Fashion Victim
By bitingmylip
They say the camera never lies. Assuming this is true, my camera has imparted an important truth: that I am in a fashion rut. As truths go, it’s not exactly life-altering, but it is disappointing. I’m young, female and earning money. I shop in shops from Primark to, errr, TopShop. It may be true that the closest thing to a designer item I own is a Ted Baker dress, but still, I’m fashion conscious, I read Glamour. If I could afford it, I’d own some Jimmy Choos.
Why, then, does photographic evidence appear to demonstrate that I own only one top? I got 50 photos printed the other day. They almost span the 18 months I have been living in London, taking me from January 2006 (trip to Stockholm, met Shayne Ward, missed our flight home) up to a drunken night out in May 2007 (started sedately, ended in Clapham High Street’s infamous Infernos nightclub.) My photos show different people in different locations for different reasons. There is, however, one clear, shining similarity in every one in which I appear.
I am wearing the same top in all of them. Bar about 4.
To be precise, in the photos I am actually wearing one half-cardigan/shrug style top over other different tops, thus giving the impression that I only own this one red wrap-around half-cardi that ties underneath the bust. In fact I am wearing lots of different tops underneath said red wrap-around half-cardi. It’s just you can’t see them in most of the pictures. They’re hidden by the tie under the bust.
So, ok, I have been wearing the same top for almost 18 months. Ok, apparently I think it’s fine to wear it over everything from a black Monsoon wrap dress to a white vest top that cost £2.50 from George at Asda. I’ve matched it with red sparkly earrings from River Island and I’ve used it as a pillow to sleep on Clapham Common. It is fair to say that the top has been an almost constant presence in my life since I bought it from Warehouse in the 2006 January sales. If I were a celebrity, Heat and Grazia would print pictures of me in the top with big arrows pointing out my lack of stylistic originality. The obvious conclusion is that I am in a fashion rut.
Clearly it is very disappointing to think you are no more stylish than Jodie Marsh or some such Heat fashion disaster. But you know what? I don’t really see why I should feel so bad about wearing the same item of clothing more than once, even if I have taken this to new extremes and worn it AT LEAST once a week, every week, for the last 18 months. But come on, I’m not Victoria Beckham. If you think about it, doesn’t it just show that:
- I am a woman of steadfast tastes
- I know my own mind
- I am not fickle
- I know how to get my money’s worth out of an item, and
- I clearly take very good care of my clothes.
What’s more, my little red top has seen me through a lot. I’ve worn it in every season and (apparently) to every event. This top has, in no particular order, seen me through four first dates, lots of bottles of wine, three flings, one emotional new year’s eve, several cinema trips, one actual relationship, numerous broken glasses, two job changes, the occasional temper tantrum, three holiday locations, declarations of love to at least four of my friends that I remember, and endless cups of tea. And that doesn’t even begin to cover the occasions my photo album shows.
So you know what, I don’t care that I’m stuck in a fashion rut. I read once that French women, instead of sniggering when they see someone in an outfit they’ve seen before, instead say something like, “oh, you’re wearing that dress. That’s one of my favourites. It really suits you.”
I don’t know where I read this and it is possible I made it up but I like the sentiment all the same. Unless you’re a fashion journalist, Victoria Beckham, or someone else with more money than sense, you buy clothes because you like them and because they fit you. I still like my red top and it still fits me. So I’m going to wear it until the seams burst. Or at least until someone buys me a very expensive, very attractive alternative…
Best give it a wash tonight though.
They say the camera never lies. Assuming this is true, my camera has imparted an important truth: that I am in a fashion rut. As truths go, it’s not exactly life-altering, but it is disappointing. I’m young, female and earning money. I shop in shops from Primark to, errr, TopShop. It may be true that the closest thing to a designer item I own is a Ted Baker dress, but still, I’m fashion conscious, I read Glamour. If I could afford it, I’d own some Jimmy Choos.
Why, then, does photographic evidence appear to demonstrate that I own only one top? I got 50 photos printed the other day. They almost span the 18 months I have been living in London, taking me from January 2006 (trip to Stockholm, met Shayne Ward, missed our flight home) up to a drunken night out in May 2007 (started sedately, ended in Clapham High Street’s infamous Infernos nightclub.) My photos show different people in different locations for different reasons. There is, however, one clear, shining similarity in every one in which I appear.
I am wearing the same top in all of them. Bar about 4.
To be precise, in the photos I am actually wearing one half-cardigan/shrug style top over other different tops, thus giving the impression that I only own this one red wrap-around half-cardi that ties underneath the bust. In fact I am wearing lots of different tops underneath said red wrap-around half-cardi. It’s just you can’t see them in most of the pictures. They’re hidden by the tie under the bust.
So, ok, I have been wearing the same top for almost 18 months. Ok, apparently I think it’s fine to wear it over everything from a black Monsoon wrap dress to a white vest top that cost £2.50 from George at Asda. I’ve matched it with red sparkly earrings from River Island and I’ve used it as a pillow to sleep on Clapham Common. It is fair to say that the top has been an almost constant presence in my life since I bought it from Warehouse in the 2006 January sales. If I were a celebrity, Heat and Grazia would print pictures of me in the top with big arrows pointing out my lack of stylistic originality. The obvious conclusion is that I am in a fashion rut.
Clearly it is very disappointing to think you are no more stylish than Jodie Marsh or some such Heat fashion disaster. But you know what? I don’t really see why I should feel so bad about wearing the same item of clothing more than once, even if I have taken this to new extremes and worn it AT LEAST once a week, every week, for the last 18 months. But come on, I’m not Victoria Beckham. If you think about it, doesn’t it just show that:
- I am a woman of steadfast tastes
- I know my own mind
- I am not fickle
- I know how to get my money’s worth out of an item, and
- I clearly take very good care of my clothes.
What’s more, my little red top has seen me through a lot. I’ve worn it in every season and (apparently) to every event. This top has, in no particular order, seen me through four first dates, lots of bottles of wine, three flings, one emotional new year’s eve, several cinema trips, one actual relationship, numerous broken glasses, two job changes, the occasional temper tantrum, three holiday locations, declarations of love to at least four of my friends that I remember, and endless cups of tea. And that doesn’t even begin to cover the occasions my photo album shows.
So you know what, I don’t care that I’m stuck in a fashion rut. I read once that French women, instead of sniggering when they see someone in an outfit they’ve seen before, instead say something like, “oh, you’re wearing that dress. That’s one of my favourites. It really suits you.”
I don’t know where I read this and it is possible I made it up but I like the sentiment all the same. Unless you’re a fashion journalist, Victoria Beckham, or someone else with more money than sense, you buy clothes because you like them and because they fit you. I still like my red top and it still fits me. So I’m going to wear it until the seams burst. Or at least until someone buys me a very expensive, very attractive alternative…
Best give it a wash tonight though.
posted by bitingmylip at 1:47 AM
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