Focus on Fashion

As the famously fabulous Heidi Klum says, “In fashion, one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out.”
Fashion is used for a variety of reasons: to make money, to fit in, to express yourself or to make an impact — it’s a tool. And because everyone has the ability to use this tool, it is constantly changing.
When something is always changing, it creates a great market where people are always want the new best thing.
Clothing stores make money because their customers constantly look for pieces of clothing that will show where they are or who they want to be in their lives. Many people start their search for who they want to be during their grade school years. My change into finding myself in fashion started around middle school.
In sixth grade, I wore t-shirts and jeans with my waist-length hair in a low ponytail almost every day.
This wasn’t because I didn’t have nice clothes; I’d just had a bad experience with one outfit that made me cautious to try anything different.
After that year, I started wading in the shallow end of bright colors and trendy clothes until college, when I found that I could dress how I wanted and not worry about how others perceived me.
Now, it’s always nice to hear people exclaim, “You look so nice, and I love your outfit.”
I became comfortable in my fashion choices, and being comfortable is what fashion is all about.
The trick is to find things that make you feel nice.
In my experience, flats can be just as pretty as heels at parties, and they don’t leave blisters.
The skin on the outside of my pinky toe is actually a slightly different color due to the many blisters I’ve received from wearing heels during the years.
But feeding your hard-earned money into the fashion world to create the trends that make the clothing you just bought popular is a slight faux pas. Luckily, there are ways to look up-to-date and not bleed your wallet dry.
My closet still has piles of t-shirts, jeans and other shirt styles I’ve worn for years. These outfits aren’t exactly “fashionable,” but they provide comfort to the wearer.
This semester I’ll be exploring how to find shopping deals and where some fashion ideas come from. I will also offer ideas on how to transform old outfits into things that you want to wear, and what is appropriate to wear in certain
situations.
Fashion is a choice everyone makes in one way or another, and it is important for everyone to find their niche in the fashion world.
You can choose to spend hundreds of dollars on a micro-mini dress or fifty dollars on a vintage 1970s dress.
It all depends on who you are and how you want others to see you.
Fashion is a chance to express yourself, whether it be your individuality or your place in life.

— samkirby@indiana.edu

The 1970s are coming back:

Patterned shirts, skirts and shorts
Vibrant colors
Ankle- to knee-high boots
Skirts with tights or leggings
Higher heels and wedges
Bright-colored shoes
Scarves
Pocketed dresses
Shoulder-baring shirts and dresses
Leather and lace