How many times do you walk into a place and see someone wearing the same garment as you? Or you view a recap of what the stars wore to one of their countless events and two celebs wore the same gown? (Ooops! I would hate to be that stylist.) Sometimes it seems as though everyone is wearing the same thing!
I blame fast fashion. Everyone wants their hands on the latest trends and as soon as it hits the rack, it is gone in 60 seconds. Look at the Phillip Lim collection that launched at Target last month. It was sold out in less than 24 hours, and less than 24 hours after that, the next Target collab was all over the media. We had no time to revel in the beauty of Phillip Lim's designs. As soon as the collection hit the stores, it was like it was old news and after it sold out everyone wanted to know what was next. Consumerism at it's best.
The fashion industry is becoming a place of drones. One might say this is more true for the younger generation. I remember in high school when you were not "cool" unless you were wearing American Eagle, Hollister, or Abercrombie. WHAT?! Basic polos and ripped jeans with an eagle logo- that is what I used to strive for. That is what my parents and myself once paid for, to look like everyone else. To fit in nice and neatly in the Sea of Same. Gosh, I am so glad I survived high school. But sometimes that same pressure to "fit in" by wearing certain brands still applies today. Luckily, I have broken that mold a bit, but that doesn't mean I don't shop at H&M or Zara, I do. I love Zara, but I am more in tune with what I choose and how I wear it than when I was a naive teen. I have also differentiated my style enough that friends I have gone shopping with see what I have thrown over my arm to try on and say, "That is so your style!"
What is style? Is it having what everyone else has? Is is owning the gorgeous Celine bag with the blue suede side detail that every other woman is carrying? No. No it is not. It does not mean you shouldn't own those items, it just means you should only own them if those pieces are truly you, not because that is what Kim Kardashian and good-old-what's-her-name is wearing today. What you wear says something about you, or it should.
Trends are dead. Wear what you want not what is "in" because in a month or two, what was in will be out. Fast fashion is determining what we wear and to some degree how to wear it, but it by no means has to. Long live style. Make each piece your own. Don't be the person that walks into the room and three other people have on your outfit.
Who wore it best?
