Student Life September 2019

SELF-EXPRESSION
BY MOLLY PEARCE
When I used to hear the word ‘fashion’,
I would find myself feeling burrowed
existential dread and shivering at the
thought of my personal style (if you could
call it that) not coinciding with what I had
been sold the concept of ‘fashion’ was, for
example, Regina George from Mean Girls
or Cher Horowitz from Clueless. I thought
that if I didn’t wear pink on Wednesdays
my life as I knew it would crumble at my
feet and I would suffer lifelong, damaging
verbal abuse as a direct result. Needless
to say, I was quite wrong. It turns out
mid-1990’s and early 2000’s style isn’t for
almost everyone on the planet and the
concept of ‘fashion’ is merely correlational
with self-expression.
There is no good or bad – only
what is trendy at the current
moment and wearing said trends
or not wearing them does not
diminish your style in any way.
The media has taught us that fashion
works in complex ways. Whilst allowing us
to embrace any aspect of clothing that may
visually appeal to us, it has simultaneously
negatively impacted the way we view
different styles, enforcing stereotypes and
stylistic boundaries. It is, in my opinion,
a way of telling people exactly who they
should be and how they should dress.
Whilst there is undoubtedly a greater
acceptance of the variety of stylistic
personalities, the media
teaches us to attach labels
to the people who express
them. For example, thanks to
TV such as ‘The Big Lebowski’
and ‘That 70’s Show’, we
have inadvertently created a
stereotype that anyone who
dresses like the characters
in the TV show or movie
(baggy jeans and jumpers),
should mirror the ‘stoner’ personality
we are shown. Similarly, characters such
as Negasonic Teenage Warhead from
Deadpool 2, Allison Reynolds from ‘The
Breakfast Club’ or Wednesday Addams
from ‘The Addams Family’ enforce the
stereotype that all moody and emotionally
damaged teenagers should dress in black
attire from head to foot. These are not
healthy stereotypes to be advertising
in the fashion world when we consider
that people may wear black because it’s
slimming or complements their skin tone
or may wear baggy clothes because they’re
comfortable and hide insecurities.
Whilst it is important to showcase a
variety of different fashion statements
within the media, thus opening our eyes
to the realms of style and its creative
possibilities, it is also just as important
to challenge these stereotypes in order
to prove a point that fashion is fluid and
should not be simply associated with a
few personality traits.
26 • SEPTEMBER 2019 • STUDENT LIFE