Is fashion too fashionable? - YouLookFab Forum

I am sorry if this has been posted but I am fairly new to the internet and thought the topic quite interesting.

Louise Wilson the MA of Central Saint Martins was recently quoted as saying, "fashion is too fashionable, for years fashion wasn't fashionable. Today fashion is so fashionable it is almost embarrasing to say you're part of fashion. All the parodies of it. All the dreadful magazines. That has destroyed it as well, because everyone thinks fashion is attainable?

What are your opinions? Do you believe fashion is to fashionable?

Personally, I love the theatre and drama of fashion but do not have the money or dedication to be a full on fashionista. I aim to have my own style which occasionaly will nod to the latest fashion. This A/W I am hoping to rock dusky green and apricot a'la Dries van Noten. What about you?

As I mentioned earlier I am sort of new to this 'tinternet' but hope to be upto scratch with posting pictures soon.

Thank you for your patience

Rose and Joan

16 years ago

Laura

Active Member

Thanks for bringing up a topic!

What do you mean by "too fashionable"? Are you thinking along the lines of fashion/style/good design/trends being more attainable at lower costs? Therefore less exclusive?

Mac

Veteran

The quotation states that it's a problem that "everyone thinks fashion is attainable" but I think the opposite; many, many of us believe that fashion is so unattainable that we don't even try. We just throw our hands up and say, I GIVE UP.

Ever notice how many grown women - especially in England, US and Canada - spend their days in sweat pants, hoodies and uggs (or similar pyjama-type clothes)? Most of them think that fashion just doesn't have any connection to real-world, hard working women who are trying to go to school, hold down a job, raise kids, pay a mortgage, do volunteer work, pay off their credit card debt, etc.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

What Mac said. Thanks for giving my wrists a rest.

taylor

Fashion fades, only Style remains : *COCO CHANEL*

PalmFronds

Fashion to me is fun, culture, somewhat transient and definitely shifting.Style, on the other hand, I think is truly eternal as the quote from Coco Chanel posted from Tanya above. Can't take fashion too seriously because it really will bury you--either in cost, self-doubt or frustration!

I can add to that:

Yves Saint Laurent : Fashion fades but style is eternal

Coco Chanel: Beauty is no guarantee for happiness, strive instead for elegance, grace and style.

I say: Look fab, feel fab. Feel fab, and look even better.

Ana

Angie! That's an awesome quote!

Most of us feel quite disconnected from high fashion, I think. But, even the things we buy from H&M, Anne Taylor, The Bay (Canadian) take much of their initial inspiration from ideas that "trickle down" from the runways of Paris & New York. I no longer even glance at Vogue and just shake my head at The Sartorialist, but I realise that even low cost style is impacted by high fashion.

Thank you for taking the time to post, I love the quotations particularly the reference to Coco Chanel. I also find high fashion very unattainable, but I interpret what Loise Wilson says to mean that you no longer need an invite to judge a designers latest collection, you log onto style.com and hey presto you can judge for yourself.

If you have an interest the information is there for all and with a little help from people like Angie you can decipher the trends and finds what works for you.

I suppose the balance of power is shifting a little. POWER TO THE PEOPLE.

Thanks again for your posts

Maya

We're not really for "high fashion" here. That's why I like this blog so much. Most style resources have a very rigid system of rules and unfortunately a lot of negativity. I enjoy YLF's never-say-never attitude. Because of all this information and the ease of finding it, I don't think there is any excuse at all for any woman with any budget or lifestyle to not try to look her best. Now I just wish men would catch up...

Also, I think just "looking nice" is grossly underrated. One doesn't have to be wildly fashion forward, daring, wealthy, or dedicated to look nice.

Ele

Keep in mind that Louise Wilson is part of an exclusive "club" of fashion insiders here in the UK, and (without meaning any disrespect to her, she's a great teacher), she likes it that way. Often the fashion elite do want fashion to remain elusive and unattainable to the "outsiders". What I think she means is that fashion is too popular, and she liked it better when it was more exclusive? Perhaps it sounds snarky, but it's an attitude that I've witnessed loads in my time.

Obviously, as Mac pointed out, it's not always the case. There are many people who think "fashion" is unattainable and therefore don't strive for it. I will say that I think more people are becoming interested in it these days, but in a different way from high fashion. YLF and sites like it are different because they're about finding what works for you- flattery, personal style and so on. High fashion is often the exact opposite, and is at times about a certain look/designer/piece. Wearing the "right thing" vs. wearing the "right thing for YOU".

It's funny that so many here are saying that high fashion seems unattainable. For years that was the fashion I followed, and I was more comfortable talking about Ghesquiere's latest collection than I was Gap's. That's changing somewhat now, as I've stepped away from fashion as a career, but look at it more as an interest.

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

In the UK, fashion also seems to move incredibly quickly, trends are picked up by "high street" shops such as Top Shop almost before they have come off the catwalk. Plus, people here seem to love to shop - as a past time or even almost as a hobby, this is something different from in New Zealand where clothing is actually still reasonably expensive.

There also seems to be more celeb led fashion here - especially with the likes of Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and others who are photographed and what they are wearing is frequently copied. There are also weekly magazines such as "Look" which trumpet the high street - they are cheap £1.50 - especially when compared to say Vogue and are a light and cheap read on the evening commute, you also have in London 3 free papers that have small fashion sections. Whether you take note or not, you can always find out what is the new up and coming trend and obtain it reasonably cheaply.

The you have the whole size zero debate...

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