[balmain1914]

Maybe Karl is talented, but I hate him. Fashion designer shouldnt be a celebrity, u know that.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

^ Just out of curiosity, why not? What he does directly effects our day to day lives much more than, say, an actor, and I would argue that it takes more talent- a combination of artistic talent and business savvy. I think he merits being a celebrity more than most "celebrities" do...

 

[Spike413]

That seems to be a trend... often times the most talented, powerful people in fashion (Carine, Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, Emmanuelle Alt, pretty much every designer) rarely make a scene with the way they look- their work speaks for them. It's the bloggers and the, er, personalities that tend to overcompensate for a lack of authority by becoming these fashion caricatures, in a way. Or maybe it's just their way of expressing creativity- on themselves as opposed to on the pages of a magazine or in a collection.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. I've personally never seen any of those women you mentioned wearing something that seems to have been planned for the cameras, and yet someone like Anna is still heavily photographed. Same with Carine. She could wear nothing but a black pencil skirt, a jacket and some heels and she'd still be photographed to death. I don't even think it's their work alone that gets them attention, it's they're presence, or style, or whatver you'd like to call it. They simply don't need to make any effort to be noticed.

To me, Anna Piaggi is a great example of somebody who dresses in an extremely attention grabbing way but doesn't seem to be doing it for the sake of getting attention. For some reason she strikes me as someone who is most concerned with pleasing herself, almost as if she's oblivious to the attention she no doubt receives. I also don't doubt that she dresses like that whether the cameras are on her or not.

 

[Spike413]

Maybe Karl is talented, but I hate him. Fashion designer shouldnt be a celebrity, u know that.

Fashion designers, or rather talented fashion designers, have been celebrities since Worth started dressing Europe's elite. Why shouldn't someone like Karl, who is that good at what he does and who is as influential as he is be famous for it?

 

[JuliaC]

I'd say I hate attention whores, because I link them with being egocentric and self-centred in general. Plus I don't love anything that's "in-your-face", loud and eccentric just for the sake of it - not that I don't love daring or someone who dares - but people who try too hard just get on my nerves. I love someone who is genuinely spontaneous and effortless.

As for the Carine-Anna debate, I love them both, equally, but I don't think Anna is an attention wh*re, she's always dressed that way, way before the whole blogging & streetstyle thing: colorful, sexy, sometimes not age-appropriate. I love her because she's so madly in love with fashion and clothes, I can connect with that so well.

 

[kriszti.md]

how do you feel about getting attention?
do you care if the attention is positive or negative?
do you seek approval for what you are wearing...?
or do you simply want to get people to look at you and notice you...?
(...)
how do you feel about others who do this as well...?

i think most attention whores are actually the opposite deep inside than they are on the outside. i only get mad when they deny their obvious nature, otherwise i view them as people who need help. they're only desperate for any kind of attention because i don't think they see who they are. they rely on others to judge them and to provide them feedback so they can 'build' a personality & matching looks from that. then they start to see themselves as that built picture.... and it's hard to turn back from that.
yeah, i used to be in their shoes some time ago, but i'm not proud of it...

 

[Squizree]

"The only people who deserve attention are the ones who don't work for it."
This rules out a large portion of the fashion industry.

As for everyday life, attention whores are everywhere. And they're increasing. The world is becoming more and more self-centred. Everything is always about me, me, me. It's never about putting people before you anymore.

Anna Dello Russo is only the tip of the iceberg. And it's a big iceberg.

 

[kathryn_163]

I think it's quite harsh to jump to suchs conclusions when as of yet noone in this thread has mentioned the word FUN. I don't know about any of you but to me that's what fashion is all about; I don't see the dressing-up-box claim as an insult, i think fashion can be a wonderful escape from monotony and stress in everyday life. I'm sure im not alone when i say that i find great pleasure it putting together outfits i love, outfits that to me, tell a story; are a character, and i look forward to going somewhere, even somewhere unexciting, if its an excuse to wear such outfits.

I think a lot is down to personal taste, I for one admire Daphne Guinness and her style, though im sure many of you would consider her an 'attention wh*re'. Daphne has said of her style "I do it for the old people who laugh at me in airports", a quote which makes me smile and i can really relate to, in both my rural hometown and cities i get strange looks, comments and sniggers from people for my 'over the top' outfits but in some ways this encourages me, not as a desire and thrive on the attention, but however strange this may sound, i sort of like to think im annoying some of those close-minded people!
also, i agree with the old ladies comment, on the occasions i recieve compliments, they often tend to be from old ladies with smiles on their faces.

I agree that there seem to be many out there how to just dress for attention; the 'scenesters', some bloggers, the Lady Gagas of the world, but i can't help but have some respect for these people for one reason alone, I LOVE to see someone make an effort. I am nostalgic of times of dappa gentlemen with shiny shoes and their hair slicked back, and when women wouldnt be seen without their dramatic hats and rouged lips. I am thankful for the freedom of choice and expression we have nowadays, i just wish more people would choose to express. I would favour a so called 'attention wh*re' over someone in jeans and trainers anyday.

 

[YoninahAliza]

^ I have to agree with you on one aspect, that I love seeing someone make an effort with the clothes they wear. I do respect that they can continually dress up for an occasion, it seems like so few people do now days, however overall attention whores annoy me to no end. I think its not so much the clothes they wear but their attitudes, they think they are all that when in reality they aren't. I don't have a problem if someone wears a loud outfit but I do have a problem when they try to get as much publicity from it as they can and that I think lies in the differences of the Anna Piaggi's and the Anna Dello Russo's of the world. Piaggi isn't looking for publicity for her looks whereas Dello Russo most certainly is.