This thread and the 'how much time do you spend on fashion?' thread have given me a lot to think about this last week. And i really did want to hash it out in my beleaguered brain before responding, which is why i am (as always) so late to the party.
For me, at the end of the day, i thin Em has a strong point. I also think she's been misinterpreted. Em was talking about the runway as it actually is; whereas many Fabbers who approach their own life as a runway are using runway as metaphor or motto (unless any of you are, for example, businesswomen who are using your presentation as a way to promote 'your brand', in which case you ARE on the runway everyday and i salute you!).
I was a bit abashed when i read the responses on the 'time' thread. Here were many people who're fascinated enough with clothes that they registered and comment on the forum, take and post WIW's, look truly incredible - and i was outrunning them on the hours like no one's business. I spend 4-5 hours a week simply doing wash and ironing. Granted, that's for me and my husband (a peacock!) and i do not work outside the house....but still. I sew for myself, and some days i'll spend 5 or 6 or + hours doing that. Not to mention the blog i've had since 2009 (sorely neglected, yet....), the OOTD pics, the digital scouring for minimalist wardrobe advice, the muslins, the croquis sketches, the brooding about frequency of wear vs. minimum number of tops for summer, the tentative seasonal wardrobes written on the back of an enveloped and stuffed in my purse.....
Yet, the vast bulk of my wardrobe/style fussing and fidgeting and pondering is on the question of "how do i make my style aesthetic work in practical terms?". For me, personally, coming up with a style is not a problem. It's a snap. The hard work, thus the bulk of my mental focus, is on how to get that across given limited money and time, my neuropathy (anything too tight or scratchy or binding is so painful i just won't wear it, no matter how it looks), my fussy feet which walk a dozen miles a week or more, the dyeing, the removing of the dye, my ever-elusive favorite colors, my tendency to wear clothes out in nothing flat unless cannily crafted of iron-strong fabrics. I don't have the time (i'm a slow-sewing lady) or money to have my entire closet whipped up to my own specifications, so i'm always on the hunt for clothes for sale which fit my own practicalities: linebacker shoulders, pref for weird and unpopular colors, natural fibers, hardy construction.
Runways shows enchant and entice, they flower in a special place for a brief moment in time. I've worn that outfit, i know ladies who dress that way every day, but for me i want the mountain, not the lily. I like my clothes to last and wear and wash happily and be there years from now, my old friends. For me, i choose my lasting everyday mountain over beautiful, ephemeral runway lilies.
And i am so so glad there are all types of style people out there! Some of my most favorite style people are the lilies, but it's just not me. Doesn't mean i'm not interested in fashion or clothes or style (hello, i happily spent two hours of my yesterday Saturday morning ironing). Doesn't mean i do not obsess or put huge amounts of energy in my clothes (this dress took me a good 20 - 25 hours to make, most of it hand sewing. Plus the fabric was $80, a birthday splurge).
It's simply a different philosophy. Anyways, thank you everyone for a very thought provoking and interesting thread, and props to Em for sparking it. Em, i think it would be a shame if you did not participate any more in the forum, i feel bad if i did anything to make you feel unwelcome.
Happy Sunday all and Have Fun! steph
p.s. the image i use as my clothing label
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