The Difficulty in Moving On

With the current weather so sunny and warm, I haven’t been spending a lot of time in front of the computer these days. Perhaps it is this, coupled with the general anxiety I have as a rising college senior, that I haven’t been thinking about fashion much. At least in a substantial way.

On the odd occasion that I do think about fashion, it is always twinged with certain sense of melancholia, especially after all the recent Bangladesh accidents. It feels wrong to talk about “silly” things like aesthetics again, when so many have died for fast fashion. A particularly gruesome image of a man crushed under the rubble at the collapse of Rana Plaza continues to haunt me. I can’t help but feel partially responsible, even though it has been years since I bought anything from the known brands that used Rana Plaza for their manufacture of goods. What is particularly upsetting is to see so few mainstream fashion blogs (the big personal style ones) even mention in brief, anything about the tragedies in Dhaka. More so, I have yet to see any fashion magazine discuss the events either.

I want to argue that fashion is more than clothes, that it’s about capturing the zeitgeist and creating a channel for self-expression; nowadays, I just see D-E-A-T-H. It might feel overly dramatic, but for every piece of clothing (especially fast fashion) I notice, I can’t help but wonder: who has suffered for it this time round? I have always known intuitively, ever since I started buying fast fashion clothing as an pre-teen, that fast fashion sounds too good to be true. Though I have matured much since, with the full extent of the hidden social costs revealed before me, I have incredible difficulty in moving on past these tragedies to more lighthearted anecdote and musings in my continual discussion about fashion. Even menswear, which generally focuses more on quality and craft rather than trends, has lost its allure. I might be happy and thus learnt to deal with being small, but I highly doubt many others ever will be.

I wonder if there is any others, who feel as strongly as I do about the general appalling state of consumption habits in fashion, especially amongst the younger demographic that I belong to (ages 18-24). Perhaps there are more important issues that us Millenials have to deal with—terrible employment opportunities for one and chronic underemployment for another—yet the choices we as Gen Y makes, continues to matter with profound impact on the rest of the globe. Is there an easy(-ier) way out of this mess we’ve made?

Praktisch

As part of an attempt to be practical about building the wardrobe, I must introduce you to two bloggers whom I find are the best at giving the readily applicable advice: Maria of Lost in a Spotless Mind and Anuschka of Into-Mind. I don't feel as comfortable giving specific tips as I think my strong suit lies in the more theoretical/analytical part of curating the wardrobe. I'm not too methodical about it either—it's all up in my noggin when I curate. I don't lay out Excel spreadsheets and carefully catalog each item, though I think it might be fun to do on a slow weekend afternoon sometime soon. I'll update you guys and share the list should I get round to it.

There are no absolutes to curating, but guidelines are always helpful, whether you are a beginner or not. Especially if you are a beginner, you want to know how to start don't you? I read these bloggers regularly myself, and while I don't necessarily apply all their tips, I learn so much from their insights.

Maria is a true professional. Her job is, after all, to train fashion consultants and the like. Thus expect nothing but extremely well laid out posts with easy to follow advice and tips. I just love how thorough she is in her posts and how much ground she covers too, from maintenance of clothing, to styling tips to how to dress according to your body type and shape. Her blog is the style manifesto you wished someone had wrote, the style guru you always wanted—a blog of solid, stable, tried-and-tested, timeless advice that anyone could use.

Anuschka's blog is fantastic in her incredible attention to detail. Nothing, and I repeat, nothing escapes her eyes, with her laser-like focus on how to put together the most immaculate wardrobe. Furthermore, she can takes wisps of passing inspiration and distill into actual pieces within a cohesive collection. No one sees the bigger picture and the smaller picture at once as well she does. Her methodical approach to dressing spills over to also other aspects of her life, in both jewellery and makeup. If only I could be nearly as organized!

