The five levels of fashion
June 3rd 2008 04:36
Fashion is so much more than just clothes to cover your body. Every item of clothing we wear makes a statement, whether we want it to or not. Think about it - before someone knows you, they have nothing more to judge you on than what you look like. Even if you're not fashion-conscious, your clothes will speak volumes about you - your tastes, your lifestyle, and so on.
Take a look at what you're wearing today. Are you wearing the latest trends, or are you wearing something old that you threw on without a minute's thought? Most of us are somewhere in between. I've identified five levels of fashion - they are, in order:
1) The fashion elite. This includes heads of fashion houses, models, designers, and the A-listers who attend fashion shows. For these people, fashion is their life, and this is reflected in the (usually expensive) threads they wear. These people are a fashion house's dream.
2) The trendsetters. Always one step ahead of the pack, the trendsetters are the brave among us who dare to wear something different. In doing so, they set the trend and will, in time, have the masses wearing the clothes they wear today. By the time this happens, the trendsetters have already moved onto the next trend - to lag behind is fashion suicide!
3) The fashion-conscious. These are everyday people with an interest in fashion - they buy the magazines, they check out what's on the Internet, and they're usually big shoppers. Though they don't set the trends, they do wear them, and will stop wearing a certain trend the minute it looks to be fading out.
4) The masses. The largest group of the five, these are the people with little to no interest in clothes - they seem them as merely a necessity, and will go shopping every couple of months to update their wardrobes. The masses will wear a trend that the fashion-conscious wear, but not until it's big news: you won't see the masses wearing high-waisted jeans, for example, anytime soon!
5) The fashion haters. Some people can't stand the idea that something as supposedly superficial as fashion is actually important, so they go in the opposite direction, purposely wearing clothes that don't follow the trends. These people are highly individualistic and are usually easy to spot - they'll be the ones wearing 70s-inspired clothes when everyone else is wearing 90s grunge.
So have you decided which of the five levels you're in? Personally, I class myself as fashion-conscious - I'm no trendsetter, but I know about the trends and try to replicate them if they suit my personal style. I'll keep this blog updated with all the latest style news, from the catwalk to the magazines to the street. Enjoy.
Take a look at what you're wearing today. Are you wearing the latest trends, or are you wearing something old that you threw on without a minute's thought? Most of us are somewhere in between. I've identified five levels of fashion - they are, in order:
1) The fashion elite. This includes heads of fashion houses, models, designers, and the A-listers who attend fashion shows. For these people, fashion is their life, and this is reflected in the (usually expensive) threads they wear. These people are a fashion house's dream.
2) The trendsetters. Always one step ahead of the pack, the trendsetters are the brave among us who dare to wear something different. In doing so, they set the trend and will, in time, have the masses wearing the clothes they wear today. By the time this happens, the trendsetters have already moved onto the next trend - to lag behind is fashion suicide!
3) The fashion-conscious. These are everyday people with an interest in fashion - they buy the magazines, they check out what's on the Internet, and they're usually big shoppers. Though they don't set the trends, they do wear them, and will stop wearing a certain trend the minute it looks to be fading out.
4) The masses. The largest group of the five, these are the people with little to no interest in clothes - they seem them as merely a necessity, and will go shopping every couple of months to update their wardrobes. The masses will wear a trend that the fashion-conscious wear, but not until it's big news: you won't see the masses wearing high-waisted jeans, for example, anytime soon!
5) The fashion haters. Some people can't stand the idea that something as supposedly superficial as fashion is actually important, so they go in the opposite direction, purposely wearing clothes that don't follow the trends. These people are highly individualistic and are usually easy to spot - they'll be the ones wearing 70s-inspired clothes when everyone else is wearing 90s grunge.
So have you decided which of the five levels you're in? Personally, I class myself as fashion-conscious - I'm no trendsetter, but I know about the trends and try to replicate them if they suit my personal style. I'll keep this blog updated with all the latest style news, from the catwalk to the magazines to the street. Enjoy.
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Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
The last time I actually bought clothes was christmas 2004 and my fiancee paid for a shopping spree at the markets. That was the last time I got to 'choose' my clothes. My sis in law handed down some this year, even though none of it is what I would choose, I just say thankyou, otherwise Id have to go out naked.
Today? a black T shirt with holes in it that says 'Erotic' on the front - my fiancee got it for free at his work in some promotion. And grey bootcut caudroys (they may have been black once) that were handed down from sis in about 2001.