Tagged: body type, definining style, fashion, personal style, self, thesartorialist
Dove real bodies
For many years, I've struggled with defining my personal style. Mostly, I followed trends or copied another person's style; I rarely knew my own style. This has always bothered me because following trends is a never ending chase, which leads to little satisfaction. The moment you think you've got an up-to-date closet, you're two seasons too late.
Part of the problem is that I used to narrowly define fashion as a materialistic and superficial endeavor. I thought garments were mere masks to hide who you are or to make yourself more beautiful than who you really are. Over the years and after keen observations of successful fashionistas, I've come to realize style comes effortlessly to some people because they are comfortable in their body and who they are. They do not need validation from others and is confident in expressing themselves.
Personal style does not begin with "the cutest thing in the store". It begins with what you believe to be your body's best asset and dressing to enhance that. Take for example the recent style post of the 80's model, Nadege. Overall, she has a great body, but one aspect which some might consider a bit of an imperfection, is her broad shoulders. A less confident woman would probably make efforts to de-emphasize her shoulders because she might consider an inverted triangle body type is imperfect. She might try wearing cardigans or growing a long mane to soften her silhouette. Nadege, however, wears one-shoulder and V-neck dresses, which proudly emphasizes her shoulders. Her dresses are also tight-fitting, cinching at the waist, again emphasizing the width of her shoulders relative to her waist and legs. Her hair is short, openly revealing her upper torso. Yet, the silhouette works. She looks both strong and feminine. She exudes confidence without overstating herself.
Too often women believe their bodies must be like mannequins, perfectly shaped to fit any clothes, however avant-garde and unflattering. Women want to look good even in a potato sack. Being an artist's canvas is great and fine, but it is not personal style.
The same outfit can look dramatically different on different people, and that difference can actually make or break an outfit. Surprisingly, not everything looks good on tall and skinny folks. Consider that perhaps models look good in everything because designers make clothing only to fit and flatter this body type rather than using their talent and creativity to design for the real varieties of bodies that are present in the general population. Looking at fashion as a business, it's really an industry which perpetuates itself through a fabricated sense of elitism. But the real great thing about fashion, which is often neglected, is that it is a two-way art, requiring both the participation of the designer and its wearer.
It's not about making your body fit the clothes; it's about making the clothes fit your body. It's always very refreshing to me when I see a real person with imperfections pulling off an outfit that works well with their body and who they are. They make the imperfection the part that is creative and beautiful. After all, we are unique because we are imperfect. This is a far worthier aspiration than hoping to look like a mannequin, with no inspiration and no sense of self.
posted by voteinstyle on july 25, 2008