I am sure everyone can glean and learn something from even the most casual reading of these blogs. The best of all, it's all very digestible and not dry. Professional how-to style books can also learn a thing or two from these two. They would be the ones to email for questions on curating, while I hammer away on the boring stuff like the economics of curating ;)

My Personal Take on Basics

For the longest time, I've restrained myself from posting too many personal style ‘outfit’ type photos. The reason is because this blog is a reaction against the explosion of personal style blogs within the realm of the fashion blogosphere, which has led to a severe lack of more intelligent and interesting fashion conversations.

Over time though, I do realize that there is value in personal style blogs. One can plainly see just how that individual translates their theories and ideas about their own personal style in real life. After reading all my extensive writings and ramblings about basics, it only makes sense that you should see some examples of my own personal take on them. 

Basics vs. Classics

+ MALGOSIA BELA BY KORAY BIRAND FOR HARPER'S BAZAAR POLSKA MARCH 2013

I’ve been thinking about the concepts of both basics and classics a lot, ever since Jess started to write about the classics (parts 1 & 2). Ever the astute scholar, she definitely gave me a whole lot of food for thought. It made me deeply question why exactly am I so utterly bonkers for trying to find “the right basics” (you may chart my journey starting from the summer of 2011). Are those two the same things, or they different? If so, how then?

I am Not a Minimalist

Recently I have been linked to a group of bloggers under the label of "minimalism" largely due to my constant promotion of the virtues of curating your wardrobe. I am extremely flattered to be considered on the same level as some of my curating cohorts, however I would like to go on record saying that I am not a minimalist. What is the point of making such a distinction?

First it is easy to see why people view those who curate their wardrobe as minimalist by default. The ideas surrounding the process of curation is conducive to the simple modes of living that is encouraged by minimalism. There is nothing wrong with living simply. In fact, it's great. However, by pigeonholing all those that curate under the umbrella of minimalism, it does harm in discouraging those who are attracted to the idea of curating but otherwise don't necessarily consider themselves as minimalists. This also restricts the number of reasons why people should curate if they can. For me, it was an idea borrowed from menswear. For others it could be environmental reasons and others, financial budgeting issues. Curating is essentially a means to an end, not an end in itself. It is a tool that anybody can employ to achieve any goals they set for themselves, whether that falls under minimalism or not.

Secondly, by calling me a minimalist, it would most definitely muddy the name of minimalism and those who practice it. I do not know anything about minimalism per se, except for maybe getting rid of the excess. Less is more type of stuff. If I had any minimalistic inclinations, it would be through Buddhism understood through traditional Chinese culture growing up (a heady mix of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism) to eliminate desire and attachment to material objects. It's definitely appealing on a philosophical basis, however I have yet to putting his teachings to practice. I am still kind of a pack rat. I've stopped collecting trinkets but I have yet to be able to bear the thought of throwing sentimental things, like snail mail from Jada, away.

This all sums up exactly why I am such a strong advocate for curating. It's not a “lifestyle choice”– it's a way to save yourself time, money and trouble, along with whatever objective you may have. You can be minimalist, but you most certainly don't have to be.

+ PHOTO: THE COLLECTIONS BY TOM ALLEN FOR UK HARPER'S BAZAAR FEB 2013

What's the Big Idea

PHOTOGRAPH FOR VOGUE BY KEVIN TACHMAN  

This past weekend my friends and I were sitting around talking about the blizzard of all things, as school was cancelled Friday afternoon. Thanks to global warming, it had been a while since we had so much snow. I joked about how it'll ruin fashion week in NYC when someone replied, "well it's just clothes." I brushed it off because I am so used to people being entirely blasé about fashion and not giving a damn, even though we all know that Miranda Priestly will tell you otherwise.

Then an article on 'Explaining Fashion Week to People who Don't care about Fashion' on Four Pins popped up, which reminded me of the earlier incident. It got me thinking a lot more about fashion in general, as RTW fashion shows are only one facet of the entire industry. Why do so many dismiss fashion entirely, as something frivolous – a trivial pursuit of the wealthy and/or the superficial? Is it really "just clothes"or something more? What's the big idea?

