Thoughts on... personal style

I was walking the dusty pathways (never-ending construction) from my office block to the gate when the notion of personal style popped into my head. I am not sure why. It might be because the memory of a young girl walking on the same route flashed past my mine. I remembered her because she was dressed in short (short short) denim shorts and a short tee. It is common nowadays to see girls in short denims, so short you can see the bottom half of their butt cheeks jiggling as they walk. But what I really remember about this girl is not her dressing, but her thighs. Her thighs looked bruised, as if she had fallen down or got hit by something at the back of the legs. Or... they might just be healing mosquito bites. Either way, short denims is totally not her look because it reveals, and brings attention, to those little blackish-red medallions. I have no idea what to make of it. She has nice legs, slim and fit, and they are fair, which is worse since it stands in contrast to those un-fair medallions. But to each his/her own, as long as she is comfortable. 

And this leads to my point about personal style. I believe that it is something you own, something that reflects who you are, your individuality if you will - to each his/her own. You have to own it, which means being comfortable in it. Whatever you're wearing should look effortless and so damn comfortable that it wears like a second skin. I am sensitive to the fact that to address this subject, it means that I myself must own some sort of personal style (and a certain measure of confidence) that screams me. Yes, I do believe that I have personal style. It is not the trendiest, the most expensive, the most branded, the most luxurious, or even the best looking, but definitely something I own and am comfortable in. It doesn't set trends, it doesn't set fashion ablaze, it doesn't meet any standards but my own. In fact, it has its own name (christened by my 'loving' friends, I'm not so egoistic as to give a name): pheasant. Don't get the wrong idea and think sackcloth and straw. It is most definitely not. In fact, I think if pheasant-style ever exists, it would break fashion and its multi-trillion business.

Is my personal style something that can people can replicate? I’m positive it could be. My style is a mix bag of styles fashioned from examples seen in magazines, online, television, from people on the streets; a fantastic top on some model, a bottom on some guy that I adopted into my own, a watch that is probably on everyone's wrist. Everything that I wear is mass-produced (Uniqlo anyone?) and does not belong to the 'branded' set, so of course it could be replicated. But this begs the question - do people want to follow my style? I should think not. An outfit may look good on me (or so I think...) but may not work on someone else. It is the way an individual lends his/her vibe to the outfit. That certain, for lack of a better word, swag if you will, that goes with the outfit. Yes, you can copy my dressing entirely from top to bottom, but we are still not going to have the same 'look'. What may scream "GOOD LORD!" on me may look "MEH!" on another (or vice versa). The vibe is different. No two people dressed alike will pull it off the same way. So don't worry if you see someone else wearing the same item as you are. It is bound to happen in this highly-industrialised consumer-centric world. Just be cool, be laid back, be comfortable, be yourself.

The second point I am making is to know yourself. When you dress according to you, you will naturally look good. How do you know what is you? Well, I guess a good place to start would be to buy pieces of clothing that you actually like and will definitely wear it more than three times. By like I mean something that you would willingly part money with. And why wear it more than three times? This is to ensure that you really like it and wouldn't mind wearing it repeatedly even after that 'trend' has moved on or died. Following this rule not only ensures that you are comfortable in what you wear, but it makes sure that you are parting with your money wisely. You get more worth with more wears, no? More bang for your buck. Value for dollar, yes? 

Note that I haven’t actually talked about whether you would look good in what you like and is comfortable in. This is the third point. Not everything I own (and that I like) looks fantastic on me. Some looks just meh (borderline ugly), and some really throw people off (I can tell), but I wear them anyway, because it so happen to fit (1) my mood, (2) my attitude, and (3) the practicalities of the day. Yes, I'm a practical dresser as well, mixing form and function (makes economic sense right?). But I dress according to mood first and foremost. Sometimes I'm off my rockers and throw practicalities down the drain (you know, those days when you really want to wear dress and heels to attend an open-air concert at Fort Canning). But when you're in a style that is recognisably your own, you own it and you look effortless in it. You don't have to look good in it, but people will naturally assume it does, because it is just so you. Case-in-point: my friend and I were out shopping one day and I picked out this top in linen that caught my eye. My friend took one look and said, "It's something that I won't look good in, but it's very you. You can pull it off". There is no mention of whether it looks good on me but because it is very me, I can definitely pull it off. I interpreted this as, "It might look kitschy and weird on you but you will still look fine because it is soooooo you". Honestly, this is what I call shopping to my heart's content. Spending my hard earned money on something that I really fancy. By the way, I didn't buy that linen top in the end because I found another top that I love even more (that may look even kitschier on me). It's one or the other ya'know... money don't grow on trees where I come from.

Another reason I know that my style is my style is because my friends would never, let me repeat, NEVER, dress the way I do. Each of my friends has her individual style and they own them. When we go out together, our outfits almost never clash. When we go out, we are an eclectic mix of various styles. Something which I value and appreciate about my friends. They know not to force their likes and dislikes on you. We accept diversity in taste. Most of the time anyway. Of course there were times when we would squeal in excitement when we spot something that two or more of us adore (something about those faux leather jackets that is sooooo appealing) while we happily fish our wallets out to pay for that item. However, we are assured in our own individual styles and know that we will never ever wear it the same way.

To sum it up: dress according to YOU and be comfortable. Comfort imparts CONFIDENCE. Confidence is key isn’t it?