ANNES FASHION FLAIR: What is fashion?

Fashion Friday

Guest Post

Throughout my childhood I have always been given the option to choose what I want to look like and how I’d like to dress! My mama installed a lot of confidence in me… She told me I always have options!

From birth my mama made a huge effort and would take pride in dressing me and my brothers well. We weren’t little dolls to her (lol) but she ensured we looked just as grand as she did.

Going to nursery, I would wear hand made clothes by my mum. I had a few favourite dresses that I would literally never take off. There was one particular dress my mum would ensure was washed and ready for school the next day, knowing I’d throw some sort of fit if I couldn’t wear it :).

I owe a lot of my creativity and expression to my mum, she never limited my crazy choices in style and found diplomatic ways to encourage better options lol…as I got older, that all changed! My mum soon gave me her opinions when I didn’t ask for them hehe quite bluntly and direct too! Her allowing me to find myself, my taste and my style has given me the confidence to be sure about what it is I want my outfit to say when getting dressed. It’s not always that deep haha… but I do dress to my mood as well as the occasion.

Because I had been given so much freedom growing up, (to an extent) I would get easily bored with the same look and want ‘a change’. I did go through a phase in secondary school where I felt I lost my personal taste and wanted to look like my friends. I was shorter and lot more curvy than a lot of them, which meant that certain clothing they wore didn’t quite sit the same on me.

Fashion is a popular and generic way of looking OR behaving. Being that I found fashion so interesting at such a young age, I didn’t quite understand I had my own style before wanting to fit in with the trends.

School was THE place I latched on to the trends and tried to “fit in”. The years when the Academics tracksuits were the “IT” thing, Tommy Hilfiger coats, skirts worn over trousers lol, Pony trainers, rings on every finger, jelly shoes,(which are still on trend) etc etc. Growing up it was so easy to decide that I wanted what everyone else wanted, before actually giving it any thought, because I was sometimes the only person who didn’t have the latest. It was only when I pulled away from constantly being around friends (as well as my mum pointing out my look was ‘off!’) that I discovered my taste.

Not everything everyone is wearing or doing is going to suit you. What I soon realised as I continued to experiment in finding myself, was that style is ME, INDIVIDUAL… ORIGINAL!! Wearing or doing what I personally wanted was a reflection of me.

I have made many fashion faux pars… I wish I had pictures to share with you all… It’d be a lot of fun to look back and laugh! I do actually look back at recent pictures wandering how and why I chose to put certain pieces together, but I guess that’s the beauty of growing up and figuring yourself out.

I am a firm believer in the world of fashion…its creative, its different, engaging, spontaneous, interesting, inspiring… it is a world of it’s own!! Style however is timeless…it’s apart of who you are and who you intend to be. It’s the past you, the present you and the evolving you…it’ll always be a reflection of you, as long as you stay true to YOU!

STYLE TIP- Style over Fashion… it’s a personal statement! Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself throughout YOUR journey!