Springtime fashion wear

Valerie McPhail
MSMU Class of 2015

(5/2020) Fashion has always been a declaring force on societal definitions. In springtime, we wear floral prints and in the summertime season, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, we wear the color white. On matters of the heart, Christopher Bailey fashioned the rainbow on Burberry's runway as symbols to support the LGBTQ+ community. And designer Vivienne Westwood launched her namesake label on the premise of normalizing the grungy fixations of the underground punk subculture: tattered graphic tees, safety-pinned accessories and collections of plaid. Statements have always been a way of fashion.

When a global pandemic hits, definitions become uncertain to an industry built on profits and appreciation for how others dress. Brick and mortars temporary closing and fashion week canceled, all of a sudden fashion involves itself in the conversation through sweatsuit statements and loungewear. Is it acceptable to wear a tie-dye sweatsuit to the virtual happy hour while fashion publications advise on dressing down with velvet mules and knits? The sentiment for relaxed fashion is not so chill, but somewhat perplexing. Working from home can bring a lot of challenges as the boundaries between professional and personal life engage. Notions of dressing for work — while jamming away on your MacBook at the comfort of your living room — has reduced to sweats. Yet, we make it fashion. Whether mismatched or a complementary set, this hasn't kept style from communing over the informalities in our lives.

When I first moved to New York, my life was a hustle around the town, interviewing for full-time jobs and internships to materialize my break in fashion. Dressing to impress was my reality. I remember researching proper interview attire as if it really mattered to a crowd who is easily enamored by people in the craziest of outfits. In my stress, I sought blogs and online magazines to teach me how to dress – that an interviewee wearing black and white would win influence. With unease, I relived my discernment to outfit an editorial interview in a baroque Elizabeth and James tank – a proud sample sale snag – layered over a sheer nylon Theory turtle neck, skinny black J Crew slacks and black ankle boots. My go-to uniform made me feel professional and collected – the part of me I wanted to project over any other image that I couldn't fake. Looking back, oh, have times changed. Amidst social distancing in Miami, culture thinks it's strange to even put on mascara on my lashes for a video chat. Fashion rules are a season of the past. Just as Tim Gun always recited on television show Project Runway, "In fashion: one day, you're ‘in,’ and the next day, you're ‘out.’"

Maybe dressing the part isn't the fashionable way – that the stylish and trendy are defined by those who are most comfortable in their own skin. Fashion has an immeasurable effect on confidence. Vogue Magazine published an article on the psychology behind fashion, exposing research behind the science of clothing and the mind. After interviewing women in business on how they dress for success, their testimonies showed that intentional wardrobe decisions supported their level of comfort and influence in investor meetings, interviews or taking a test. Lauren Santo Domingo, co-founder and Cheif Brand officer of Moda Operandi, "relied on Céline with sprinklings of Acne to get [her] through these intense meetings without letting [her] true eclectic fashion roots betray [her]." Vogue writer Katherine Bernard concludes, "Your closet isn't frivolous. It contains a myriad of channels to heightened performance, a selection of gateways to the best versions of yourself." Clothing design and style carry a spirit, be it a Max Mara power suit, or elegance of a full-length Oscar de la Renta gown. When we find fashion that fits our lifestyle, not only does it appease our spirit, but it encourages our confidence to express ourselves. The end result lends to a happier self-image. This value on fashion translates from high luxury fashion to everyday style.

In popular culture, fashion has held authority by claiming expertise on which fashion trends and labels culture should heed. Television shows focusing on teaching people how to dress to attract and impress has led our society to understand fashion as a luxury to getting ahead in life. The idea is that focusing on the surface level can help you achieve all your dreams and desires. Such an understanding of fashion continues to miss the mark. On the contrary, fashion's influence rests on engagement with culture, and therein, society. As garment develops simultaneously, as our communities involves our lifestyles with technology, sustainability and art, fashion begins to redefine its influence in our lives. It becomes connected to other aspects of life beyond the superficial rulebooks that confine fashion, and people's conceptions towards fashion. To have style and design as a part of the conversation, where "digital fashion allows people to fully experiment with how they would like to be perceived and push limitless creative boundaries. A hairstyle made from water, a dress that alters its shape according to sound: these are all possible," says Rachel Stott from the Future Laboratory to the BBC online. The influence fashion has on the future of culture is more significant than dictating how people dress. The more fashion engages with societal interests, politics, technology and sustainability, for example, will we begin to see new forms of influence, and how fashion impacts the world beyond the surface level.

We appreciate the sight of someone "dressed up" as a sense of endearment, and yet we criticize when the expression is overdone or excessive. Fashion has always indulged in the extremes. If style is a leading perspective in these unprecedented times, clothing is more than the vain appearance or a cultural rulebook that dictates wardrobe requirements. More interesting is how we have the opportunity to express ourselves beyond the constraints of formal and informal attire. As our home environments become our guiding environmental influence on how culture engages with fashion, this lends time to reflect just how fashion influences society and more importantly, self. The question becomes: is formalwear necessary? There is nothing wrong with missing your denim or lounging in your favorite sweats for a couple of days. On the contrary, under the right circumstances, lazy can be refreshing. And when the time comes for life to normalize again, let us not lose our class over the old fashion handbook, but carry your heart on your sleeve. Though fashion is established by societal interests and cultural environments, understanding the influence of personal style can redefine the new normal.