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Home I have been waiting for 15 minutes, when the owner reluctantly walked across the road, grabbing her little princess by the wrist. Her tan must have gone wrong; the bogus ‘military style’ jacket and combat trousers failed to deceive me. My eyes followed them towards ‘Super dad’ whom had been loading the boot endlessly! I hoped they would move their enviable . away from the parking space, so I could at least park my ‘toy’ car. Was I really waiting just to spend some of my hard-earned cash? “may be I am a bit crazy”. I began to calculate what I had spent over the past month. Shoe, dress, earrings, pencil…I suddenly lost count as I saw ‘Madame’ eventually take the front seat. I hurriedly manoeuvred the ‘scrap’ and almost immediately ran off. The revolving door towards the elevators were wide open today. I walked in like everyone else ignoring the word ‘stairs’, as if it were written in Greek. Everyone would rather stand there with a blank face and endure the waiting process. Oh, how these moments often amuse me! Everyone is silent, pretentious, and looking so modest; yet thoughts flying across their minds like rockets. I wondered what would happen if I suddenly jumped, screamed or even laughed loudly. As we got higher and higher the powers of technology enveloped my mind, I could almost see half of the city. People looked like ants, they walked briskly as if being pursued, shopping bags of various colours, cars of different shapes and sizes and buildings almost touching the sky. ‘Fifth floor’ echoed the lift-recorded announcement, jolting me out of my thoughts, and ushering us into the arena of materialism... My boots were old and very noisy. I hoped no one was listening. Across the large room, there were girls standing on the stools making me quite uneasy. They had been staring at me since I walked in, reminding me of some well-dressed skeletal people I saw in a Japanese fashion store. These girls seemed unperturbed by the noise and madness around them, I believed they could see and hear the sound of my ugly old boots but my biggest worry was that they never blinked let alone smiled. The beauty of their 1960’s polo neck mini dresses began to draw me towards them. It was beautiful, stylish, simple and elegant. As I got closer, I managed to continue my calculations from the car park. Pencil, photo paper, housecoat…then I stopped to ask myself, why should I be considering a 1960’s dress in 2006? Is it not just the great results of a wonderful recycle? then bang! Here comes a new design! With that thought in my head, I suddenly made a swift turn faster than a soldier did in a parade, saving myself some useful cash. I cared less about whom or what was listening to the sound of my boots this time, Wasn't Christmas only a month ago?
You and style... Style: what is yours? A particular kind, 'your own' your way of dressing, talking, dancing, writing, eating...etc. We all have it in us. The problem is some have dominated others and some are mere followers. There is so much imposing varieties out there that so many people have continually followed others, through the 'in thing' or what naija's call 'follow follow' thereby losing themselves. However, if your answer to the above questions is appropriate, you will help yourself in the style department immensely. As much as I love them, clothes, shoes and bags… I have learnt deeper lessons. Fashion and style almost sound alike, actually they do not mean the same things. In the British media people have forgotten that Ant and Dec do not look alike or sound alike they just go well together! by the way they always amaze me ... Seasonal fashion is great, it has a voice of its own just like vogue. It is every where. In fact fashion has a loud voice, it shouts 'hey! look at me, I know what's up'...However, it comes and goes in a twinkle of an eye.
Style is different, it is solid, it is more you and actually it should be 'the real you'. Your 'Style' makes you fashionable most importantly makes you an individual, and gives you an identity. Have you ever wondered why identical twins might behave differently? that tells you how different people can actually be from one to another this also applies to style. The difference in us influences who we truly are, how we want to be seen, perceived, and what we like and dislike. This tells me that there is nothing wrong with people being or looking different, it is just the way we are made and it is indeed a great idea.
Have you ever imagined what would happen, if everyone looked the same? Spoke the same language, liked the same food and danced the same way? hmm how weird!
When you shop... When we go shopping either for clothes, shoes bags or cars... we always think about, The 'VOGUE' for the now. This could be simply because we have either seen someone wearing the same outfit, it had been advertised in the media, or a friend has a nice piece and it really looked good! We forget that we are different from others and 'we are best at styling ourselves'. Then I realised the same issue of personality differences creeping into the subject of styling yourself...why? because some people are not style oriented, yes! they just don't know, which is ok. It is Simply because it is part of their uniqueness. Every one is wired differently. STYLISHLY SPEAKING...ask these questions... WHY DOES N'T IT FIT ME JUST LIKE THE MOVIE STAR? DOES IT REALLY SUIT ME? DOES IT SUIT MY PERSONALITY? hmmm big question eh? Most of us do not understand, that finding out who you truly are helps you, not only in your career choices rather, in everything including your style. The few questions above, if answered appropriately gives you a key. Furthermore, you will need to think about the following. (forget about everyone else as this is all about you) what are your likes? what are you dislikes? what attracts you? what do you feel comfortable in? what fabrics do you like? what jewelleries do you like? what colours appeal to you? why do you like them?
Colour: Another crucial issue is colour. I was taught that there is a reason why I love certain colours and hate others...hmmm. Curious as I always am, I decided to find out more, so much so that I had to go and study a course in Applied Colour Psychology. I learnt a lot indeed. Colour is everywhere around us yet, we do not quite understand why and how to use it to our own benefit. As soon as we decide to purchase anything, we are usually colour conscious, so there must be reasons why we are attracted to some colours than others. Can you wear an outfit made in a colour you like, yet you hate the style? hmm probably not. Can you wear an outfit made out of a style you dislike, yet like the colour? hmm...I am not sure... Do designers produce clothes with the style in contrast to the colour? Oh yes! But, why? ignorance... * most people are ignorant of the psychology of colour, * style and personalities * body shape and suitable style * they are trying to save cost * put themselves first and not the buyers. I learnt that colours have psychological properties and the various patterns of colour can be associated with different kinds of personalities. There are a few things to take into consideration. Who you are, what you like, why you like what you like, your body shape, your skin tone, your likes at home etc. After studying I began to understand why I was attracted to some particular colours and totally disliked others. If we all know and accept that everyone is different, it is simply not possible for the same style and colour to fit everyone nicely, however different shades will apply. This issue is so difficult to deal with in the world we live in, where the high streets are all competitively saying ''we will see who will sell the most basic white t-shirt this season'' furthermore, there are a million blues and the same applies to all the various colours. plus there is the seasonal ' fashion' So how can a designer understand how to design clothes for a certain personality to achieve a style that compliments such individual? It is almost impossible, so very few percentages enjoy such luxury. Nevertheless, there is a possibility that you can, simply by identifying with answering those questions. YOU, who you are, what you like, your style and your favourite colours and why you like them. Irrespective of your age, sex, or ethnic origin; there are different personality types, various body shapes, and different skin tones. The key is knowing who you are and making the best of you. There is confirmation in my heart that everyone is indeed beautiful in their own way, yes in their own way...
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