Bulbous sleeves, body con, catsuits…. the list of trends the fashion world exhausts us with each year is endless yet we go through hell and high water to conform. These days any lady who’s bold enough to step out casually dressed is looked at with curious stares (‘what was she thinking?!’) by other ladies who in actuality envy her being confident enough to throw away the ‘girdle’ fashion has got on each of us in order for her to breathe. Fashion is neither comfortable nor casual these days, it’s highly dressy though refined which can be a good thing (thank God; no more crazy shoulder pads!). The problem isn’t with the trends per say but with the way we fail to find a balance between being fashionable and being you.
We all love to exude a certain amount of sexiness and confidence and to be honest, good fashionable clothes make us feel good which in turns helps with confidence. In fact fashion now has been designed with ‘refined sex’ as the guideline, everything is streamlined to fit close to the body and it’s all flattering and sexy and we love it. But what happens when we need to dress appropriately for work or a summit and have to tone down all that sexiness; we don’t, and therein lies the problem! We go into work with tight silk shirts and tight skirts with back slits that go above the knee and patent leather pumps (I have to admit I’m a guilty party as well), and it’s all good but when the clients are staring at our chests instead of looking us in the eye then it’s not alright. We don’t bother with suit jackets anymore; they hide our beautiful shirts but if your jacket was on in the first place the said client would not have been distracted by how closely fitted the silk shirt was.
I’m a fan of comfort and I fail to see why I should punish my feet with heels from sun up to sun down just because that’s what’s in now. I mean even going out of your house to grab lunch at Southern Fried Chicken now involves pomp and pageantry. Everyone looks so dressed up when all they get to do after lunch is go back home and undress. There’s nothing wrong in dressing up, but we should dress appropriately for each event, and when there’s no event why dress up?! I love dresses but I refuse to pair them up with heels except when necessary. Yes I know gladiators sandals are in but I just don’t understand why everything has to look so fussy. In a complex world I simply feel we should crave simplicity once in a while. Of course what I deem casual may be dressy to some and yet frumpy to others. Let me point out that casual in my sense means not putting on ten different trends at once. There’s nothing wrong with a sundress and sandals or flats or still yet jeans and a cute top. What we see now is a lady (let’s call her Emily*) wearing a sundress with patent leather heels, patent bag, brazilian hair to the floor, a pound of eye shadow, huge earrings and six necklaces at once – and she’s at a grocery store! And that’s what I’m on about, I mean if she was going to some gig (I for one don’t know where I’d go dressed like that) then that’s different but to the grocery store… The lady I just described might have been going for sex kitten but I say you don’t have to look like a raccoon eyed bag lady to be sexy (way harsh right… sorry). It’s all in your mind and how you carry off your look, that’s why Emily could stand next to another lady (let’s call her Jane*) who’s dressed in jeans, a tee and boyfriend jacket with medium length hair and flats, and Jane who looks less cluttered would be considered way sexier than Emily.
So all I’m basically saying is; not every trend is to be followed and what works for Ada might not work for Simbi. And when in your heart of hearts you know that you’re not going to some function and all you’re going to do for the day is run errands, please look the part, you don’t have to put on a ton of makeup and a waist belt to do that right. I believe we all have an inner femme fatale in us and she resides in our mind, if you feel and believe you’re sexy then she’d come out and show us what she’s made of. You don’t need to look crazy for her to come out and play. In essence, simplicity is key (less is more).
