I am away for a while so a post before I go....


I wrote this some time ago but it seems as relevent now as then...



Some musings on this mammoth subject, or should I say slim size 8 subject.

Over too much drink, the subject of why we wear what we do, came up and then someone asked what is fashion anyway. So here are the results of rambling ruminations from some models...written with some tongues in some cheeks:) Well no..actually written with fingers and after the tongues were in cheeks.

Fashion in the sense of clothing, in practice seems to have at least three elements to it and it can be interesting to separate these out.


Issues to consider when deciding what to wear.

Inclusiveness- by this I mean that what we wear will signal to the world something about our place in the rest of the fashion community. Two predominant subsets of this are whether what you wear is "in" (which could signal you are a sad fashion clone) and secondly what the associated price tag says about your position or contacts in society (you are either rich, a top model or other celeb, have borrowed it and at midnight you will turn into a pig, or you have blagged/stolen the item ). Related to this is exclusivity- have you got something no one else can possibly have, (which can either be good, or if you are wearing something that even a horse wouldn't wear, then that's bad, real bad!)

Aesthetic/Art Appeal - How does the garment look firstly aesthetically, does it please the viewer's eye with natural beauty and/or secondly does it appeal to any innate art instinct. Each viewer will of course have a different perception on this and some garments will please on the first count and some on the other, some on both. So firstly, do you want to look aesthetically pleasing to the average eye or make the average eye want to run to dark room and still stay shut. On the second count- art, do you wish to be noted as an exhibit that should be in a cage in a art display, or just a girl with some interesting art work as part of her attire?

Sexual Appeal - Apart from wanting to look aesthetically pleasing, let no one forget that a large part of fashion is about wanting to look attractive from the sexual (in the broadest sense of the word!) perspective. Fashion/modelling is a lot about selling using sexual appeal. Sometimes it seems like it is the elephant in the room that no one wishes to mention, but as a model, it is very obvious. It may be that sometimes all is wanted is a bland coat hanger look on a runway but the majority of modelling is about selling a product through beauty/sexual appeal. Anyone care to disagree? Sometimes even the model becomes the product. Apart from when working though, when dressing socially, just spare a thought to this part of fashion, do you want to turn anyone on and if so who and why and in which way. There is looking sensual, looking hot and looking just downright smoking. Each has its place but if you overplay the smoking hot too much, your flame will go out:)

If all of this thought extends your time to choose in the evening from an hour to 5 hours, then just follow some simple rules- stay looking really smart, elegant, crisp clean, keep it simple and make sure that clothes fit really really well. Know your body limitations. If you do have the body, then even a white top and jeans will outshine many others in 200 layers of multicoloured expensive complexity.

Fashion -it's all in the eye of the beerholder.

Alicia

uhm- i generally think "is it cold?" "where am i going?" and "do my shoes match".
Thats looking waaay too far into it! But then again, I believe in simple elegance and classic pieces, and while the actual dressing ritual is short for me, the buying of the pieces is where i put the thought in. I also think that having "the body" as it was so elegantly put, does not mean you look good (or bad if you dont have it) i think its all about playing up to your assets and hiding what you don't like as much- and model-esque bodies dont work with all styles either! I also think that the notion of models selling clothes through "sex appeal" is..well.. interesting...

well here is an advantage of being male

on a casuel day (average day) i go to the draws and grab a shirt and some pants go yeah they will do and put them on. if its cold.... a jumper to. as long as it is sum hidious mismatch of colours its fine.

Wow! alecia you could write a book on that!! You could be the worlds first psychologist-stylist cross :)

Normally i guess i would be a combination of all factors, although not on a conscious level, when I go out i want to look good and fit into the surroundings. Im very conservative, however, and it takes me a long time to wear unusual trends - Im pretty hopeless, thats why i always have to get my sister tania to dress me or i would be in serious trouble!

I do completely agree with Ruru when she says..
"
I also think that having "the body" as it was so elegantly put, does not mean you look good (or bad if you dont have it) i think its all about playing up to your assets and hiding what you don't like as much- and model-esque bodies dont work with all styles either!"

Good point!

With regard to the "sex selling clothes", I was really alluding to the fact that beauty/attractiveness/sex appeal does help sell a product. This a fundamental part of the business we are in. A campaign done with a plain girl will not pull in the sales as much as one that has an "attractive" girl. There are two factors the ad people go for, the first is to catch the audience- the shot has to get the attention, then secondly, the shot has to make the person feel that they want to buy into the concept/product. A beautiful model will enhance the beauty of a dress as in the viewers mind the two beauties mingle with the effect that the appeal of the dress is enhanced- proved by much research! Going through then the to the more basic level, a sexual element does come into some other selling campaigns, V Secret, Wonderbra and many others come to mind. The model is portraying a sexual image.

We see here on a fashion forum shots of Abigail in the nude and Kate floating on clouds. This is not "fashion" in the strictest sense but it is part of the domain that we all are in and as a model, one that is inescapable. On a shoot, some may be abstract and bizarre, some work may be straight runway, but most are about using my face and body to sell a product or a shot.

This is really what professional modelling is all about at its core!!!

Any views:)

I will be back in a week.. have a lovely weekend :)

Alicia
xx

Personally, I think confidence is a major selling point!
For me...Confidence=smoking!
I see a female wearing an outfit with confidence & I want to have it.
I see the same female with a hunched back & not able to walk in her heels, I immediately over look the outfit & would not consider purchasing it in a lifetime.
If I don't feel confident I am cranky & have been known to fake a sicky either before stepping out or during the day! So confidence is my number one factor!!
xxV

yeh soho babi, it dont matter what she is wearing so much as it is how she is wearing it.

Alicia i love your perspective on it all, from that angle, its totally different to mine. I think fashion is basically a form of art, and designers are artists, and i love the ways in which they present their work and its diversity. I think models are a part, but not necessarily a whole, of this presentation. As in any business, its all very bottom-line driven but they ways in which they portray their work fascinates me. That and some of the ugly-as-sin stuff that has been passed off as "fashion" in the past (ie shoulder pads!)
I also don't understand WHY girls insist on wearing shoes they cant walk in. My tip is if you love them and they hurt, wear them around the house for 3 days so your legs get used to them and the leather softens up a bit! then go out!

Confidence, composure & class go a long way!!!
I often look at celebrities & think that if they didn't have the money then they'd be (and wot they're wearing) pretty ordinary, or sometimes less than ordinary. Money can buy you happiness but it is definitely in the eye of the beholder.

My hat will always go off to the models...to me, they put themselves on the line & they either deliver or they don't. I know there are workings behind the photograph/model but to me, the models are in the eye of the beholder.