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We all have some kind of unspoken fear of pushing the envelope when it comes to experimenting with fashion. Yet, at the back of our minds we constantly want to be that prominent representative of the central art piece. Don't you sometimes wish that you could pull off wearing an outfit you see on the catwalks in real life? You know, being seen, be different and be the next head turner in that oh-so-unique outfit? Boys, you know you want it too and it's not just us girls.
We at HOOKED would love to give you a few genres of styles to follow but that is being textbook and where's the fun in that? Save yourself from the embarrassments of looking like a street performer by capturing the essence of specific genres and certain looks instead. Here's how.
The problem is that most of us are too conscious about what others think of us to put our minds into experimenting with our own individual styles. We follow the mainstream fashion because whatever that is conformative is acceptable, normal and by extension if we dress that we way, we reify our status of normalcy.
But normalcy also spells boring, safe, tried and tested, common, conventional...you catch our drift. There's nothing exciting about being normal and one can certainly forget about standing out in the sea of blacks, greys and whites.
Being avant garde in one's choice of dressing, however, invites curious, if not unwanted stares. Sometimes, one will get nastier remarks like, "What was she/he thinking?!" or "Has he/she looked in the mirror recently?!"
Furthermore, there is a thin, almost microscopic thin, line that separates from being just plain clownish from quirky. Of paramount salience is the need to inject one's personality into these looks as opposed to mindlessly photocopying an outfit from top to toe.
For starters, why not check out street style blogs for inspiration?
Susie of Stylebubble has its author decked out in outfits she's not afraid to experiment with. Be it in form, colour, shape - she's willing to try them all.
One interesting post has her tying, knotting, flipping her cardigan in different ways to wear it as a vest and various other forms. Girls, if you think you've got leggings all figured out, she comes along and shows you how to DIY white leggings into two-toned ones.
I suppose quirky-ness comes along ultimately in how you appropriate the different styles available and how you manage to bring it one level up, instead of merely following what is the rage at the present moment.
For Susie, instead of wearing banded headbands like those you see on teen drama Gossip Girl, she wears feather headpieces instead!
How's that for kooky, unique, eye-catching but still wearable at the same time?
Or if you like something more ‘normal' and proof that normal people actually parade great outfits with a touch of kooky-ness on the streets, why not try The Sart?
A renowned photographer who shoots for GQ and style.com, one is amazed at his eye for detail and the detailing of details on outfits.
His keen sense of fashion is not compromised by conforming to cookie-cutter trends. His photographs show that you can appear polished, if not well-dressed, even if you're not wearing something hot off the racks.
And the really great thing is that there is an even proportion of men and women with refreshing takes on your regular reproduced mass fashion. Guys, you do not have to be worried about being left out here!
On good days, he gives a little commentary to offer insight on what or which part of the pieces catches his eye. But more often than not, the pictures speak for themselves. They paint a thousand words and a short clip of about two paragraphs would not do justice and may in fact, lose the very essence of what he tries to capture.
Perhaps in this aspect, ‘quirky' is not understood in a matter of words or even by common consensus. On the contrary, it is defined by what it should not be: mainstream, trendy, in vogue, mindless photocopies of the glossy-spreads of top magazines, without personality and appropriation.
We should not have to live with being Topshop-Topman copies of each other just to fit into the common mould of the definition of being normal. We should dress the way we like regardless what others will think of us.
If we are caught in public in a less-than-common choice of dressing, be sure to work it like you love it. Confidence spells beauty and the lack of it will make you appear strange instead of a delightful mix of curios.
HOOKED knows that many of you bemoan the fact that the weather in Singapore does not permit for creative dressing but c'mon people, creativity holds no boundaries, innit? We say, cue inspiration from the runways, let your imagination run wild and behold a completely new you! HOOKED
Images courtesy of:
http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/
http://stylebubble.typepad.com/
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Written by Guest on 2008-02-27 11:27:17
HOOKED's first great fashion article has arrived! haha 
Contains an opinion, filled with useful content AND decently written! | Written by Guest on 2008-02-29 10:05:40
I think the looks in those photos are more bizarre than quirky :\ |
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