Fashion or no fashion, that is the question.

What is suitable to wear?

In principle, I don’t care what other people are wearing, although I imagine I would find it a bit unsettling if one of my colleagues showed up at work wearing only a pair of knickers…

Boringly stylish

I live in Sweden, a lovely country with basically open-minded people. We have quite a few famous and skilled designers. But the aesthetic is, in my very personal opinion, very monotonous. Everything from shoes to hats is the same in every store. There are few designers and various influencers (who all look the same way anyway) that seem to dictate how we dress, style our home, eat, think…and god knows what.
I’m a very creative person by nature. I frequently walk through the streets of Stockholm to find inspiration, whether for a painting, a photograph, or something to wear or write. It’s a blessing in some ways but also a problem, as I’m never really finished. There is always a new project.
From my perspective, everybody seems to dress the same way. They wear the same type of pants or skirt, jacket, and top, low-key, so as not to stand out. We have several stores of the same brand on the same street. We have the same brands in the bigger department stores. It’s silly, really. No wonder everybody dresses the same.

The fashionista’s say

On top of all this, we have influencers who write articles in various blogs, newspapers, magazines, etc., stating, ”This is what to wear” or ”This is not how to dress”, or my favourite pet peeve: ”Out of or in fashion – Boring things everybody has in their wardrobes that they should get rid of”.
First of all, who are these people? Where do they get all these ideas? What made them experts? Ok, they know what’s hip to wear, but do they know what’s going on with the people they are communicating with? Knowing what goes on in the fashion industry doesn’t take a genius. I’m amazed. Who are they writing to? 20-25-year-old women? No, I’m not being sarcastic; I’m honestly curious. I mean, fashion boils down to personal taste and self-expression. The number of 20- to 25-year-olds who can afford tacky but expensive brands like Gucci or Prada is actually quite few.

Self-proclaimed experts

There was an article in a Swedish tabloid.
The essence was something like: These are the ugly things in your wardrobe that you must throw out like, NOW.
Out of curiosity, I clicked the link and, lo and behold, found a long article about clothes everybody has and simply must throw away because ”everybody else has them and if you want to be successful and better than everybody, you simply have to move on”. The author obsessed over things ”sooo last month” that she wouldn’t even touch them with a set of pliers. Typically, these kinds of articles offer no options or inspiration. The author’s work here was done. And apparently, it was to make a statement. Not one article provides inspiration or options.

Dictating fashion

So, let us ponder on that for a second…
From an environmental perspective: Shut up. Just shut up.
From a financial perspective, shut up – you don’t throw a perfectly nice jacket away because it’s five months old…
This list could continue forever, but let’s keep it simple: Just. Shut. Up.
A few days after, yours truly found an article about how middle-aged women should dress and what makes them look dowdy, a hot mama, fat, skinny or appear pathetic and needy for attention. Dear me. Thank you, but no…

You do you, ok?

Apparently, there is a need for this stuff. There are women out there who don’t know how to dress. Well, let me give you some advice: If it’s cold, wear a coat, decent boots and maybe even a scarf. If it’s warm, don’t walk around in the nude among people.
Have fun with colours, silhouettes – and fabrics. But the most important thing I’d like to say is: Remake!

Well, I wish you a good day.