Crack #6: Michael Jackson.

RIP King of Pop and Fashion Superstar.

Michael Jackson in Givenchy Womens' Studded Jacket and Balmain Jeans.
MJ in Balmain T-shirt.

The "Devil Wears Prada" moment

An incident on friday night made me rethink about what fashion means in my life, how it relates to this blog and what it really is all about.

So I was at a retreat this weekend with some of my friends, hanging out and chilling. As usual, my friends started talking/teasing about my fashion and spending habits, with which as most of you would know, the common outsiders normally could not understand how one would be willing to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a clothing item. I am so used to it that I play along with them. As long as they respect my style, everything's fine.

It is until when this girl made a speech about fashion that keeps me thinking.

She said, " Just like all the other girls, I used to buy Louis Vuitton, all those branded and expensive stuff. I used to dress up all the time, wanting to look cute and stuff. But now I am just like, whatever, I don't want the guy to just like me for the cute looks and fancy stuff, I just dress myself in sweats and jeans, and I just want the guy to like me for who I am."

First thing I want to state is: What the hell? Does she even know what she is saying? In no way would I agree to what she says. I agree to her point of being the true self and hoping to find true love through exposing ones' true self; however, the first part of the speech is what I find with the most problem.

This is one of those "devil wears Prada" moments when I truly felt the anger of Miranda Priestly with Andy Sachs' naive comments.

First of all, though I understand certain types of shoppers do buy items just for the brand name, the majority of fashion lovers buy items because they want the item, that the item is special, unique in its own way, that THEY APPRECIATE THE BEAUTY OF THAT ITEM. It is the same theory as mac lovers who are willing to shell out an extra $1000 for a mac, car lovers willing to shell out the money for ten cars for that one perfect porsche. It is about the appreciation of beautiful things. Though you might want to buy expensive things just for the brand name, don't associate your own interpretation of "expensive things" to others.

Secondly, I am pretty sure that this lady has never truly loved fashion. For those who are/ have been truly passionate about fashion, they will understand that FASHION IS NEVER ABOUT PLEASING OTHERS / PLEASING BOYS. IT IS ABOUT YOUR INTERPRETATION OF YOURSELF. It is about finding your style, understanding your body, and presenting it in the way that you feel good about yourself. The true fashionasta never dress just to impress; they dress as a form of expression, a work of art.

Besides, what if the true self of myself is the person who loves fashion? Isn't it then dressing in sweats and jeans trying too hard to "dress down to impress"?

** true story: all my guy friends thinks my designer items are weird ( think Comme Des Garcon deconstructed jackets), and my ex-boyfriend thinks that I look better in sweats and jeans. But I never try to dress down, for the fashion lover is who I am, and I continue to wear my deconstructed jacket till this day. **

Guess what i did right after I heard this comment? I just gave a laugh and let it go. Although this is just a heartless comment, it does makes me realize though that we fashion lovers, are often judged as "label whores" and "trying too hard to impress". Which is what leads me to think about why i started this blog in the first place.

I started this blog not because I want to show off my designer stuff, my outfits and my fashion muse; I wanted this blog to be a channel for those fashion outsiders to understand why we love the Rick Owens leather jacket, why we would justify spending $2k on a leather jacket, and, as Miranda priestly puts it, how it influences the clothes that you wear in the future.


Though, as serious as it sounds, the posts are intended to be fun so we fashion lovers can get a good laugh out of it at the same time:) Fashion is and should always be fun.

And if anyone ever says anything similar later in your life, please give them a little smile, and remember the similar " Devil Wears Prada" moment that we share :)