Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Who do you think is more stylish, the person who strolls into Barneys and buys the first bag, belt, shoe, and coat they see, or the person who sweats and fights at an ebay auction, digs through mold-scented thrift store bins to unearth a Pucci gem, and finds fur coats in abandoned houses (who are these people? I need to be hanging out with them cos clearly they are in on the ground floor)?

Do you think fashion should be a function of your bank account?

This has always been a problem of mine, when I would read through a copy of Vogue and my eyes would be rolled back so far into my head reading about how stylish someone is when they have a stylist and/or clothes given to them, and/or access to the world's finest vintage designer fashions. It all came to a head with Sea of Shoes in French Glamour. Of course it's easy to solve a problem when you can throw gobs of money at it. It's harder, and infinitely more rewarding to dig your heart out like a pig for truffle for the perfect pair of boots, a 20s dress, a diamond ring marked as rhinestone.

This isn't even about her; it's not my place to berate a child for the lifestyle they were born into. Its about the outmoded fashion elite and class system who decree that anyone with money is immediately stylish by virtue of the designer pieces they own.

What do you think?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you have no idea about me, my income, my lifestyle, how hard I work for my clothes, the pleasure I take in digging out the hidden finds, and certainly you have no idea what a good bargain hunter/thrifter/consignment shopper/ebayer I am!

:)
style cant be bought.
i work hard for what i get and im very lucky!
for me, fashion is all about the hunt.

Brooke Alexandra said...

Oh, I know you do, it's plain to see :) I'm referring more to the fashion elites who think just because a person is lucky enough to own lots of beautiful designer things, it automatically makes them stylish.

Please don't take offense, I didn't mean to drag you under the bus :)