06 November, 2006

Fashion Sense

Much to my dismay I do not have any fashion sense whatsoever. It is pathetic really. When I was a teenager we were told that intelligent and smart (meaning anything from quick-witted to resourceful to someone possessing street-smarts) girls did not need to exploit their sexuality. Fashion was for women who didn’t know better or couldn’t do better. What a shame this was.

As a result I never learnt to express myself though fashion; I never showed any interest or enjoyed learning about fashion trends (here); and I have only lately begun to appreciate the art of dressing intelligently, smartly, and with style (here). I am very hesitant to actually do anything about it yet (i.e. experiment with my wardrobe). Instead I spend my time looking at fashion magazines every time I find myself sitting in a dentist’s or doctor’s waiting room, and I’ve started fashion gazing while sitting on the bus or looking out of our large first-floor living room windows onto a major shopping street in Luebeck, Germany.

In this city, there is a large population of residences from the Middle East and Asia and some of the women have the wonderful ability to mix the European with traditional touches. This cultural juxtaposition is so welcomed at this time of year, more than any other. For instance, yesterday I saw a woman who covered a dark winter coat with a vibrantly colourful silk, linen wrap draped around her arms in a stylish manner.

If I get courageous enough to venture out and try and flex my weak and atrophied sense of fashion, I’d love to be able to do something like that woman yesterday.

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