Day 12 and 13 Thinking about two types of girl....

Today was a day for thinking. Someone said something that stopped me and made me consider what it is that drives fashion, or to be more specific, style. There are two types of fashionable girl (or person if we insist on being PC) , those who love fashion because it helps them to blend in and those who are passionate about standing out.

Day 12, bit tired post weekend fun

For some people fashion is about getting dressed up. Standing out from the crowd and making statements about their personalities which allow others to understand that they are different from those around them. The others use style as a way of fitting in, they aren't directional in their choices but choose mainstream fashion as a way to fit in, to identify themselves with those around them. They are fashionable, classic and groomed but do not wish their style choices to emphasise a point of difference.

It strikes me that this is something of a poetic irony that clothes can unite individuals despite vastly differing personal agenda's. The underlying wonder of style is in fact it's flexibility. We are in a way a blank canvas each morning, as we stretch out respective limbs, rub our eyes and prepare to face the day, we all make our own separate decisions as to how we wish to present ourselves to the world. We paint a picture of our personality with clothes and we showcase ourselves accordingly.

Those personalities are defined to those we meet not only by the clothes we put on our backs each day but by the way we construct our outfits. A girl who dresses in classic shapes, dark colours and a pair of sharp shoes is, I argue highly likely to be organised than I with my multitude of bangles and excessive scarf collection. Personally I am of the stand out camp of dressing, yet not to the extent that people would stop and stare at me in the street. See below for an example of said understated behaviour! My quest is to make an statement of individuality, to express my somewhat eccentric personality without appearing odd to the point of 'different'. I have an overwhelming admiration for those able to execute individuality in it's true sense, the Agyness Deyns, Katy Perrys and Lady Gaga's of our popular culture truly  deliver us a sense of themselves without the need to utter a word.

Day 13...standing out, moi? Nah

But are these women really non conformists? They still wear the work of designers, they in fact buy into the style ideal in it's purest sense as a mechanism by which we detail ourselves to those who watch. Is the fact that these girls potray their personalities with such conviction a non conformist action or in fact is this conforming in its most pure sense? Its an interesting thought that in fact those who don't conform are those who still step out in velour Juicy Couture (heaven forbid). Those who are the least conformist are those who genuinely don't  care about fashion, or style....gulp. They are women who would not find my challenge a challenge and who probably think I am a vacuous wench for even bothering to try. In a way it is laudable that they have the self confidence to abstract themselves from the crutch that fashion provides us with, but personally I am proud to have thrown out all Fruits of the Loom sweaters post 1995.

This leads me to conclude that in fact conforming is an excellent life choice, one in which I am not only comfortable but proud. Hurrah for conforming to the cultural imperative to express oneself through fashion and heaven help me whilst I keep up with it over the next year.