As Ralph Lauren says, “Style is very personal. It has nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is over quickly. Style is forever.” Style lasts a lifetime. Fashion and lifestyle are linked in the sense that fashion is a way of life, and your lifestyle may be expressed via fashion. Fashion is one of the means to express one’s personality through clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc. It is used by individuals to distinguish themselves apart from other people. We shall discuss why fashion is a lifestyle not just clothes.
Fashion is a lifestyle not just clothes
Fashion is who you are. It’s what you stand for. It’s how you choose to live your life. While fashion can be an expression of your personality, more often than not, it’s the other way around—your personality is a reflection of your fashion choices!
For some people, any or all of these may be true. But, when we think about it, all of these things are merely components that lead to one thing, which is our way of life. What do they all have in common, after all? They’re all a part of our daily routine!
Fashion may be a way of life, a revolt, or a movement. Fashion is a powerful tool for expressing who you are and how you feel. It might convey your strength and independence, or it can convey your innocence and kindness. Preppy, punk, hipster, gothic, and emo are all social groups that can be defined by the way they dress.
-Novander
What is lifestyle fashion?
Lifestyle fashion is something which attempts to concretize a particular values, interests, attitudes or opinions of an individual. It works deeply to understand what the consumers wants and craves, which creates an environment of loyalty and inspiration.
It is not just about releasing the latest or trendy clothes, rather it carefully scrutinizes the consumer’s inclination to produce pieces that will tick their senses. Instead of focusing more on advertising the products, they are promoting the idea behind their products which is usually to improve the consumers’ life.
A good example of lifestyle brands are Nike and Adidas. These brands are selling sporting goods promoting that these goods, even though originally made for athletes, may also be worn by normal individuals just for running errands.
In line with that, it can also be a source of motivation to be healthier. Nike, in particular, is popular with creating taglines, such as “Just Do It”, which serves as their campaign to sell their products by indirectly telling them that you can overcome hardships if you purchase their products.
Another interesting brand is The North Face. This brand develops designs and pieces that last, telling consumers that their products are made while decreasing their carbon footprint, thereby, somehow saving the future generations’ world to live in.
Is fashion a lifestyle?
Consider the following scenario: You have an important meeting, but you can’t decide what to wear. You’re faced with a plethora of choices and don’t know which one to pick. Some may argue, “Who cares?” yet the truth is that you are wittingly or unwittingly making a statement with your clothing.
Clothes can be thought of as an extension of your character. For instance, if you want to be perceived as a successful person, you can dress in business suits or classic clothing. Colorful outfits and funky accessories are ideal for displaying a more artistic and free side of yourself.
It makes little difference if someone is wealthy or not; what counts is how they present themselves through their clothing and accessories. Even if they don’t have a lot of money, they can make something look more expensive by mixing and matching the right clothes. That is lifestyle.
Is fashion only about clothes?
Absolutely not! For some, surely it is more of wearing designer clothes or pieces because it speaks of their social status. Some would wear pieces which they think are eye-pleasing for other people.
However, fashion is not about the brand of your clothes, how long or short it is, or how showy or covered your style is. Fashion is more than that because for some people, it forms part of their life. It is their way of articulating their emotions rather than using words.
It is their way of showing their creativity and their interests. It makes them feel alive, stronger and more engaged with their surroundings. It makes us feel good about ourselves without having to use drugs. Fashion is about the way you carry yourself. Just as the saying goes “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.”, it is the same with fashion because it is more of how you present yourself with the clothes you wear.
Fashion is never about the clothes. You could be wearing a sack, but you can still make it stylish by adding jewelries or belts. At times, it also varies in terms of religions or beliefs. What is fashionable for you, may be too revealing for other people. In reverse, what is off-fashion for you, is fashionable for others.
Fashion is an attitude
Karl Lagerfeld, a German fashion designer, says that “Fashion is an attitude more than a clothing detail.” Fashion allows other people to see through our inner selves. It is like a mirror of our personality, where it reflects our deepest thoughts and feelings.
Fashion is something we engage with and commit to do everyday. We express what we feel when we wake up in the morning, what we feel when we are scheduled to do work, what we feel if we are on a dinner date with someone at eight o’ clock in the evening, or what we feel before going to bed through fashion.
