The world of fashion often intertwines with various other social galaxies we’ve come across while traipsing through the lifestyle department of our lives.

Throughout the ages, or maybe the increasingly modern ones, fashion has both impacted and been affected by the seemingly unsuspecting factors of the world.

Fashion and Culture

We’re not entirely unfamiliar with ethnic influences on the trends that crop out on the runway in Tokyo or Milan. After a brief spell of being the object of a cult following, that cheongsam-styled silk top, or the Hawaiian-inspired print in those pantsuits turns far too commercial and street to be exclusive. And then the industry and its people slink on to the next potentially promising well of fashion.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to usurping styles from the different cultures of the world. Of course, the choices lie between picking something of popularity or an influence more subdued and less noticed, but still add to the oomph of that brand new runway ensemble.

So the next time you feel like showing of a little bit of the barely-there ethnic side that’s been lying dormant inside you, try throwing on a distinctive piece while still going for that modern approach. Light and sparse floral prints over a satin or silky top over tight jeans for a Mandarin flavour, or diagonally-chequered pieces if you ever feel the urge to display your pseudo-Scottish side.

Fashion and Youth

Designers are also influenced by street-wear, mainly attributed to the contagious rage of almost every youth trend there has been, and will ever be.

Thanks to the brilliant and imaginative minds of the young people of our generation, clashing colours, double patterns and bring-them-back, vintage pieces have gone through the various stages of metamorphosis and emerged, ultimately, trendy.

Though it hardly seems so in sunny Singapore, where trends take far too long to reach our shores, and far too late to leave it, stockings/tights/leggings/every other alternative for it are ebbing slightly in the current-trend department. However, while it’s still cool to own a coloured or patterned pair here, we might as well milk it till it’s dry. This is a classic piece of fashion do-good virus – try going out and not finding someone wear a pair. Try it. I dare you.

The best thing about the above-average youth’s fashion taste is the sense of adventure that comes along with it. If you haven’t heard already, matching your apparel is no longer top priority if you want to look good. In fact, why not just slash colour-coordination? Don’t even get them started on harmonizing patterns. Stripes and prints at one go only brings you closer to that scenester status.

Fashion and Music

So what’s the sound of your wardrobe?

Does your closet consist mainly of the crèmes and pinks of a flashy, confident popstar? Or are you the sort to put on something less put-together: something grunge-inspired, like the makings of a punk rocker? Whatever the dealio, the chances of your wardrobe reflecting the songs in your iTunes playlist is not entirely impossible.

We can’t all judge a person’s music taste through his or her clothes, but the music industry has had its share of impact on fashion apparels in the modern age.

There’s the rocker look: consisting mainly of jackets, black, and silver accessories. Hip-hop made its mark with the golden ‘bling’ we’ve come to know and love (or hate, either way). Mods are the more sophisticated of the street team, with their clean bobs and streamlined dresses (see picture). The indie look is often depicted through a touch of British casual fashion, but thought of to be exclusive and unconventional. The fact that it’s a trend now clearly cancels out its initial portrayal of non-mainstream style, but we’ll take what we can get.

Thanks to self-expression and freedom of fashion (a universal constitution not yet in written form, but practiced nonetheless), we’re all allowed to wear whatever we want without, hopefully, the superficial judgement that comes with it.

Personally, I choose less social and unpopular clothing options – if you think it looks good, wear it and work it. Try not to dress because you’re expected to dress a certain way just through the mere aspect of your looks. The notion of an outfit or apparel’s trendiness is the last factor you should be worried about.

xoxo,
My Pseudonym Dilemma.

Pictures credits:
http://images.china.cn/images1/200711/411854.jpg
http://www.psfk.com/wp-content/uploads/s19031.gridserver.com/wp-content/uploads/psfk.com/vice_trend_guide.jpg

This story might not be an old familiar tale, but the thing about women is that despite all of the modern aphorisms and hardcore feminists that tell you otherwise, through advances of technology, half of us remain as primitive as ever when it comes to material.

I mean, come on – what are the chances that the first Man to decide that fur made lovelier shoes than leather was indeed a homosapien with an XY chromosome?

But as blessed as we are with an imaginative fashion sense, we females may be just as cursed with a groaning bank account. Sadly, it isn’t under the weight of all that money we would love to have, more likely leaning towards the fatal the hunger pangs, especially in the bad mood the economy is now in.

It’s ingrained throughout history, this obsession we have with looking just right, depicting our far-too-complex personalities (or at least, that’s what we tell ourselves) through the threads we wear and the heels we pick.
Some of us would rather die than look like everybody else (though fact remains that almost nothing is original anymore), while others sprint towards the latest fads seconds before it is out in public.

