Saturday, May 15, 2010

Today's inspiration

In honour of what is apparently an impending 90s revival (and can I just say: yes please!), Style Notebook is asking people about their favourite 90s fashion film.

Emily Blake says:

Clueless. Oh, I know. I am not cool. My pick is not in line with the ’90s as they are being referenced on runways and in closets today. [...]

However Clueless was [...] where I first saw unadulterated fashion joy being portrayed. These girls were not afraid of looking ridiculous (Dionne’s incredible hat collection is a notable example), not afraid to wear colour, or pattern. They were having fun.


Yes! That's what it is: joy! That's going to be my guideline for taking fashion risks. Yes, flares have been out of style for years, but they make me feel fierce and bootylicious. Yes, it might be a bit much to match my bra straps to my shoes to my earrings to that one stripe on my dress, but it makes me feel like I fricking WON!

I'm never going to be a fashion plate objectively, so I may as well stop worrying about it and go for the joy. I'm cheering for a 90s revival because in the real 90s I couldn't explore as much as I wanted to, because I always had an eye on making safe fashion choices that wouldn't get me bullied. But if I wanted to live like that, I'd go back to high school. The new rule for adulthood: go for the joy!

6 comments:

Sarah O. said...

I agree! Another 90's character who dressed for fun and not for others would be Rayanne Graff, from My So-Called Life. Crazy hairdos and erratically layered outfits and absolutely zero inclination to "edit" accessories. I think I probably loved Rayanne's style because it was so affordable - all you had to do was go to the nearest Frenchy's.

laura k said...

That was one of my favourite shows ever ever.

I was going to say it's that idea of joy that made me give up on fashion altogether and go for comfort and my own particular joys, like my earrings or hair colour. Not like I was ever good at fashion, but I was concerned about it and made an effort. But at some point I veered off towards a combination of happiness and comfort.

impudent strumpet said...

I totally envy people like Rayanne who can wear a shitload of different things all at once! I just don't have the creativity to come up with things like that.

laura k said...

Me too / me neither. I also envy people who can find random stuff at thrift shops and on ebay and look easy and nonchalant wearing them. I don't have the patience or creativity for that.

Anonymous said...

Ah, the good ol' 20 year nostalgia lag continues.

laura k said...

"Nowadays you get your clothes back from the dry cleaners and it's a revival!" /Ab Fab