I'm a Fashion Hypocrite.

[papa_levante]

Do you ever think you are?

I can name models, ID designer items/spot a fake, critique shows (to the best of my ability ), put outfits together, read US Vogue once a month, and all that jazz.

But many times, I have a hard time backing up fashion so I give in and say things like, "Yeah, why would you spend $200 on a keychain from Gucci? It's just a keychain; it's not like a bag or something useful." Even a bag, I would say, "Oh please, I'll bet Wal-Mart/Macy's/American Eagle carries the same thing for less." Some people will say, "That model is so ugly. I wouldn't date her." It's not a matter of "ugliness" but rather a matter of having a photogenic quality. But sometimes I do say, "Yeah, she's pretty terrestrial." (I get laughed at when I can name models, so I stopped doing that when my friend and I read magazines together.)

Many days, I'm just blah. I don't dress fashionably at all. It's not a matter of cost in any way. Some people are surprised I know so much about fashion and I think it comes from the fact that if I like fashion so much, I should portray an "appropriate" image that makes people believe I am interested in fashion because I put together great outfits, I do my own make-up well, I own designer items, I read Vogue all the time and ultimately, should be majoring in Fashion at university.

Anyone else?
Am I over reacting?
(Merge/move/alter/delete thread if necessary.)

 

[softgrey]

um...i don't think that being able to name models means you know or care anything about fashion..

fashion is about clothes and that sort of stuff...

modelling is something else...

 

[softgrey]

anyway--
no...
i would say it's pretty freaking obvious that i am into 'fashion'...
i know i can pretty much walk around town and spot the people who work in the fashion industry...

so then it always makes me wonder if they can spot me......


...


i asked a couple of my good friends who don't work in fashion to give me an objective point of view...

and they were pretty much like..'yeah. you can totally tell...you definitely look different than the average person on the street'..

hmmm...
i hope that's a good thing......

 

[kmccormi]

I think there can definitely be a difference between being fashionable and dimply fashion-savvy. You can know a lot about and appreciate coutoure, but maybe you just prefer to live your life happy, free, and comfortable in sweats or flats instead of those painful, restrictive stilettos or narrow pants you saw on the runway that particular season.

I don't think it's hypocritical as long as you don't go around proclaiming that everybody should dress well and then go and dress sloppily yourself. It's not like you expect people to dress a certain way - you simply are knowledgeable about a certain way of dressing and a certain lifestyle. It doesn't mean it has to be your own.

 

[papa_levante]

I think there can definitely be a difference between being fashionable and dimply fashion-savvy. You can know a lot about and appreciate coutoure, but maybe you just prefer to live your life happy, free, and comfortable in sweats or flats instead of those painful, restrictive stilettos or narrow pants you saw on the runway that particular season.

I don't think it's hypocritical as long as you don't go around proclaiming that everybody should dress well and then go and dress sloppily yourself. It's not like you expect people to dress a certain way - you simply are knowledgeable about a certain way of dressing and a certain lifestyle. It doesn't mean it has to be your own.

That's a good point!

I mean, I knew there wasn't a specific mold I had to fill to make it seem like I was worthy enough to be a fashion-addcit. The only thing that made me feel uncomfortable about telling people I loved fashion was the fact that I didn't feel as if I represented fashion culture appropriately.

I wouldn't expect someone at PETA to wear fur or collect crocodile bags.
See what I mean?

 

[crepebacksatin]

i have to ask, though - if you have such an interest in fashion, doesn't it make you want to dip your toes in a bit?

 

[The_Ida]

^That can be rather expensive, esp. if you are studying I would certainly like to, but I have no time for work at this moment, school takes up a lot of time. I can't even afford H&M

 

[papa_levante]

i have to ask, though - if you have such an interest in fashion, doesn't it make you want to dip your toes in a bit?

I purchased a pair of Versace sunglasses for a considerable amount of money. I do own just one designer item, but I cannot bear the cost of designer items at all as a student. I mean, the time will come where I'll graduate and begin earning an income.

