Label-Less Tastes

Hello Athenaites!

Those who are close to me - and I mean close as in distance wise, as in everyone within a 10-foot-radius of where I'm standing - know that I like to talk. You give me a topic, and I can go a mile a minute. But there comes a time when I like to reflect on my own experiences, and even though you can't hear me now, I'm writing on something that I've come to dislike: labels.

Now, as some of you might've guessed, considering I write this weekly fashionable entry, fashion is something that I really love. I love the idea that we can make our bodies into works of art, and that we can send a different message to people everyday. I don't ever like to classify myself, because I find that just limits my looks...if I say I'm "punk", do I ever get to wear pink? If I'm "girly", can I still rock my Doc Martens? I forgo the labels of what society tells me is synonymous with one look - I buy what I want, when I want, and no amount of pressure from sales people, magazines, or media will get me to change my mind. I've even had friends that have pushed me to buy things - friends I don't go shopping with anymore (and just on a personal note, I never want to do that to my friends either. Not only does it make me feel really uncomfortable, but also, do you know how hard it is to say "no" to your besties, especially if you feel they have your best interests at heart?). My closet here at home is a MESS. People going through it often go through it and can't figure out how all of those things can be considered "my taste". After all, who has bright purple ankle boots and a silk black kimono? A hand-made sweater and a Louis Vuitton? Paint-decorated jeans and high heeled suedes?

Well, the answer, folks, is me. I do. I own, and wear, all of these things. So it really bothers me when I'm told, by whatever or whomever, that my look is not "it". I, apparently, am not "a la mode". And I feel that this thought - that there's only one "good" look out there - sucks all the fun out of fashion.

Let's focus on media for just one second. Keep in mind that "Media" is the plural of "medium". Even though "Media" is what is commonly reffered to as the internet, television, newspapers, etc., this is only part of the story. A medium is anything that helps us communicate. A medium is the texts you share with your friends, the conversations you hear someone on their cell phone having - anything that spreads a message. What you're reading, right now, is a medium. So media stretches a lot further than the ideas we get from the televisions, magazines, etc., (although they're a big part of it), but it's also the messages we get from one another. If we're talking about the world of fashion specifically from the world of haute couture, I feel like one of the misfit toys. I'm tall for my age, and a size 8 dress size. I don't diet (I feel that food is one of the great joys in life!). I don't follow an exercise regime, unless you count dancing to music and singing into a hairbrush most nights. I love smiling and laughing - anyone who tells me a joke late at night should bring a book, because I will be rolling on the floor for hours. And the best part - I'm happy. I like my life.

But to the world of haute couture, what good am I? A girl who's OK with being a little curvy? A girl who doesn't scowl at every oppourtunity? (have you EVER seen a model smile at the end of a catwalk?) A girl who can be silly, and have fun with fashion? Sacré bleu! Not that! Not -gasp!-individuality!

I like to poke fun at a lot of fashion's flaws, but there is a method to my madness. My point is this: whatever you're wearing, that's the "in" look for me. If it's torn jeans or a paper bag - rock it! Don't buy into all this bull about what's "hot" and "not". Fashion is supposed to be art. There's a line in the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" that says "[It's] greater than art, because you live your life in it." You don't have to label yourself as one thing, because is all honesty, no one is completely one thing - can you think of any one person who feels the same 100% of the time? Let your style reflect exactly the person you feel like being that day, and don't let anyone tell you what you're wearing is any less than perfect - if it makes you happy, and gives you an outlet for creativity, who cares what anyone else thinks?

Agree with me? Disagree? Leave me a message below!