Hello, all!
Just wanted to tell you that I have written several pieces for Stylishbehavior.com. Pls. visit the site and search for the following articles:
"Don't You Just Love Being SingleWhiteFemaled?"
"'80s Belts: Just Plain Loopy"
"Cut Out the Cutouts"
"The Fall of an Empire"
"Bound and Bagged"
"The Bolero: Olé or Oh No?"
- Lisette Atiyeh, a.k.a. TangoDiva
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Do Clothes Really Make the Woman?
A suit walks through the door. "Ah," we think," he must be an elegant, respectable, responsible fellow." Meanwhile, a second glance reveals that he is prone to public nasal spelunking... In one respect, I suppose, clothes do make the man/woman. In a pragmatic and, frankly, cynical sense, when it comes to making a visual impression, a person may size you up, as it were, based on what you're wearing. However, personally, I prefer to own my look. I do not like my clothes wearing me, rather, I consider them to be an expression of my personality.
That is why I consider imitation to be a nuisance rather than a form of flattery; slipping into a knockoff of someone's outfit is, in many cases, akin to attempting to absorb and reflect that person's inner self. I am not referring, of course, to gaining inspiration from others. I am referring to out-and-out copy-catting which, by the time we reach age 20, should be a thing of the past.
Sadly, there is a great deal of double-talk in the fashion realm. We are verbally encouraged to "be different," have our "own look," all the while being bombarded by dress after dress or shoe after shoe in the same style, or permutations thereof. So, while we are told to "make a statement" with our clothing, through trend peddling, we are pushed into making the same statement as everyone else! Too many buy into -- literally -- the images they're assaulted with: impossibly trim women (it's called air-brushing, which is what they do to your picture after you've had liposuction) tripping lithely down the street in breezy dresses. Such images tell us that we'll turn heads too, if we wear Mr. X's version of the trapeze dress (you know, the one that looks a lot like Ms. Y's latest creation, but in a different color).
The problem is, not everyone is as trim as the women in the photos, nor should be. Some people simply should not wear trapeze dresses, or baby-doll dresses, or certain fabric treatments because they are not built for them, and that's okay. Furthermore, they have no particular love for a given style, no knowledge of its history, they have no definite opinions, no "fashion conviction," really, no sense of style; they just follow the crowd. A cheerful ruffle may not match a particular wearer's Spartan sensibilities any more than demure Audreyish flats would a flamboyant spitfire's. The trick is not in changing your temperament, but in being proud enough of who you are to dress accordingly.
So, from this writer, this is the highest praise a copy-catter will get:
Copy Cat, Copy Cat,
Where Have you been?
I've been to Divaland to check out the queen.
Copy Cat, Copy Cat,
What did you do there?
I tried very hard to imitate everything she wears.
The moral of the story? Don't be a copy-cat. Do some soul-searching, find yourself, then, let everyone know who that is through what you wear. Wear what you like, but first, ask yourself if you truly like it. A dress is all the more beautiful when the soul wearing it is such.
- TangoDiva
That is why I consider imitation to be a nuisance rather than a form of flattery; slipping into a knockoff of someone's outfit is, in many cases, akin to attempting to absorb and reflect that person's inner self. I am not referring, of course, to gaining inspiration from others. I am referring to out-and-out copy-catting which, by the time we reach age 20, should be a thing of the past.
Sadly, there is a great deal of double-talk in the fashion realm. We are verbally encouraged to "be different," have our "own look," all the while being bombarded by dress after dress or shoe after shoe in the same style, or permutations thereof. So, while we are told to "make a statement" with our clothing, through trend peddling, we are pushed into making the same statement as everyone else! Too many buy into -- literally -- the images they're assaulted with: impossibly trim women (it's called air-brushing, which is what they do to your picture after you've had liposuction) tripping lithely down the street in breezy dresses. Such images tell us that we'll turn heads too, if we wear Mr. X's version of the trapeze dress (you know, the one that looks a lot like Ms. Y's latest creation, but in a different color).
The problem is, not everyone is as trim as the women in the photos, nor should be. Some people simply should not wear trapeze dresses, or baby-doll dresses, or certain fabric treatments because they are not built for them, and that's okay. Furthermore, they have no particular love for a given style, no knowledge of its history, they have no definite opinions, no "fashion conviction," really, no sense of style; they just follow the crowd. A cheerful ruffle may not match a particular wearer's Spartan sensibilities any more than demure Audreyish flats would a flamboyant spitfire's. The trick is not in changing your temperament, but in being proud enough of who you are to dress accordingly.
So, from this writer, this is the highest praise a copy-catter will get:
Copy Cat, Copy Cat,
Where Have you been?
I've been to Divaland to check out the queen.
Copy Cat, Copy Cat,
What did you do there?
I tried very hard to imitate everything she wears.
The moral of the story? Don't be a copy-cat. Do some soul-searching, find yourself, then, let everyone know who that is through what you wear. Wear what you like, but first, ask yourself if you truly like it. A dress is all the more beautiful when the soul wearing it is such.
- TangoDiva
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