Express Yourself

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Elleseptpiece

>> I know I've already posted about Elle UK's September issue but I thought I'd rehash the article I wrote here since a) the October issue is nearly here and b) not everyone who reads the blog can get their mitts on Elle UK so here is my few cents on being IN-div-id-uaaaaaaal….

Me (Photograph by Joy Yoon)

Fashion has always been a puzzling dichotomy to me.  What drew me to fashion was its ability to allow me to express my personality and my mood with what I wore.  Yet at the same time, the very language of fashion promotes prescribed trends – red is the new black, minimaism is in, maxis are out. 

It's like an intriguing game for me – to love its cyclical nature but to absorb all of it in a way that nurtures my own individual style.  I owe this attitude to caring about the way I dressed more than harbouring an obsession with high fashion as a teenager.  Trying to find the perfect baby blue vintage slip dress in Camden to wear over corduroy trousers was far more important to me as a teenager than Tom Ford's collections for Yves Saint Laurent.  In my liberal but sheltered girls' school environment and up against my more eloquent and overachieving peers, I felt that I could say everything I wanted to say about myself and my mood with what I was wearing.  i wasn't the prettiest, the cleverest or the sportiest, but outside of school (and later in sixth form), I could escape with outfits that felt like personal achievements.  Indulging in fahsion fantasies – inspired by Claudia Kishi of The Baby Sitter's Club books, the film Heathers or Harajuku girls in FRUiTS magazine – made the doldrums of north-London sububria a lot more interesting.  With a like-minded gorup of friends, our conscientiously 'alternative' (didn't all teenagers think they were alternative?) choices of literature, music and clothes went hand-in-hand and clothing was my weapon of choice.

Tavi Nataliejoos

Fifteen-year old Tavi Gevinson and her inspirational blog Style Rookie constantly reminds me of those teenage years of carefree experimentaion and standing up against homogeneity.  Gevinson's own style is inspired by 'people who have the guts to put themselves out there and disregard the reactions of other'.  And I, too, have grown up thinking bending to the way people expect you to dress is not half as fun as pleasing yourself with your own style.  it isn't about being deliberately zany, but about choosing clothes I have a personal connection to – clothes that evoke a memory or a certain cultural tidbit.  To this day, it gives me a puzz to put together layers of textures, prints and colours in a way that people recognise as being very 'Susie'.  Natalie Joos, a casting agent and blogger of Tales of Endearment, shares my enthusiasm: 'The shopping, the research, the curiosity, the discoveries; it's all part of the exciting process.'

For me, individualist dressing is not about ignoring what designers have created but choosing themes from the collections and blending them with my own personal style.  Figures like Anna Dello Russo, who often wears head-to-toe runway looks yet pulls them off with her own brand of OTT panache, feel empowered by designers.  She aptly states on her blog, 'I don't want to be cool.  I want to be fashion!'

Still, 'being fashion' can be confusing now.  We're no longer seeing designers proposing unified seasonal statements; we have designers who design to their own aesthetic beat and consumes who don't want to be dictated to.  It felt silly trying to find connecting strands at the autumn/winter shows when we were better off celebrating designers and their strengths – Marc Jacobs' kinky sense of humour, Haider Ackermann's sensuality. Couple that with the rise of blogs and streetstyle sites, the plethora of online stores offering vintage and designers labels and the rise of local fashion beyond the 'big four' fashion cities, all of which has influenced a new generation of fahsion lovers, who pick and mix from this fashion candy store.

Sagasig Annat

There's a differece between those that dress with a trend tick sheet and those that paint a picture of themselves with their outfits.  People like Saga Sig, a photographer who mixes vintage and new in unexpected ways, and Anna Trevelyan, a stylist who wears a unique mix of edgy designers, exemplify that expression. 'Some days I dress up in a look similar to when I was five, other days I feel like dressing like an old lady,' explains Sig about her mixed-decades style.

Staking ownership over your image is now more aspirational – it feels easier to carve out a signature style.  A light has been shone on the art of dressing to express individuality.  As Trevelyan says: 'No-one on this planet is the same, so that makes everyone original, no?'

26 comments

  1. Okay so I don’t usually comment because everything I can think of is mostly generic and again I can’t think of anything uncommon to say what won’t be repeated a thousand times or add anything to a discussion but I wanted to express how much I love this regardless. So anyway, I love this. It perfectly describes my own sentiments towards fashion/style. Thank you.

  7. This is great! You’re so right about how not everybody would have Elle UK, even though I’d probably buy it just for you.

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  14. I hardly ever by Elle but I bought this because I knew you were in it. Love you style, it’s so carefree and effortless. xxx

  15. Totally agree with you Fashion should be a way to express ourselves, our love and passion, mood and personality… But not to be followers.
    Bright colour trousers/jeans are very in now yeah?
    Also do you know Elizabeth Lau? I met this young designer on a Japan trade mission and she is so nice and friendly, glad to see her on London Fashion week as we lost contact for so long…..
    Shan @ Orchira
    http://www.orchira.co.uk

  18. fantastic insight into your view on fashion and all those little avenues which it can lead you down…

  19. fantastic insight into your view on fashion and all those little avenues which it can lead you down…

  24. Yes! I love what you have to say and you say it so eloquently… thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’ve always loved dressing up according to my mood/feelings/current life situation, etc. rather than obsessing over someone or other’s collection. If I like it I like it, if I don’t I don’t – I don’t really care who it’s made by.
    Instylation
    😀

  25. Thanks, you have made me feel so much better!
    I was walking in the city wearing overalls with a chiffon blouse and I heard many girls whispher, “OMG… That looks so bad!” and I felt so insecure it made me cry. But the more I realised that it’s the way I dress and from reading your post, you have made me realise that being more peculiar and more different you are is the most beautiful and the most bravest thing a person can do. Being able to express our individuality and not caring what people think makes you you.
    I know that people only judge because they are insecure. I’m not here to judge anyone therefore it’s not me who is insecure.

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