The Ultimate Question in Fashion

Have you ever asked yourself the difference of man from the rest of the world? Men and women are head and shoulders above the animals and plants because the former are the only ones with dignity. It is not a surprise then to see a hungry dog go after a rotten food, but not with a human being. People will also naturally protest if a cadaver were to be violated.

The protection of our dignity is manifested in the way we take care not only of our souls but also extends to our bodies. Our bodies share in the personal dignity and express it. The human body cannot be reduced to a thing, to a mere physical body. It is the body of "someone", of a person, and not of "something." This consideration is also closely related to the respect we want to preserve. It requires protecting the intimacy of the body as a sanctuary that is exclusively one's own. Clothing keeps the body within the confines of one's intimacy and safeguards it from being manipulated. Thus, when we don on tight-fitting and cleavage-revealing clothes we can say that we are wearing dishonest clothes. They are fashion articles that prevent people from seeing both the external and internal beauty we possess.

Fashion, more than anything else, is all about who we are. The question then that might serve useful to us is this – “Who am I?”

The formal question

Photo of Cate Blanchett (styled by Michael Roberts) taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair.

Why is it that when it comes to formal wear, showing off more skin has become the "accepted" way to go?

I've noticed that girls who won't normally wear plunging necklines to the mall seem not to think twice about wearing cleavage-bearing gowns... is it because the more skin you expose, the more festive you look? Or is the formal occasion enough excuse to subscribe (succumb?) to a Hollywood-ized definition of beauty?

When it comes to formal occasions, the need for wearing appropriate attire seems more highlighted (I say seems because appropriate attire is required on all occasions), possibly because it's indicated in the invitation. What makes a dress formal? It's definitely not "more skin," or else beachwear would be formal.

The right dress (a better word would be "evening dress" or "gown," but let's stick to "dress" for more flexibility) for a formal occasion is made of the right fabric (chiffon, silk, velvet, satin, taffeta...) in the right cut (it complements your body type), length (either mid-calf, ankle-length, floor-length), and silhouette (A-line, sheath, empire, mermaid...). I use "right" because all these options must suit the wearer!

Just describing the typical formal gown is making me feel constricted already! But that's just the basic idea; the fun starts in how the lady wears the dress. What color (or color scheme) does she settle with? What kind of shoes does she pair with it? Jewelry? Accessories? Makeup?

Besides all these considerations, there's the underwear to get right: always figure out if your dress needs a slip before wearing it! (Read: Where did the slip go?) Hardly does a dress come with the right lining nowadays.

Now, going back to the question: is more skin-bearing a requirement to formalize the attire? Definitely not! After all, it's all about playing up what looks good on you and not about showing off what you've got. And when each lady dresses the part to celebrate (and not to get attention), the true spirit of the occasion will be better felt.

Fashion Camp!

It's time to start a revolution in the fashion world!

At a time when style is being equated to "showing off what you've got," advocates of person-centered fashion certainly come off as non-conformists. They are the ones who don't believe in everything the media proclaims as "beautiful" because they know what suits them and what highlights who they are (and not what they have).

Getting such fashion revolutionaries together, the GUTSY Fashion Team held their first Fashion Camp on July 31-August 1 at The Coffee Farmhouse, Alfonso, Cavite. In the camp, the gutsy girls learned about the difference between fashion and style, how to choose the right clothes for their body type, how dressing affects the way men look at women, how to give effective talks & presentations, and how to be active advocates of dignified dressing as consumers (and come to think of it--producers) of media.

To know more about this revolutionary movement, how about dropping by the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), Ortigas Center, Pasig City, on Saturday, August 14, 2010, at 10:30am? If you're a gutsy girl too, it's never too late to find out how you can help give dignified dressing a leg up.

Fashion non-conformists, unite!

Questions and compliments

Photos from here.

You want to help more of your friends appreciate appropriate dressing but don't know where to start? Go out with them! It doesn't have to be a trip to the shops... you can go out for pho or halo-halo or watch a movie. The point is that you see your friends. And when ladies get together, they usually put a little more effort into looking nice (do you agree with the theory that women actually dress for other women?)--I just notice it.

What could be the reason behind that? My guess is women like getting compliments. (This may seem like a 'duh' answer but let me elaborate.) It's not as much about getting green-eyed stares from other women that we want--it's more of appreciating the same things, or having things in common to bond over with and share with one's friends.

When a friend says she likes your blouse, don't you feel happy that somebody approves the choice you made? And then, won't you be planning on wearing that elegant blouse more often? The grand implication of it is: You can actually encourage your friends to don more dignifying pieces simply by telling them you like what you see.



Hence, having simple get-togethers with your BFFs (outside uniform territory, of course!) can become fertile ground for making headway in your mission to raise the standards of fashion. What may seem like a superficial practice of telling your friends what you (sincerely) like about their outfit, hairstyle or make-up can actually be a way of encouraging them to stick to positive style.

Now, armed with this idea, you might want to help me answer two questions I've been pondering on for almost two weeks now:

• If you're out shopping with a friend and she asks for your opinion on an outfit that does nothing to help others appreciate the person she is, what would you tell her?
  
• How would you make her understand if you know she doesn't yet appreciate your ideas on dressing with dignity?

What Is GUTSY?

"The G.U.T.S.Y. Fashion Team is a fashion advocacy group composed of students of fashion, fashionistas, young designers and retailers who understand the true sense of style of young women which is based on individuality and self-worth."

This blog shall discuss fashion that highlights the positive in the wearer and lets her individuality shine. You can call it person-centered fashion, if you like. :-)

That said...

Welcome readers, I hope the insights in this blog can help more people take the standards of fashion a step (or two) higher!