FASHION

Crushing

CO-EDITOR ELISE DIXON

Gendered Clothes

BY LAUREN

We really need to stop the notion that clothes belong to certain genders. It’s mind blowing when we realise how many items and activities are placed on genders such as ‘girls dance, and boys play football’. I think we have reached a point in society to understand that people shouldn’t be placed in boxes due to their gender. Not all boys have to like playing sports or wanting to be confrontational. Likewise, not all girls have to be ‘soft and angelic’, girls have every right to be just as assertive as boys are allowed to be, without being told they are bossy and being called some offensive terminology beginning with ‘b’ if you get the drift… So, when loads of people are moving away from this narrative, so why can’t we do the same with clothing and fashion. Clothes are just fabric used to cover our bodies… Clothing and fashion is for artistic expression and to show personality… why do some pieces of clothing ‘have’ to be exclusive for one gender. Why not all genders? Whether you identify as a boy or girl or anything in between, you should be able to just wear whatever you wish. Fashion is self-expression, and it’s for you. Not anyone else’s self-expression. Boys can wear dresses, skirts, and heels. Especially when heels in the 17th century used to be exclusively for men… Dresses used to be unisex for children as they were easier for parents to remove to clean their children and get them dressed. So why has it become so controversial? Now to the girls… wear what you want! Do it shamelessly and without fear of judgement. I hate hearing how girls have been shamed into not wearing what makes them confident. Girls are not dolls to be dressed up and to please or make others comfortable for just existing as their gender. Girls are not objects, and sadly some people still need to hear this. Boys can be just as feminine as girls if they wish and wear whatever they want because it makes them confident. All and every gender should feel confident. Regardless of what you identify as, wear what you want without shame and fear!

Expression Of The Soul

BY LAUREN

Fashion is everywhere we look. Some people care about fashion and others aren’t bothered. But regardless of what side you are on… you can still tell a lot about a person. For the people who tend to dress down tend to be practicable and need clothes to suit their calm and easy outlook on life. You also get people who dress down due to wanting to be comfortable but needing to be comfortable in order to fully concentrate on having loads of work. When you start to get to know someone and learning about their personality and lives, you see how the outside reflects the inside. For the people who dress up and wear expensive clothing, tend to like attention for their expression and like to be open about themselves. Though on the other hand this way of dressing is also a way of seeming confident when in reality it’s a mask for their body to conceal how they really feel. But the only way to fit the reflections to the person… is to learn the person. When you understand the person, you understand why the clothing has been chosen. We also see how some people’s creativity has been suppressed through work and other areas which require someone to look ‘natural’. Which for some people, they understand, though from personal opinion… I don’t think how an individual dresses shows how good or how bad a person is at a job. Even more so, if they are competent for the job just because of alternative fashion styles, tattoos, or piercings. I believe when people are discriminated against just for how they express themselves (as long as it is not offensive and does not harm others), we place importance on the appearance rather than whether a person is qualified and has shown experience within their area of expertise. Which is wrong. Another area to discuss… uniforms in schools! There have been reasons for this such as to prevent bullying and to prevent people knowing what social class you are in (which in turn is another attempt to prevent bullying). However, in 2021, social class is not really spoken about anymore, as well as realising the fact that bullying

will happen regardless of having uniform or not. Even if schools want to protect children from less wealthy backgrounds, some schools make their uniform very expensive (especially blazers), just for children to grow out of them very quickly. Overall, it suppresses creative expression. Clothing is art we wear and tends to be a beginning of how we all express ourselves. When we look at old photos of childhood and seeing some questionable outfit choices… it’s the start of expressing ourselves in a way that does not require words and conversations. I think when we start to take a deeper look into how fashion is truly everywhere around us and how much we actually use it for selfexpression, it’s more common than we think. Here’s the question I ask my readers… why is expressing yourself through clothing important to you? For me, it is a way to communicate without saying a word. I love to dress up, I love my clothes but tend to forget about the shoes. For many people that is seen as the absolute no-no, however for me… I need and love the practicality of some dirty old trainers! Whilst dressing up really nicely. Some would say this ruins an outfit, I say this adds character and shows people the different sides of me all in one outfit. For many people I know, they love to wear loungewear and ultimately live in it. They tend to be the friends that are laid back and easy going with a down to earth nature. Then for the friends who dress up, very fashion orientated and want to make a statement are very confident, with a secret soft side that tends to be overshadowed! But of course, I know these people, I have known some for many years, and how I interpret their fashion styles is only because I have gotten to know these people as individuals and the reasons behind their choices. So, how can we be more authentic about ourselves and how to match our personalities and inside, to the outside… there’s really not a lot to it! Wear what makes you feel confident and most importantly happy! It is as easy as that! If you aren’t happy in what you wear then why wear it!

FASHION ONLINE

BY LAUREN

I think being able to buy clothes online has been a blessing throughout the pandemic. From a self- identified shopaholic, buying clothing online is very much necessary for when there’s lockdowns as we are not being allowed on shopping sprees! Not to mention that the shops were closed… anyway! Buying clothes online can be a bit of a hit and miss sometimes. Not all companies will be honest about the quality of their clothes and accessories. Though this is not surprising. Or just having strange fitting sizes… which sometimes makes no sense. Though it’s the risk we take. I have bought some items which have been extremely poor quality from feeling thinner than paper that would literally rip if I wore it. But you always learn after to read the reviews of other people to get a better idea as well as seeing photos of customers wearing the items, as models always show the best side of the garment and never the flaws… With shopping online, you can’t try clothes and sometimes it really proves that you should try clothes on before you buy them. Secondly, some gems can be bought online. Some of my favourite clothing items have been bought online and fit amazingly. Not to mention, you discover some amazing brands that are new and fresh. Another bonus to online shopping is applying discount codes! I believe it’s easier to save money online as we can find so many discount codes as well. These codes can’t be applied in real life (bit of an obvious statement), and there’s not really an easy way to save money when shopping in person. Unless you start shopping religiously in the sale section of stores. Even though we can apply discount codes online, online shopping also makes it easier to buy more and more items. Even if we weren’t looking to buy a lot. In conclusion, shopping online and online fashion can be both a blessing and a curse in disguise. Sometimes we get lucky and other times… not so much. But personally, I will continue taking the gamble when buying clothes online.