Safe Sucks
1:37 pm
"Do what you want"
'What's your aesthetic?'
I've been asking this question a lot. I'm starting a fashion society at school so like we had to conduct some interviews to establish a committee and I kept asking this question, 'what's your aesthetic?'
I also ask this question when I run those Cool Kids interviews, asking people to encapsulate their style in three words... It's interesting to hear what people have to say, how people feel they depict themselves to society, and how that corresponds to what society sees. I love that question.
Other people took a bit longer, partially as a result of not knowing the specific words to describe their style, and partially because they hadn't even thought about it. They just put on stuff, stuff that they liked to wear, and hopefully it translated into an identifiable look. "uhh...eclectic".
I'm pretty sure everyone has a look. Even if they aren't able to immediately identify what it's about or how it came to be.
I'm pretty sure I have a look...
Rihanna has a way she dresses, even though she wears completely different compilations everyday. It's risky and daring and gangster and elegant and lots of other things, but it's there. Kim has a way she dresses, Kanye does, my mom does. It's an aura about the way you decide to put clothes together, a representation of self that even trickles down to the subtle style of those who have 'excluded' themselves from the fashion world. The UCT hoodie and jeans you decide to wear, the fact that you only wear black. It's a vibe about you created by fabrics and colours and buttons and zips that have been put together. How rad is that?
I remember looking at my teachers in high school and trying to identify their aesthetic. We had this one teacher who would only wear black, white and red, another one who looked like a poster woman for Poetry, a teacher who wore red All Stars and a formal shirt. It's just really wonderful to see the differences and interpretations and 'clues about self' one portrays even when one is unaware.
So back to this question... What's your aesthetic? What's my aesthetic?
To be fair, I know, but I also don't know.
My style has and will always be rooted in experimentation and doing weird things in the hopes for the best. Safe sucks.
My style is pretty childish. Fashion is fun for me. It's a game you get to play every morning, a 'person' you get to be. So like I try not to look too grown up or put together (unless I feel like being grown up and put together lol)
My style is essentially really erratic. I feel different on different days, during different seasons and stages in my life. I appreciate fashion's ability to be used as a tool to depict this. Tomorrow I may wanna be a boy (with hoop earrings), the next day, a 50s housewife (who wears Air Max Nikes). idk.
Or don't
Just know that no matter what you decide, it's visible and tangible and something that really no other artform has as much power as. It's an immediate visual representation of self that no one is excluded from.
This is my version of the Miranda Priestly speech from Devil Wears Prada.
No matter what, as long as we have clothes and we choose what we put on, we have an aesthetic.
What's yours?
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| Photography by Jemma Richmond |
Outfit details
socks and stockings: Woolworths
kicks: Nike
shorts: Jay Jays
belt: Trenery (Woolworths)
T-shirt: Country Road (Woolworths)
jacket: Vintage
bowler hat: random boutique in Clarens
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