Fashion.
Otherwise known as the comedy for future generations. Or the envy, depending on the era. I can look back at any era and find a look I love and then a look I equally loathe. Hindsight has a lovely rose coloured filter and we tend to forget some of the more horrific fashion “fails” and focus more on the fashion “wins”. Now I put these words in inverted commas because the art of fashion and design is subjective and what I think is a failure can be someone else’s win, but I think we can all agree that some things just stay the course a little easier!
Style on the other hand, is your individual look, your vision. More than that, style is how you present yourself; not just your clothes, hair, makeup and/or shoes, but your attitude towards yourself and how you show that to others. Style is about what makes YOU feel confident. It’s not about following trends to the letter, but about picking up ideas, getting inspired and letting your personality shine through.
Having great style starts with experimentation but that doesn’t mean you have to be wild! Simply trying something you have never thought to try before is a great way to explore what works for you. This is where fashion and style cross over. Fashion can give you ideas of things to try. Long hair, short hair, mullet, perm, or even just the latest variation of the bob. Some you will love, some you will hate and some you will keep pictures of purely as a reminder to never ever try a mohawk EVER again. Ever. It’s through trial and error that we find what we truly love and not just what someone once told us looked good and we have never changed since.
I have literally tried almost every hair trend there is. I have had, in no particular order; a pixie cut, short hair with a long fringe, a Mohawk (for real – complete with triangles shaved to the skin on the sides), a rats tail, an unintentional mullet, a perm, a chemical straightening (over the perm – NOT RECOMMENDED!), a bob in every length from shoulder length to ear length and in every variation from graduated to textured to blunt. An undercut. No fringe, a short blunt fringe, a short “piecey” fringe, a long solid fringe, a side fringe, a veil fringe. Hair that reached my hips and everything upwards on the way to short. It’s been black, deep red, brown, magenta, fluorescent purple, bright copper, peach, blonde. There have been pieces of hot red, blue, green, orange, pink and purple. I’ve had quite the hair journey. Poor Hair!
Right now, I have long, pastel pink hair with a short fringe and I have never loved my hair more. After all that ridiculous hair, I know what works and what doesn’t. Bob? Unfortunately no. I love them on someone else but on me I don’t feel right. Bob’s just aren’t my style. Long pixie cut full of texture? Absolute win! My only other favourite style, it works so well with my natural hair texture and I always feel fabulous with it. Are either of these styles ‘in fashion’ right now? Not really. Do I care? Not at all! Trying out the latest fashions can be fun and you never know, one of them might tickle your fancy. We all find our style somehow! But when you find what makes you feel confident and fabulous it doesn’t matter whether you can see in Vogue. What matters is what you see in the mirror.
Now I’m not an inspirational quote kind of person but when it comes to owning your individual style there can be no greater authority than Iris Apfel – “Fashion you can buy, but style you possess. The key to style is learning who you are, but that can take years. There is no how-to road map to style. It’s all about self expression, and above all, attitude.”
In my words – If you love your mullet, and it makes you feel like you can take on the world, wear it. Wear it with unabashed pride, wear it with confidence and wear it without apology. Wear it how you want, when you want and with as many changes to it as you want, but wear it. Fashions come and go but style – it’s yours forever.