For the time being, there's just no way.

 

[crepebacksatin]

fashion doesn't always have to mean big $$, though... where there is a will, there's a way, and there's more to it than wearing only designer, right?

some of the most stylish people i know are students/artists/etc who make very little money, but just love to dress/adorn themselves and so they always look amazing. usually it's with a mix of hand-me-downs, thrift store finds, things they've cobbled together themselves, basics on sale, etc...

if you're just into casual sweats/sneaks/whatever, that's cool, whatever you like. but i guess what i'm wondering is if you love beautiful clothes/shoes/bags/jewelry/hats/whatever, but never indulge, don't you ever have a yen to play with your clothes a bit? i can't imagine reading vogue/tfs/etc without getting inspired to work with your own look.

but again, to each his own, and if you're just an admirer and not a wearer, that's totally valid of course

 

[Candice89102]

I completely am the same way. Although I love fashion and am very knowledgeable about the culture and the industry, I just prefer to wear much simpler clothes. I don't go crazy with what I wear. Just a cute tshirt, shorts or jeans, and sandals. I definitely understand where you're coming from, papa_levante

 

[Couture_Tribe]

Well, I would consider myself one if you ask.

I know the couture stuff, watch the fashion shows, know a few models, have my favourite mainstream and non-mainstream designers, acknowledges the latest trends, read vogue as bible, considering a job in fashion, and all. But in my sub-urd life, it is too over the top to dress too formal, as in tailored clothes in general, or even a well made dress. I have found a medium in between my inner passion for fashion and the outter image to represent fashion's future, that still fits my suburd student lifestyle. I still dress quite over the top for my suburd's level of acceptance (neon colored american apparel stuff, H&M divided, leather pants, thigh high socks, bright color denims etc.). I think dressing yourself to look fashion savvy comes down to a matter of having personal style.

Still, each and every person is different, some people just do not dress up themselves, just look at the designers themselves, how simplely they dresses.

 

[notmanons]

Oh god, exact same with me.

People look at me like a freak when I ramble on about a particular concept of an ad, material, model, fabric etc.
So I just stop.
My friends are nice enough to kind of support me and listen. I teach them a lot, they learn.

I think I am incredibly knowledgeble about fashion, particularly for my young age.

When people look at me- I look like a complete geek seriously, with the glasses and braces. And I don't exactly dress fashionable because I think I am too young to, I lack confidence and I can't exactly afford much extravagant clothing and I HATE shopping which people find weird too.

One thing which gets me is, when random people ask me: 'How the hell do you know this'. To be honest, I have no idea. Maybe bits from here, magazines etc. I try to keep tFS my little secret, because people will laugh at me if I say: 'Oh I go on a fashion forum'. They won't really understand, though my friends sort of do.

 

[pucci_mama]

I think I spend too much time thinking about fashion... as for some reason, people always asks me if I work in the industry..

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or..

 

[fourboltmain]

Am I over reacting?

Maybe over-thinking it. I'm studying apparel design and construction right now and I look totally out of place in all my classes. Do I care? Not at all. I can draw circles around most of the people in class and I come up with crazy things while they are just knocking off whatever they saw on Project Runway or something. Each to their own I suppose. In their defense, I'm probably just a f#cking weirdo to them.

Fashion has so many aspects to it, it's hard to define it all. I couldn't give less of a damn about owning the nice clothes, I'm more focused on the art and construction side of it. I'd rather make it than wear it, I guess. Look for me in class, I'm the unshaven guy with the ripped up jeans and boots doodling in the back.

 

[here.i.am]

I completely am the same way. Although I love fashion and am very knowledgeable about the culture and the industry, I just prefer to wear much simpler clothes. I don't go crazy with what I wear. Just a cute tshirt, shorts or jeans, and sandals. I definitely understand where you're coming from, papa_levante

i'm the same way. no one who saw me would think i was as interested in fashion as i am.

