I'm a Fashion Hypocrite.

[ptowngal]

To me, a fashion hypocrite is a person who will wear clothes in order to present a certain image to the world, regardless of personal wants or tastes. Especially if he/she looks down upon others for wearing what they like.

Example: a girl wearing all designer on the streets, looking down at another for wearing sweats on a Monday morning, when she really wishes she could be wearing the same thing.

I don't like it when people do it, but I'm sure I've probably done it sometime in my life. That in itself makes me a hypocrite.

And like many of you, I probably know more about fashion than any of my friends, but while they wear the latest styles and always are well made up, I probably spend less time on my appearance than some of the guys at my school. I'm the get-totally-ready-in-under-10min. kind of girl. I find it kind of funny when some girls come up to me and give me fashion tips. It's not like what they're saying is something completely new to me.

 

[pucci_mama]

To answer the question, I do not feel like a fashion hypocrite, I wear my clothes as a form of self expression, for others it might be shallow but I have taken time to pick out the items that belong in my wardrobe and I love them all, not from just an aesthetic point but it is also very emotionally.

Sometimes I might be lazy but that happens to all of us... but I take pleasure in getting dressed.

I'd be lost if something happened with it.. is my form of expressing myself, and I do not see being trendy or following the newest It-craze as a love of fashion, it just becomes way too shallow for me to do that. Which is why I am reluctant to say that I like fashion when talking to people.
It is seen as a frivolous thing, and looking at it from a different point of view when people become slaves to trends and consumerism...

I'm inclined to agree. Luckily, for me there is so much more to fashion.
Sorry for my erratic post it is hard to get my thoughts down.

 

[Beautiful Stranger]

Im not so sure if i love fashion. I mean.. i don't care about models (but then again it has little to do with fashion), very few runway shows, most designers etc. I just like.. clothes. And personal style. And i really want to work in fashion, and writing about it for a magazine, i guess i already do (..), even though it doesn't really feel like it. And i do talk about other things. Litterature, movies, music, art, random stuff. But i might think too much about clothes etc. Maybe.

 

[notmanons]

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.

Oh god, exactly the same with me. I'm doing a 4 minute report on high fashion photography with photographers like Mert and Marcus, etc etc...
And other girls are doing fashion too...but stuff like high street trends, history of fashion etc. It really annoyed me today when they thought that they could totally relate to me, it was just extremely annoying. I sound like an arrogant byatch but I'm not really like that in person, I just talked to them politely....

 

[jennifer~]

^ It reminds me, the kids at school who proclaimed themselves the most fashion-conscious (and I don't mean to sound like the type who never recovered from the trauma of high school, but...) were generally your Wet Seal, Abercrombie types... trendy trend-lovers who might develop into the type MulletProof cited, with "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". Starting with my experiences in high school (as always), they're the first to express a feeling of superiority over their fashion 'knowledge' because they know what's trendy. And wear it for everyone to see... (Of course they assume anyone who doesn't dress like that has been living under a rock, not cultivating their individuality in the open world. ) That's where you'll find all these unspoken dress codes and judgments, not among those who are interested in the more creative/productive side of fashion. It's pretty all-encompassing; you have your Isabella Blows and your Rodarte girls, your flamboyant eccentrics and your low-key dressers alike. I wouldn't say you have to be like Isabella Blow--or me-- to be valid. I would leave those complexes for the... labelwhores.

 

[Spike413]

It's ironic though, because when you think about it, the first thing having to do with fashion that (I'm assuming) most people learn is the big names. I knew names long before I knew about fashion (I'm talking very early on). I guess then the obsession took over and by 15 I was glued to style.com to see everything I could.

In a way, being surrounded by label whores was a kind of catalyst.

 

[Ferdinanda]

but I take pleasure in getting dressed.

Me too. I find it incredibly exciting waking up in the morning and dressing. I dunno if it's the fact that I love clothes (and I guess that would constitute for love of fashion? :S) but I pride myself in having my own sense of style. Because ultimately I decide what's in for me--I might check the style.com collections every now and then but they certainly don't have a big influence and I don't follow them be considered "trendy." Please the average student at my University isn't worrying about any clothes...especially when almost all of them are engineer or some sort of science major. It might be this point in time of my life...I mean no one is caring about clothes right now just their schooling. Back in Secondary everyone cared, because everyone knew almost everyone. So maybe when I get older it wil come back again? Who knows...I've seen movies were woman compete to see who has the best shoes, clothes, house, etc.

Anyways, I find the girl decked out in the latest designer duds to always look kind of funny.

 

[softgrey]

Anyways, I find the girl decked out in the latest designer duds to always look kind of funny.

true...
the word victim comes to mind..........

 

[Kawari]

Oh, don't feel too badly about it-hell, you'd never be able to tell I spend money on fasion magazines if you saw me. I always feel like people on this site would take away my membership if they ever saw me walking down the street. It's always jeans, a top, and a jacket.

I love fashion-the details, the fabric, the stitching, etc. but I don't feel comfortable wearing it. Plus, I'm pretty young and don't really feel brave enough to buy what I want. I hate asking people for money, hence the reason for a job. One day, I'm taking my paychecks and going shopping.

There's no need for someone to be decked out in fashion designer items-if you're happy with the way you dress, than don't worry about it. It's when people start judging others and trying to "figure them out" without knowing them that I start getting offended.

So for all the people who love fashion, but buy the sale items at Wal-Mart. That's okay: My fashion is a fantasy that lays in magazine and my head.

 

[AnaBGD]

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.

