Monday, October 5, 2009

Style vs. Fashion vs. Heart

Yesterday I went to a talk at the 92nd St Y (I don't think I've been there since my brother was learning how to swim) between Dr. Gail Saltz and Stacy London of What Not to Wear. Now, I actually had never seen the show (and that has been fixed thanks to good ol' DVR), and have been off the Today show wagon for quite some time (that too might be fixed), so Stacy London and her streak of gray were all pretty new to me. But the talk between the famed psychiatrist and stylist was less about fashion than the self. She spoke about her struggles with eating disorders, self-confidence, and her experiences from Vassar college to Vogue. And for a fresh outta college 22-year-old, her words of wisdom proved to be quite the awakening into a world of positivity, hope, and self-esteem.

Here are some of the take-away points from last night's discussion:

  • Style and fashion are two completely different things. Fashion is an industry about products and consumers. Style, though, is about what works for you, regardless of trends or what is hot in the moment.
  • Know your own body and what works best for it. There will always be trends, so you can't feel out of the loop if one simply doesn't work for your build. Your body is what you have to work with, regardless of its mushes, sags, or wrinkles. You can spend all of your time caring about the 3,500 others you see daily (in person, on tv, ads, etc.), or you can care about your one body, your one self.
  • Your clothes announce to the world how you want to be seen, so dress in a way that reflects your taste and personality. And more than that, wear what makes you feel your personal best.
Bottom-line - Stacy London is fantastic. She talks about the clothing industry as a means to empower women, and not to degrade them or hold them up to an impossible standard. She also is a prime-example of having a passion that leads you to a completely new direction that never could have been anticipated. Live in the moment, and look good doing it, she seemed to suggest. That, and use Pantene.

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