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I dont know which mercury is currently in retrograde, but it seems like no one has been feeling like themselves lately. Maybe it's the pre-summer workload intensifying, or the unkept promise of warmer weather; either way, we have entered full identity crisis mode. How does one get dressed in the morning when they can't remember the last time they felt like themselves? Here I am having to prepare my outfits the night before so I don't end up wasting 2 hours of my day getting dressed. Recent mornings have just consisted of rethinking my entire wardrobe, making a war zone out of my bedroom, finally finding a good outfit, dare I even say a great one - all of this to take one look in the mirror and only see someone else. The outfit just doesn't feel me. It's good, but I wouldn't wear it. How do I find the balance between playing a character in my outfit, and it still finding myself in it? When building an outfit, I think who do I want to be today, or rather, which aspect of my personality do I want to tap into today. Today for example, I'm embracing the Parisian teen in me: ripped blue jeans by A.P.C., my dad's oversized white teeshirt, a pair of light blue Vuitton ballet flats, and my Burberry trench coat. All classic pieces, casual but well cut, with a fairly harmonious color pallet. Today, I am cool, casual, unbothered, busy, comfortable, and French. I am faced with the conundrum of either wearing a good but out of character outfit, or a mediocre/boring one that I feel comfortable in. So I wonder, should your external appearance really reflect how you feel on the inside? Or should we be more in a "fake it 'till you make it" mindset? This all lead me to reconsider my inclination towards thinking who is the character wearing this? Whenever I look at a new collection from a brand, my first instinct is to picture who could pull these full looks off. Of course the vast majority of people won't be buying full looks, but it is always very helpful to understand a designer to wonder who these models are playing. But here's the thing, how can I wear these even if they aren't my usual style, and not look like the clothes are wearing me?
Last week as we were strolling through Amsterdam, a mother and her child walked past my friend and I. We both remarked on our common dislike for babies in adult clothing: muted tones, straight cuts... "they need to enjoy it while they still can" said my friend. While they still can...? Such a fatalist view of clothes and accessories! As I looked down at my wrists stacked with sequin bracelets bought from a kids store in Paris (the true connaisseurs will know that BONTON is much more than just a kids store, but will let it slide for the sake of the argument) I thought to myself, does one ever really get too old for this? There is no denying that people's style and taste evolves and matures, but does that always have to equate with dulness? I am aware my question is very much applicable to most aspects of life, but I would like to focus on fashion, considering how we think about accessories, color palettes, in a time of beige moms and quiet luxury (whatever that means). This is not an attempt at criticizing enjoyers of minimalism, monochromatic outfits or just a more simple style. These are simply my recent observations on the evolution of accessorizing and the prevalence of playfulness in current street fashion. Just consider the storm that took over the online fashion girls when, set off by Jane Birkin's death (RIP), they discovered you could add ribbons, keychains and stickers to your bag. Even Balenciaga made a whole campaign out of it. What I am trying to say is, it feels as though we have all (me very much included) (re)discovered what accessorizing was. For instance, I currently add a bracelet to almost all my outfits. Plus a pair of hooped earrings, a cute makeup look or some fun lipstick, a couple beaded rings I made the night before, too many badges... maybe we are all simply getting a lot better at styling ourselves...? My first thought was that this was a direct consequence of two current trends: coquette girls and indie sleaze. We've been into trinkets, little things, useful or not (think Sonny Angels for example), silly bracelets, and everything is looking a lot more cute. Bows, despite having been so severely overdone, have been a non negligible contender in the widespread of the add-ons. Lately I have found myself thinking a lot about details, and the act of noticing them in the people around you. Don't you just love having a conversation with someone not knowing where to look because every time your eyes settle somewhere there is a new little accessory or detail to enjoy? I believe if there is one thing we have to thank the coquette trend for, it is reminding us how fun it is to walk around the city wearing half of your personality whilst carrying the rest of it in your bag. In its cyclical tradition, fashion has officially brought back indie sleaze, which has now evolved to everyone pining for the return of 2014 style (both clothes and mode de vie). This made me wonder if this nostalgia trip hasn't regressed us to our childlike selves when it comes to dressing/styling. Now that we can all agree that it is near impossible to follow all the fleeting online micro trends, and that no one really has the desire to do so anymore, I truly believe people have finally been bringing back there own personality in the way they dress.
Sometimes, I feel like I have lived many different lives, and I'm convinced that feeling will persist when I grow up. The problem is, I cannot find any consistency between these different versions of myself. Only rarely do I recognize myself in past experiences, and I cannot seem to find a common thread between any of them. As a result, I find consolation in embracing that through playing dress up. Getting dressed in the morning: which character are you going to be today? The more extreme you go, the more ridiculous you can act throughout the day. On Monday, a stern, professional, stoic Parisian that enjoys carrying an overpacked bag filled with the most useless things you could think of, because you never know, death-staring loud people and wearing stilettos to Tesco's. On Tuesday, everyone's favorite fashion victim, recently fallen for the indie sleaze-ification of clothes, and to most's dismay, lifestyle. On Wednesday, why not keep it casual (between us)? The weekly melancholy sinks in, comfort overrules style, trainers come out, with saggy jeans and whichever teeshirt I wore to bed. So on and so forth. Growing up watching cartoons (a habit I have shamefully yet to let go of) I obsessed over the fact that most characters only had one continuous outfit in an entire show. The idea of having a uniform isn't revolutionary, and, against all odds, quite prevalent in the fashion industry. Consider Wintour, Carine Roitfield, André Leon Talley, etc. There is no denying that having the time and resources to dress up is a privilege. As a child, I spent almost a year wearing what I had decided was my character's uniform: a white short sleeve teeshirt with a vespa on it, striped shorts and a pair of converse. Come rain, snow or shine, there was no deriving from it. A friend of mine wore exclusively orange for 2 of his teenage years, a choice I won't comment on, but embodies the dedication. Is it a choice, or does it just dawn onto you? Uniforms make you recognizable, "yeah you know him, the one that's always wearing those glasses with the orange tinted lenses!" There is a certain appeal to having, owning, a trademark look, or silhouette. From the outside, you're a stable, consistent character, who knows what they look best in, and has better things to do than wasting the first hour of their day picking out an outfit, indulging in trends and impulsive buys. So what does that say of my daily characters? Out with the old, in with the new ! No better way to let people know you're having an identity crisis. There is obviously no right or wrong way to do things, but faced with the growing rapidity and futility of trends, is finding your own uniform the best formula to remaining timeless? Here's the thing: is it really so bad to look at a picture of yourself from a few years (sometimes months, if not weeks) ago and cringe/implore, "god, how did I wear that out in public?!" Clothes are the best way to keep track of personal evolution in the most public display imaginable. The most efficient way I have found to ruin my day, is by wearing an outfit I don't feel like myself in. Wether it looks objectively good and no matter how much my flatmates like it, if I doesn't feel right, I wont be able to face the outer world. The tenderness of the everyday ritual that is cleaning up the war zone that has become your bedroom once you have picked an outfit makes it all worth it in my eyes. All that being said, I now turn to you, the public, in asking: what is your uniform? What makes your outfit yours?