March 28, 2024

The eccentric effect

And so London Fashion Week rolls out of town for another season. The editors have flown South followed closely, no doubt, by their controversial, blog-based counterparts. Ah the bloggers. Recognised by their, often nonsensical, mismatched ensembles come show season, one can typically spot such an individual from a mile off. Now I’m not claiming that all members of said community take the frequently predictable off-kilter, Louise Grey-esque approach. Nor am I saying that they all dress in a ridiculously hideous fashion. They don’t take themselves too seriously, generally speaking, which is refreshing to see in amidst a crowd whose style is often dictated by seasonal trends.

However you cannot help but ponder when it comes to the wearing of these eccentric outfits, who these fashion fanatics are really dressing for. Before the rise of the blogger, you rarely saw such clashing, outlandish outfits being praised in the mainstream fashion publications. That is not to say that such people did not exist, I have no doubt that they did, just that they were not well publicised or praised for what they were doing. Fast forward to 2011 and the fashion bloggers are regularly featured in the major, as well as independent, magazines. They gain photography projects, styling jobs and writing posts off the back of their own blogs. Much to the chagrin of some, they are a vital part of this fast paced industry.

It goes without saying that the strange and downright bizarre sartorial choices get far more exposure that those who refrain from wearing such bold choices. With such extreme competition from the millions of bloggers worldwide, each must have something which differentiates themselves from the sea of others. Often they seem to perpetuate this avant-garde, crazy cat lady take on personal style. If this is what pleases them personally, then I have no problem with that. However it is becoming increasingly apparent that such outfits are worn purely for the pleasure of street style photographers. It is a well-known fact that there are a couple of sure fire ways to get spotted whilst outside of fashion shows. One is to be wearing a head to toe catwalk look, and let’s face it if you don’t happen to have Anna Della Russo’s wardrobe that doesn’t seem a likely option for most, two is to be wearing something verging on the ridiculous. A shoe as a headpiece, various brightly coloured pieces which hints at some kind of Crayola obsession or an immense fur, reminiscent of P Diddy in the Nineties. It is here that the act of dressing starts to turn into a competitive bid for attention, more than an act of making oneself feel, and look, good. It is not a given that the crazier the outfit the better you look. In fact quite often the opposite is true. If the bloggers are dressing with such eccentricity because they genuinely feel like it, genuinely feel as though this is a visual representation of their character then kudos to them, more people should be doing just that. However if the ever increasing presence of fashion bloggers in street style columns next to some of the best editors in the industry is anything to go by, I don’t suspect that is the case for many of them unfortunately…

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