FASHION

harmful to individuals and large portions of society who don’t fit into these categories that are favoured. Especially when we start to look at examples of how society puts different levels of pressure on different groups. Features that are associated with being white such as straight hair are favoured and desired in society, but for black people there are different pressures on them to change their natural hair and will even be punished or even rejected in the workplace for being ‘unprofessional’. My own experiences will be very different to those of black, Asian, disabled and all minority groups as I am a white individual, many of these pressures I will never experience purely due to my skin colour. As a society we can do so much better. Especially to those who are marginalized. Whilst I cannot be the voice for all, maybe you can relate to feelings of not feeling valuable and just feeling worthless because you don’t look good one day or experience situations in where people will treat you very differently though seems on the surface as nice… is usually always for other negative intentions. We are all affected differently by these pressures, and we need to change narratives and I believe it starts in the fashion industry. When brands have a group of models which is diverse and representative of society, pressures on people to appear feminine or appear masculine enough, will fade away and truly make way for happiness in society.

FASHION STANDARDS for Young Individuals

BY ANONYMOUS

As the pandemic arrived and still hasn’t left… the country is noticing the extent to how important mental health is in young people. As well as disorders like eating disorders within the young population on the rise. Reasons behind this may be due to growing up with social media. Since the rise of social media, we have access to see people’s lives (fabricated and carefully selected moments of their lives may I add). We see photos of ‘perfect’ people who seem to be flawless and have amazing clothes and are living their best lives. Before social media, in primary and secondary schools, we start to realise that what we wear and how we look can produce negative and positive reactions from people and sometimes is how we are valued. Or when we look at older people’s reactions to the youth by believing they should dress up or

look good because they still have their ‘youth’ and will complain at how they have lost their ‘youth’. But to not dress to flattering as young people won’t look their age. So, when we combine these together, with kids in high schools having access to social media, the pressure to look good is immense. Therefore, with this immense pressure, there subsequently is an impact on mental health. Pressures come from everywhere and everyone, even if it’s not intentional. But it still affects the mental health of young people. I believe when we break down our surroundings like this, it can be a lot easier to understand and reflect on our own experiences, and the ways we can look ourselves and not collapse under these pressures. So, take from this what you will, and love yourself. Take care of your health and happiness.

PAIN IN FASHION

BY ANONYMOUS

I think we all have experiences of some discomfort when it comes to fashion. For girls it’ll be items like corsets, heels, and tight clothing, and for boys it’ll be such things like uncomfortable jeans and suits. Being a girl, I can only voice my own experiences and cannot speak on behalf of boys and their pain in fashion. When I was younger, I used to dance, and the outfits and dresses I would wear would be heavy and not to mention some of the fabrics would be itchy and just overall uncomfortable. Let alone the hours it would take to get ready. Wearing heels to events to feel more confident, though would destroy your feet and potentially still hurt days after. As well as tight clothing that would feel like its strangling your body; with my body feels like it is being suffocated as I go to eat dinner or any meal. I think many people go to great lengths in order to feel and look confident to the extent that it pushes and pulls their body in all directions in order to look ‘perfect’. But none of it is healthy… it’s healthy to feel confident and have self- image confidence. But when it gets to the point of becoming damaging to your body is when we need to evaluate our habits and beliefs. The examples I’ve listed are some of my own experiences and I say it’s unhealthy because I’ve been in the position to where I am constantly checking my body and checking makeup and clothes; and I let it be how I valued myself. At the end of the day, our bodies’ job is to keep us alive, and pushing and pulling it to fit in a dress or withstand heels for hours on end can be damaging. Pain in fashion can be seen everywhere, but we need to love our bodies first before we try to fit into fashion ideals that expect us to do these painful activities in order to look ‘perfect’.

BEAUTY

CO-EDITOR LIBBY DAWSON

SUMMER HAIR REMOVAL

BY LIBBY DAWSON

The warm weather has FINALLY arrived and my shorts and dresses are back in the wardrobe. Whilst this is one of my favourite times of the year, something I do love about the Autumn and Winter months is not feeling like I need to shave my body hair; it’s easy to throw on some jeans and feel comfortable. Unfortunately, it’s just not that easy in the summer. I envy the girls who can embrace their natural body hair and prickly-ness, it saves a lot of money, time and stress… the dream. But for me personally, I much prefer being silky smooth, and together with having super dark hair and super sensitive skin, this time of year is not an easy one. Shaving is the most popular form of hair removal but it isn’t for everyone, me being one of those people. My skin cannot put up with the constant razor rash and ingrown hairs. I’m also very