First of all, we need just how "big" fashion is. If you look at the recently compiled Bloomberg Billionaires list in time for Davos, 5 of the top 20 richest people on Earth made their fortunes through either fashion or fashion-related industries:

• Amancio Ortega at a net worth of $56.8B clocks in at #3, co-founder of the Inditex group, which is the parent company to Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Berschka and more.
• at #16 is France's richest man, Bernard Arnault, head of luxury conglomerate LVMH, who is currently making headlines for trying to get a Belgium citizenship after the announcement of Flanby's tax hikes
• directly after him at #17 is Liliane Bettencourt, Europe's wealthiest woman and owner of L'Oreal (which is the head company of Kiehl's, Lancôme, Garnier)
• at #19 is Stefan Persson, chairman and largest shareholder of Hennes & Mauritz, affectionately known as H&M by everybody, which also operates Cheap Monday and Monki
• To round out the top 20 at #20 is Mukesh Ambani, who runs Reliance Industries, a huge conglomerate which includes huge divisions in retail and textile (FYI: Uniqlo uses their fabrics)  

My sharing of this info is not an attempt that to lambast the 1% (or rather .00001%) for their wealth that is so popular after the Great Recession. No, it is simply to illustrate that fashion is BIG BUSINESS. It is not just about the fantasies of the your average tween shopaholic as much as people would like to believe. And this is just barely scratching the surface. I have yet to name many more major fashion players with deep pockets, such as Françoise Pinault of PPR and Phillip Green of Arcadia Group. Many other industries are also attached to the fashion industry in other sectors, whether it is in agriculture, transportation or technology. 

So fine, people say, it's not stupid, its a important industry but still, it's not a life or death situation here. Au contraire, I am sad to report that many have died to help sate's the world's continuous hunger for fashion. Just two week ago, reports of yet another fire in a Bangladesh factory came in, in which seven died. I am sure that such tragedies do not occur exclusively in Bangladesh but also in many other Southeast Asian countries, as well as in the world's factory, China. The fashion industry has done too well under globalization, as these "costs" are conveniently tucked far away from even the most well-meaning of consumers. 

Due to the far reaching influences of these fashion conglomerates, it is almost impossible to avoid them anywhere you go. Does this mean that you cannot buy anything from anywhere, without understanding 100% where they came from and how they are made? Ideally yes, but that would be so impractical that this would hardly be readily applicable solution. One of the many ways to inform people about the darker consequences about fashion would be to educate others – to not dismiss fashion as "just clothes." Start more conversations about fashion and what it means in the greater context other than the latest style or trend. Maybe also to learn how to curate and consume less...all in the manner of your choosing. 

Perhaps I should take my own advice and share my blog more readily to people around, to demystify the industry and discuss the grit and the grime underneath all the glamour; some food for thought and finally an update to the Curating + Collecting series that have been collecting dust for the past months. My apologies! I'm not trying to shame or guilt trip anybody and this is all hardly revolutionary but it's something that should be on the back of our minds when we make every new purchase.

The Conditioning of the Female Consumer

Welcome to the second installment of my "Curating + Collecting" series I started a few weeks ago. Class was cancelled today thanks to Hurricane Sandy, freeing up time for me to blog again :) For those also on the Eastern seaboard, stay safe, warm and dry!

Curating + Collecting

BG IMAGE FROM GOOGLE

I've been meaning to write more deeply about fashion for forever now, even though sadly I never got down to it. It's not that my classes are harder now than ever per se, except for the fact that I'm getting increasingly involved in school, whether it is joining the debate team for the first time or writing more for the school newspaper. Surprisingly I have actually gotten inspirational fodder for the blog from my school-related, more academic activities, especially from the art symposium my school just held two weekends ago. The symposium created around an Old Master drawings collection from an anonymous collector/alumnae who had temporarily lent her works to be shown at the school museum. All of them were world-class museum grade-worthy and it's unbelievable that they would be under the ownership of just one (albeit extremely wealthy) individual. There were a series of lectures by professors from my own school, scholars from the British Museum as well as professionals such as art dealers from the likes of Sotheby's, all talking about the different processes of collecting and art of curating.