Does Fashion Matter?

"This... stuff'? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select... I don't know... that lumpy blue sweater, for instance because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent... wasn't it who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff. "

This quote from The Devil Wears Prada, a film I otherwise dislike,frequently pops into my head. I am confronted often by people who think that they are somehow above dressing fashionably, that fashion is irrelevant and/or that what they wear doesn't make a statement. The fact is that even if you wear your pajamas out on Sunday morning you are making a statement. I find myself particularly frustrated and offended by people who dress badly on purpose, I feel like I am being judged by them for being shallow enough to care how I look. As Meryl Streep's character says, they believe they are wearing something that has exempted them from the fashion industry but what they are wearing is directly affected by the fashion industry. We are all cogs in the fashion machine, whether we like it or not. 

As a fashion fan I, like everyone, think of France as the pinnacle of fashion. Here in Canada I see a lot of people dressing as if they are too busy, too cool or too unimpressed with you to dress nicely. This is an art form that has simply not been mastered here. A few years ago I was in Paris with a French friend, as we were walking down the street she pointed out a woman across the street who was wearing a simple pant-suit. She told me "do you see that woman? She looks beautiful right? But she looks like she doesn't care. That is French style". In "Almost French" by Sarah Turnball, she writes about an experience where she is told that dressing fashionably is for other people, who have to see you. I found this piece witty and charming but perhaps the most pointed reason for dressing well came from the same French friend who told me that it wasn't nice for people not to dress nicely or not take care of themselves. Why? Her rationale was--we all have to do it, why should someone be exempt? Are they better than the rest of us?  I think my appreciation for her and for the quote from The Devil Wears Prada boils down to the fact that thinking you're excluded from convention is frankly a bit snotty, sure fashion is sometimes futile, sometimes petty, sometimes horribly wrong but it's something we are all subjected to. It would be nice if we were all seen for our personality and never judged by outward appearances but this simply isn't going to happen. 

Furthermore fashion is like all art. When I was still in high school we were in an art gallery when a curator presented us with the question (ok, I don't remember exactly how it goes-that was a long time ago!) is art important? Should government funds be dedicated to art? Of course I think they should but it is a good question. Is art vital to our survival as a human race? As long as there have been people there has been art so I would argue yes. Some years ago my mom, who loves gardening, said to me "sometimes I wonder if my garden is important. It really has no value at all, but it is beautiful and it makes me happy". I think it's the same for fashion. Maybe it isn't important in a life changing sense, but it is beautiful.