Good Afternoon,
Today I had a great conversation with a friend of mine about (surprise surprise) fashion. As two people who have spent some points in our lives living in London we were musing about how much freer you feel - fashion-wise - when you are there. For those of you afraid of fashion, of which there are many, you may think I am being ridiculous. The truth is though, in London confidence is the only fashion that people should follow. The conversation was started by the fact that my friend was wearing a beautiful sheer beaded top which when I asked where she purchased it from she replied with "New Look...in Oxford Street obviously". Why obviously? Perhaps we put too much emphasis on the 'London Look'.
London is no doubt the fashion capital of England and therefore you go into any store and will find a fuller, more comprehensive and often edgier range than you will anywhere else in the country. Is this because London people are naturally more fashionable than the rest of us or is it because we perceive them to be as such? I commented to my friend this morning that some of the outfits I bought whilst living in America I feel too self conscious to wear in Gloucester because I think them too 'trendy' or 'fashion forward'. The point with London is, you could wear a black bag as a dress, belt it and someone else in your office is bound to come in wearing the same thing the next day. And therein lies the freedom.
Being a fashion follower is obviously very different to a fashion leader. If you put a table filled with healthy foods in front of a person, she would eat these and lose weight. If you put a store filled with fashion forward looks in front of a person, she would choose an outfit people see as on-trend. In London the real fashion followers go into Topshop and buy a black dress but then pair it with their grandfather's belt, a watch they bought at a vintage store and a pair of shoes from a charity shop. They customize their looks; tie a belt instead of putting it on the traditional way, carry their huge bag as though it was a clutch, wear a pair of Tesco sunglasses with a Nanette Lepore dress. Then they walk out their house and people, including myself stare in awe. Knowing how to work it is the real 'London Look'.
Now I do believe you should all go out and look confident in whatever you decide to wear, but I must make a small comment.... If you have to question whether what you are wearing is appropriate for Tesco...it is not appropriate. I saw an ENTIRE family in Tesco at 8pm last week dressed in pyjamas. We are not talking the Stella McCartney pyjama pant suit either. The mother was wearing a fuchsia coloured La Senza dressing gown with slippers....In. Tesco. HAVE SOME PRIDE LADIES!!!! What I tend to do if I am concerned about what I am wearing is think 'where have I worn this before?' and then assess the current situation. If the answer is 'in bed', 'to the young farmer's ball' or 'that time I walked through London during Gay Pride and got glitter in places no human should have glitter' then I know it is not suitable to pop to Lidl.
Confidence is always the new black. Like Tim Gunn says "make it work".
Becky xx
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