Even the fairy tale characters had their own personality-matched style. See, Cinderella saw hers through a glass slipper – which experts would probably say portrays her fragility and possibly exhibitionistic side. Snow White and her step-mother had something against self-tanning and probably thought they had a little goth thing going on. Even Little Red Riding Hood expressed her vivacious-yet-cleverly-blanketed-by-awkward-innocence side more through her addiction to scarlet apparel. See? Ingrained!

I was discussing the issue with a friend a while ago and we both came to the conclusion that unless we have bigger, more troubling issues on our platter, the idea of not having the urge to buy things is clearly disregarded at best. Even when you think you’ve got everything you need to own, something pretty comes trudging towards you in the form of a fictional TV character with amazing fashion sense, and it’ll keep you drooling with jealousy until the next shopping spree you embark on. Which would probably be the next day, if self-control is not one of your strongest traits.

See, most of us, once exposed to the creative aesthetics and personal side of fashion, find it harder to revert to habits of merely throwing on clothes through random shut-eye-point picks from our closets. Now we want more oomph in our look. We want to be known as the witty girl who can hold her own in a conversation about sinks, plugs and computer hard-drives while still owning a distinctive enough style when it comes to apparel and footwear. (Or, you know, that might just be me).

And how else can one practice self-expression than to attain the little trinkets of what would eventually make a – or several – uniquely ‘you’ outfits that the rest of the general public might just view as anti-social or bravely exclusive? ‘I need more clothes’ and its alternatives is a statement uttered by people all around the world, so much so it’s become a modern proverb in itself.

It starts out innocently enough, but soon, your wardrobe might be the primary cause of late nights and back aches. This new apparel regime I adopted, of having urges to wear an outfit I see on TV or on the Internet and not resting until I’ve accomplished my goal, is a rather unhealthy one, to put it diplomatically.

Let me explain: I, personally, have a serious case of Getmorestuffitis, an unofficial medical term for someone, usually of the female species, who tends to purchase an item of long-term desire (often reluctantly because of the apparel’s exclusive nature) which also happens to burn a whole in her wallet upon cash transfer. Thereafter, she would make attempts to better the state of her conscience which is shame-ridden about the iffy purchase by heading to the nearest discount store and buying other safe, easily-liked items. After which, she would be overcome by a massive amount of guilt for the splurge, that she will hunt for yet another potential and hopefully more confident purchase at the next store.

And the dreaded cycle continues.

Upon diagnosis of this curious case of oniomania, I realized that the best way to spend less and hence keep food on the (fast-food joint) table was to tough it out. If I suddenly feel the uncontrollable urge to blow $200 on a pair of Doc Martens when I already own about thirty pairs of shoes of various colour, creed and heel height, I simply close my eyes, count to ten, play a little bit of metalcore and try hard to forget about it.

Though the sad details of your shopping sacrifice might fleet by while you sleep at night, tantalizing you with that would-be purchase, what you need here is major self-control. Avoid fashion blogs that might tempt you to get clothes you don’t really need. Lookbook.nu may be good when you just got your paycheck, but when you’re broke? That’s the last time you should be looking into getting more clothes that you already have.

What you need to do is work with what is already in your closet. Try on a different ensemble, for one. Pair up random tops and bottoms to see if you can pull of several looks you might not have thought of before. Who knows – you might find a vintage gem at the back of your wardrobe!

The key is creativity: just because you may have a distinctive personality style, it doesn’t mean that said-style has to remain static and unmoving. Despite the intimidating factor of change, there is nothing wrong with wearing something that would earn you silent approving nods from the mass of fashion conformists on the train to work once in a while. I think the off-putting notion about wearing something unconventional is getting the stares but think of it this way – and coming from someone who hates attention even if it danced a merry jig naked before my eyes – you’re never going to see the strangers on the street again anyway! They can stare all they want; at least you know you pull it off. (But first, try to – you know – pull it off).

It all begs the classic age-old question that is all too familiar to the ears of us shopaholics: money or self-expression? Why not both, though? Instead of spending far too much on clothes you think you’d wear because it looks good on someone who happens to be writing a fashion blog and taking pictures of herself at the comfort of her own home, be comfortable in your own style. So get the basics down to pat and then jazz it up. Don’t be afraid to be the cliché if the cliché tells you to be yourself.

xoxo,
My Pseudonym Dilemma.

Picture credits:
http://www.howtodothings.com/files/u2147/Valentine_s_Girl_Shopping.jpg
http://www.funwirks.com/8o's%20rocker%20new%20costume.JPG
http://th00.deviantart.com/fs8/300W/i/2005/362/7/5/Street_fashion_by_nikosalpha.jpg