Celebrities in front rows come to ones mind
Very well said MulletProof, I couldn't agree more! Personal style is much more important then following latest and only latest trends! Besides, people who love fashion for what it really is (creativity as you put it) wouldn't be caught dead parading labels all over themselves!
Loving fashion but not being extra fashionable 24/7 isn't hypocritical, it's normal, hypocritical is wearing fashion and not knowing anything about it (just because you can pay a stylist, but where's fun in that)!

 

[daniellat]

first post of this thread seem to came righ out of my mouth-fingers

 

[katebug]

Celebrities in front rows come to ones mind
Very well said MulletProof, I couldn't agree more! Personal style is much more important then following latest and only latest trends! Besides, people who love fashion for what it really is (creativity as you put it) wouldn't be caught dead parading labels all over themselves!
Loving fashion but not being extra fashionable 24/7 isn't hypocritical, it's normal, hypocritical is wearing fashion and not knowing anything about it (just because you can pay a stylist, but where's fun in that)!

I disagree with the part of your post I bolded. I don't think there is anything wrong with people who have money buying designer clothes, even if they don't appreciate them for the true artistic quality. After all, it's probably the rich but clueless people's money that help designers survive in the industry!
It would be hypocritical for them to claim that they know a lot about fashion just because they shop at Gucci, but if they're honest that they just like the clothes and the luxury, I dont see what's wrong with that.
Again, with a stylist, it wouldn't be fun to someone who truly loved fashion, but I don't see the harm in other people using them, as long as they are honest about it.

I think we should be able to enjoy clothes on whatever level we'd like to. Fashion shouldn't be exclusive to only fashion lovers.

I agree with the rest of your post though and you make some good points. It's certainly annoying to see celebrities feign interest in fashion when they clearly don't understand the importance or intricacies of what they are seeing.

 

[Deleted member 82231]

Good points. And stylists can use celebrities to propel less known labels into the forefront.

Also, to project their style to a huge audience- almost like having a really well known paper doll...their influence passed through _______ celebrity can dress thousands.

 

[2Nova]

^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

I'm the same way... I'm working and going to school but I'm also paying bills and it's tough to dabble around w/ fashion... I dont even have a good enough foundation or basics to begin experimenting with fashion and ti really does stink... because I know what I like and I know if I could in fact afford even H&M I would dress more fashionalbe. I have a sense of style but am not able to express it becuase I can't really afford even basic items to begin my wardrobe... like i LOVE skinny jeans with heels... but only have one good pair of skinnys and one good pair of heels so... yea...

 

[aldn]

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.

Like the one girl in my class who said marc jacobs contribution to fashion was sunglasses and boots...

 

[aldn]

^ It reminds me, the kids at school who proclaimed themselves the most fashion-conscious (and I don't mean to sound like the type who never recovered from the trauma of high school, but...) were generally your Wet Seal, Abercrombie types... trendy trend-lovers who might develop into the type MulletProof cited, with "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". Starting with my experiences in high school (as always), they're the first to express a feeling of superiority over their fashion 'knowledge' because they know what's trendy. And wear it for everyone to see... (Of course they assume anyone who doesn't dress like that has been living under a rock, not cultivating their individuality in the open world. ) That's where you'll find all these unspoken dress codes and judgments, not among those who are interested in the more creative/productive side of fashion. It's pretty all-encompassing; you have your Isabella Blows and your Rodarte girls, your flamboyant eccentrics and your low-key dressers alike. I wouldn't say you have to be like Isabella Blow--or me-- to be valid. I would leave those complexes for the... labelwhores.

I was quite the loser in hgh school but everyone knew that I was serious about fashion. It's like the comparison marc jacobs made for lv and his namesake label. lv is the sister getting all the attention but the marc girl is just as sexy and all the alluring for being herself. Most people who love lv don't even know it's designed by mj. i have one of those cheap pan am bags by him with his name splashed across and the people who give me a hard me time...i also get plenty of compliments on it too probably would try to jack me for it if they knew it was the same person.

 

[Fashionturnip]

I hate the fact that noone I know has such an interest in fashion as I do.

Me and a load of friends were playing the word association game recently---a topic that came up were "the 70s". I said Halston (hands up I have been reading Rachel Zoes book recently) & everyone looked at me like I was lying! Noone believed it was a fashion label made famous in the 70s! RUDE!

I tend not to claim to know too much---if I said I knew a load of models names they would think I was below shallow and might alienate them. not cool!

 

[2Nova]

^ i know i def with i had friends who were their own person and had a sense of style, like the people on here, then maybe everyday i'd be inspired to become more crative

 

[cosmogrl5]

There have been many interesting and insightful posts in this thread. I'll add my two cents...

First of all, it is not hypocritical to like something but not do it everyday. For instance, I love sushi, but do I eat is everyday? Nope. I love to work out and don't even do that everyday...because I just feel like I need some down time once a week. With fashion, sometimes you just don't want to bother being dressed to the nines everyday (which is what I think the original post is referring to), but it doesn't mean that you don't know how to put yourself together or have your own sense of style. Unless you are putting others down who do not dress well everyday when you're guilty of taking a break now and again yourself, you are not a hypocrite.

The original post also mentions that one reason for not focusing on fashion everyday is money- or a lack thereof. I absolutely insist that money does not equal good fashion. Some of the most well-dressed people I know do not have a lot of money and are forced to get creative or make their own clothing. Similarly, some of the weathiest people I know cannot dress themselves to save their own lives.

 

[Blithe Spirit]

^^^ good point. You could also compare it to the art world. You may know a lot about the current artists and what they paint, a lot about their technique and what they are trying to convey. That doesn't mean you have to shop for and buy art - perhaps you are more comfortable with bare walls. Just because you are aware of, appreciate and are knowledgeable about a subject doesn't mean you have to live it.