FASHION/NOT FASHION

FASHION/NOT FASHION #1

Fashion: Style?

Don’t twitch in disgust/excitement (delete as applicable) in your seat just yet. I’m not here to Facehunt you. I don’t want to snap you artfully slouched in your thrift store threads (sorry, although I’m sure they’re lovely). I won’t bang on about what’s on-trend. There are enough people doing that already. Enter: bloggers!

The Fashion Blogger has been the hero and villain of the hour over the last year, with our RSS feeds unable to go a minute without spewing up Tavi, Susie Bubble et al. Now, I’m as big a fan of Facehunter as the next threads-focused wannabe with a laptop. And (as you’ll soon realise) I love a good bandwagon to jump on, especially if it’s powered by couture; but when something becomes popular, the space it occupies becomes saturated with weaker versions of the original. So whilst I’m a big fan of folk mounting their sartorial soapbox, sometimes it feels like there’s just too much content out there focusing on fashion.

So, I’m not going to be writing about fashion. But what I am going to talk about is style.

This isn’t something I profess to have or to be able to define and I think being in possession of style is something that’s as changeable as... well, trends. Fashion as a term is quite limited in its reach, but style extends to everything. It’s not just clothes, shoes, accessories. Not even if you throw hats into the mix (although I do love a good hat). I’m more excited about style – about the thinking behind - or lack thereof - an outfit or an item. I love concept outfits – start with a colour or a theme and let your imagination go from there. As you can imagine, I’m a nightmare if a dressing-up box is nearby.

Fashion restricts you to trends, but style is only restricted by your own attitude, creativity and –sometimes – your balls. Not literally your balls. Maybe courage is a better word. Whatever. So with creativity, attitude and courage in mind, I’m standing on the cusp of the mighty chasm that is the internet, about to plunge in and bring you items of clothing that I think have style and people who, at the moment the shutter winked on the camera, had style. After all, you’re only as fabulous as your last publicly posted picture.

If I see something or someone I love, I’ll share it with you. Sometimes I’ll try to explain why I love it. Sometimes, you’ll just know.

First up, this t-shirt:

Shirt by NorseProject.com and is available through goohhoodstore.com. Image courtesy of Hypebeast.com

If it were possible to make love to a typeface, I’d be dry humping the screen right now. I’m a sucker for a strong, bold print and I love how clean this design looks. Props for the Louis CK quote, too.

Okay, that was style for chaps. Ladies, feast your eyes on these:

Shoes by Marc Jacobs, image courtesy of farfetch.com

Wearing mice on your feet. Now, that’s stylish. Plus they’re by Marc Jacobs. Must admit, I’m very much a sucker for all things MJ. But, designer aside, I love the idea of being carried around by a pair of mice all day. There’s something a bit Cinderella about your shoes turning into something else. And the fact that they’re from last season makes them ultra-covetable (and, unfortunately, pretty much unattainable).

Now, maybe if I make a wish, my fairy godmother might stop by and transform my tatty old pumps and saving me a DIY job...

... Nope, no joy. Prit stick and fuzzy felt it is, then.

That’s stylish, right?

Words by Gemma Critchley