Fashion Anarchy

Will someone please tell me the difference between Boho and Gypsy? Will someone also tell me who on earth decreed that grown women should wear ruffles this summer? And not just ruffles – ra-ra skirts!! (And can we please just ignore maxi-dresses? If we all ignore them, maybe they will go away)

The last time I did ruffles (and yes, it was a ra-ra skirt) I was about 14. I seem to recall a denim version being worn to a school dance. The outfit included pastel tights, white stilettos and a pink t-shirt, I was so chuffed that I had managed to convince my parents to let me out the door looking like that!! Now, of course, I cringe at the thought of wearing a short skirt of any description and pastel is not a big element of my wardrobe palette either. Less said about white stilettos the better!! But when I think about that particular outfit, I can remember the delighted and excited feeling I had walking into the dance looking exactly how I wanted to look.

We are told, often and stridently from some quarters, to be true to ourselves. Mostly said in relation to life choices, but why can't or don't we apply that to our fashion choices? Or, looking at that from a slightly altered perspective, why don't we consider how we feel in a particular outfit as well as how we look? Most women are, if they are being honest, fairly clear-eyed about their appearance. We know what does and does not suit us. However, there is an entire industry devoted to telling us that what we wore yesterday is not 'right' and we need this new thing for tomorrow. I am not going to support the rabid-feminist conspiracy theory on the evils of the fashion industry - in a very peripheral way I am part of that industry. I just don't support the concept that how I choose to look can be deemed 'wrong' by someone who hasn't got a clue about me. I love looking at new fashions, I love people watching to check out what they wear, I love window shopping and hey, I'm a girl, I love shopping. What I don't love is being told that because I am wearing something that is more than five minutes old, I am somehow a lesser version of me.

When was the last time you bought something to wear simply because it made you feel good? I hope the answer is that you only buy things that make you feel good. Why buy something that makes you feel bad? Think about the sorts of books you read, the music you listen to, even the way you decorate your home – you make those choices based on what you like, don’t you? So why not apply the same decision process to your clothes and accessories?

Now, about the fashion anarchy, read almost any fashion publication and it is sure to tell you that there are ‘rules’ about fashion. When to wear what, with whom and if a hat and gloves are required. For most of us these rules are largely irrelevant. If some fashion maven decrees from on high that A-line skirts are the must have style and we shouldn’t be seen in a straight skirt – guess what? I’m going to be ignoring that rule – A-line skirts make me look like a walking triangle. We protest about laws that are bad, why not protest about fashion rules that are bad simply by not following them?

My resolution for fashion choices is to consider, "Is this how I want to look today?" Not, "Is this how I am supposed to look?" One of the joys I have realised in getting older is the freedom to accept myself and that how I look is entirely within my own control, if I don't want to wear skinny jeans / maxi dresses / ruffles - I don't have to!

You know what suits you, you know what you like, and you know what makes you feel good – forget the rules, be true to yourself and have fun! Because if fashion isn’t fun, you just aren’t doing it right!!!