by Alex Schmidt
December 5, 2003
All fashion-oriented people should pride themselves on one important principle: looking how they look because they like it. You might think I'm targeting this at those trend trackers who look they way they do because everyone else does, but I'm actually also targeting those individually minded people who shy away from the trends because they don't want to look like everyone else.
Whether you look the way you do because everyone looks that way, or because you don't want to look like others—either way, you're letting others dictate your style. The important thing is to stay focused on yourself. This doesn't mean hating other people's ensembles walking down the street, or celebrity fashion on TV. But it does mean your style shouldn't be entirely dictated by such considerations.
I always try to hold true to this principle when shopping. I try to look at items in more of a vacuum, look away from the labels that bug me, look away from a store I might be in that I don't like, and ask myself: Would I like this on me?
There's only one instance that I don't hold true to this: it's when I go into certain stores and see piles of the same shirt reaching way, way, way up to the ceiling. Now, I'm not talking about the Gap or some place like that, where they sell clothing that's basic and doesn't promote any particular identity, brand, or style. What I'm talking about are stores like Urban Outfitters that try to appear vintage—or individualistic—and end up totally defeating their purpose by mass-producing—essentially removing any individuality from—their shirts.
The same goes for those Abercrombie & Fitch jeans with the holes in them. Okay, I know shopping for the vintage stuff is tiring and trying on the nerves, but . . . torn pants from Abercrombie? It just doesn't work. The reason it doesn't work is that if there ever was one, Abercrombie is the public's label of choice, and the whole torn pants thing was a rejection of public consensus. The store has to own up to what it is and not try and preempt and mass-manufacture the truly great vintage style. When people try to achieve that style the easy way by doing the Abercrombie/Urban Outfitters thing, it's obvious. That person just doesn't have the same spark as someone who really has trolled all of Melrose for the perfect pair of jeans. And worse, it's kinda sad when you see these people. It's sad because the whole mass-manufactured vintage clothing phenomenon is a cheapening not only of a look, but of an entire artistic and aesthetic movement based on cultural rebellion.
The truth is, this kind of faking of the real thing happens everywhere in our society. I love Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake because they own up to what they are and don't try to imbue their admitted pop with some deeper meaning. But I can't stand those bands like Matchbox 20, Eve 6, and Third Eye Blind (what's the deal with the numbers?), the so-called "alternatives" that are as empty as Justin but who market themselves as being deeper in some way.
Maybe their difference in image just comes down to the way they dress. Do they choose clothing they like, or clothing they think makes them different? Do they sing music they like? Either way, the moral is: do and be what you love, and don't let yourself be influenced by the outside. And if you want to make 100% sure you're being true to yourself, always steer clear of the sky-high pile of fakes.