 

[MulletProof]

err, I don't know.. I guess it can be considered hypocresy when you think of fashion as a set of rules that revolve around luxury or a slightly snobbish attitude towards the difference you can tell between something insignificant like shoes, purses, whatever.. and then being brought back to reality and see that most of these things are really irrelevant, if not extraordinary for someone with an average lifestyle or income living in a normal town, and you can hardly integrate all the rituals that for some popular reason validate what we understand as "fashion". and that's when it all starts feeling very fake?.

I don't really feel hypocrite, I'm not into fashion for the amount of extravaganze that might potentially get me noticed, brands I can gather in my wardrobe or dress codes I can learn about and impose on me and everybody else.. I just feel like I love it by mere illustration.. visual illustration.. aesthetics, and it inevitably influences the way I dress even when I'm not thinking it just because almost each and every garment that's in my closet has been picked and decided by me and nobody else, and I carry my ideas everywhere I go.. including stores (of all kind).
as much as I appreciate a lot of designers and wish I could own plenty of their creations, wearing a label does not equal fashion in my book. I've seen a good number of women (my aunt included) wearing LV purses, Fendi jackets, D&G sunglasses, you name it.. but they couldn't care less about the process behind what they bought or the rest of the work the house does.. that's interest, for me. and a lot of label-whores don't have it. they're into designers for some reasons I truly couldn't be bother to find out but I'm pretty certain it's not fashion.. which equals creativity for me. and creativity, as well as identity and expression 'can' be priceless, too. especially when it's your own.

 

[bismarck]

I totally agree that just observing and admiring fashion shouldn't require that one is...dressed to match, I guess I'll say. I can't sing at all, but I still love to hear beautiful voices, and I have no coordination but I love watching people who do have coordination dance...and I also dance myself even though I really can't. People generally have a different attitude towards fashion than they do with other arts, I don't think they understand that it has the potential to be complex and truly creative. I say keep on enjoying it (fashion is music for the eyes. There, I said it). But do try getting dressed up sometime--it's so much fun and as others have said, doesn't have to be expensive.

 

[seanutbutter]

Doesn't mean you're a hypocrite - you're just human. It's like how the skilled makeup artist wears no makeup, the fashion designer prefers Target, the Disney employee has an annual pass to Universal Studios, and so forth.

 

[Spike413]

I've been studying fashion design for two years now, it's my passion, my pulse. I breathe it, and anybody who knows me, or has at least had a conversation with me about the subject, can tell.

Looking at me is another thing though. I dress like any average 21 year old most of the time, especially when I'm working on a project. It's probably more the way I carry myself, I walk as if the world is a runway, even in jeans and a tee and that's what seperates me from the average 21 year olds...

To me, the people who make an overt effort to dress like a "fashion student" everyday to sit at a sewing machine for hours at a time seem rediculous instead of fashionable. I've never felt the need to dress like a hipster or look like a trend wh*re to prove my love of fashion, it's apparent in everything I do.

Now, when I get dressed, that's a different story.

Oh and Kushie, I can totally relate to the "how do you know that" response. Even among my "fashion" friends, I'm like an encyclopedia.

 

[DuTTyRoCK112]

Loving fashion has little to do with how much money you spend on fashion. It all comes down to taste and aesthetics, being perceptive and also letting things come organically. Having a passion for fashion comes from having a very defined aesthetic in your imagination, and allowing it to play out onto your fashions, talents, etc.

I go to school in NYC and I cannot tell you how many students I know who are either interning at fashion magazines or are design students who are so... uninformed (for lack of a better term). It is usually very obvious in the way they dress, they pile on trends and name-drop the designer du-jour.

I think I only enjoy talking about fashion to people who know as much as I do or more. I find it irritating to talk to people about fashion who know littleabout it. Now that's not the same as giving advice, which I am always glad to offer. I'm referring to when people who aren't normally passionate about fashion seem to think they relate to me about their love for clothes and being trend-conscious. I hope that doesn't make me sound like a snob, but it makes sense to me. I am always glad to talk to someone with more fashion knowledge because I love to learn.