Three ways fashion makes us foolish

I only discovered recently how many fashion blogs there are in the Philippines, and while they’re fun to browse through, I just can’t commit to a long-term relationship with any of them.  I’ve never really been much into fashion. As far as I’m concerned, if whatever I’m wearing is in a flattering shade and doesn’t make me look like a whale, I’m happy enough.   

This is not to say that I don’t admire fashionable people and clothing. I do. But I tend to look at them much in the same way that I do a work of art — pretty to look at, nice to have around, but not something I desperately need to be or possess.  

This is why I will never understand why some people actually go as far as falling into debt to feed their fashion obsession. That’s crazy.

I’m all for looking good and presenting oneself to the world as a stylish, successful person. Feeling well-dressed is a great pick-me-up, and gives us an added boost of confidence when we need it.  Also – this may be sad, but it’s true – people judge us by the way we dress.  Try walking into the bank dressed in a business suit one day and like a homeless person the next, and you’ll see what I mean.  But to live and die by the dictates of fashion is just ridiculous. 

Fashion in itself may not be foolish – I really do think it’s a form of art – but it’s fickle and fleeting, and has a rather scary ability to turn us into fools. Here are 3 ways I think fashion robs us of our common sense.

1.     Fashion turns us into stupid spenders. 

We know how much cloth costs. We know how much thread and zippers and buttons or whatever cost.  We know how much the neighborhood mananahi would charge to copy a style that we like.  But we will STILL pay thousands more to buy something, just because it has a designer label. And maybe because we saw a celebrity wearing it in InStyle magazine.

Never mind that we could use the money to pay our phone bill, or rent, or some hospital bill in the foreseeable future. It’s DESIGNER. Enough said.

What many of us don’t realize is a hefty price tag doesn’t really guarantee anything (except a lighter wallet).  “Style… knows no price tag,” writes Josh Patner. “High price is no guarantee of high style. Anyone who knows clothes will tell you that fashion is not what you wear, but how you wear it.”

And it’s true. If you stop to think about the most stylish people you know, you’ll find that you admire them not because of the expensive labels and brands they wear, but because they’re able to wear anything well, and with confidence.

2.     Fashion makes us suffer pain gladly.

We’re all guilty of this at one point or another — even anti-fashionistas like myself. There is no limit to the discomfort we’re willing to go through to look just right.  Never mind that we have to subject our feet to medieval torture, or engage in a mini-wrestling match with a suffocating pair of Spanx.  These are but trifling sacrifices to the altar of Fashion. 

The sad thing is that in spite of these sacrifices, the fruit of our efforts and expenses still often go unnoticed or underappreciated. In many cases, they’re even ridiculed. (Just log on to Twitter during any awards show, and you’ll know this is true.)

So it makes you wonder, is it all worth it? And foolishly, we will usually answer “YES.”

3.     Fashion makes us think that “Clothes make the man.”

I honestly don’t know who coined that line, but it’s total BS.  Clothes don’t make a man – or woman.  While in some cases they may be a reflection of the sparkling, original personality you possess, they can never actually take the place of an ACTUAL sparkling and original personality.

No matter how great you may look on the outside, you won’t get very far if you have nothing of significance inside to back it up.  So maybe it would be good to focus more on the things that really count than on the threads you use to frame them.  As Wynton Marsalis once said, “Don’t settle for style. Succeed in substance.” – Rappler.com