For example, you show up to work wearing your strongest-looking outfit. This imparts to your co-workers that you cannot be belittled and that you are ready to take on the world. This is how your attitude is shown through fashion. I have not seen an elated and ecstatically happy person worn black to let people show their emotions, rather, it is usually with popping colors and bold designs.
Fashion is as inconsistent as flow of water in the river, falling of leaves, or even the birth of a star because we do not know when and where it will take place. It is very unstable and surprisingly, although it quickly changes, it is recurrent. The fashion trends in the 80s are now the fashion trends in the 20th century, however, with little twists. Just like attitude, it often changes, it never stays the same, but it repeats.
Fashion is an expression of who you are
It is not about trends. We all know that trends easily develop because of its target market, particularly the consumers and also the awareness of how influencers and celebrities are being utilized by designers to create new fashion trends. However, fashion is not about these trends or what is more recently appealing.
Fashion is an expression of one’s personality – it may be the manner of escaping reality by putting on some materials into your body and then taking or removing it whenever you want, or a manner where you can show to the world who you really are inside. As one of the advanced mammals that are first to evolve, we have a gift that we are able to think – to process our thoughts and feelings deeply.
As human beings, we learned to give importance to what others feel, that is why sometimes we tend to hide our real thoughts in order not hurt somebody’s feelings. The result is there are some people who try to hide their emotions, eventually the reality, not just for others but also for themselves, because they feel that they do not own or know themselves.
There are also times when we choose ourselves over others. Both attitudes are present in our society, and both are considered expressions of what we desire. Fashion is an expression because the one who wears thinks deeply on what he/she should choose from the different variety of clothes.
Whether he/she will follow his/her heart and mind on what should wear or follow what others feel what they should wear by looking to someone’s fashion, they do not know what they really feel inside.
Build your style
You may have the unbridled option to build your style with pieces that fit your life. As we have discussed earlier, fashion is an expression of your personality and values in life. Hence, it is necessary that when you are developing your style, it is in accordance with your outlook and mindset. You have to build your style with clothing, jewelry, accessories or hairstyle that best defines you and that which can effectively communicate your feelings and emotions. As Coco Chanel
says, “Fashion changes, but style endures.” Being stylish does not necessarily have to follow the recent fashion trends but it is more of always staying true to your own aesthetic. Your style is developing a sense of self, hence, it is “personal” and unique to you.
First, browse through your closet and look for items that make you feel good. Pull them all out, let it pile and determine what is the common denominator between these pieces. Is it the color? The print? The design?
Next, you can utilize social media websites such as Pinterest to look for fashion inspiration to get your creation started. Observe how celebrities and influencers dress and style their outfit then find out if such style also speaks of your personality. You can mix and match according to your liking to achieve your goal. You can also create a fashion mood board by compiling images to build your style.
Lastly, you can also experiment on unique styles or clothes to make it more personal. You can play with colors or designs and choose what makes you feel best.
Creating your lifestyle through fashion
Your wardrobe pieces and accessories go hand in hand with your life as each has a huge impact on the other. Your life lets you purchase all the clothes you want and in turn, your clothes empowers you and your life. Moreover, you use your purchased clothes for your everyday life.
Lifestyle is a particular way of living wherein we can do things that we feel, and what we think. We can create and express our lifestyle in different ways, such as fashion. Other people express their desired lifestyle on what they should eat every meal, what gadget they should use, or what brand of car they should drive.
Conclusion
Many brands are making use of good opportunities in relation to lifestyle fashion because these kinds can easily attract consumers just by making it appeal to their feelings and emotions.
Fashion reveals who you really are. You just have to remember that being fashionable does not always come with a high price. You can work on your already-owned clothes, go to thrift or vintage stores. There, you will find clothes and pieces that are timeless and worth every penny.
Fashion is not just clothes. It is a lifestyle. It means that you have certain interests and preferences. You follow some trends and ignore others. Fashion has a lot to do with your social circle, education, and profession as well as with your personal interests and beliefs. Just like some people like movies better than books and someone prefers rock music to jazz, you can be either a “fashion person” or not.