Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my own look, how it has changed over the past few years, and what I would like it to be in the future. As I think about my own look I can’t help but think about fashion today and all the diversity that exists out there. I am not a fashion historian and I have done little research on the subject, but when I think about fashion’s recent past very particular images pop into my head for the latter half of the 1900’s. And whether these “looks” I recall are right or wrong in terms of history, they are also what the fashion industry recalls with its constant reinventing of past decades. When we look back into the past, with a heavy dose of nostalgia, we are presented with are cohesive “looks”, beautiful, wearable statements of where the world was at that moment in time.
Fashion designers today are constantly redoing the 50’s glamour, 60’s mod, 70’s disco, 80’s material girl, and 90’s grunge. Each decade is remembered as having a “look” and it is that “look” we are told to recreate. I am sure in reality there was more room for interpretation in each of these decades, but there was also a way to be in style and everything else was out. Today everything goes, which is liberating, but to me occasionally frustrating. As the world moves faster, we are all constantly connected by the internet, with a million possibilities and responsibilities before us. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a “look”? Sometime I find myself craving the simplicity of a time when there were a few less options, a nostalgia for the perfect images from the past. Instead we have endless stylish options, which constantly include throw backs to the previous decades. This points to a world that is more individualistic, less conventional, but possibly also less discerning. If style is indicative of the self-image we choose to project to the world, what does it say that currently we are a bit haphazard and constantly romanticizing the past? Why didn’t the 00’s create a “look” and why as we approach the halfway mark of the current decade do we still not see a cohesive style? What is it about the past we are so desperate to reclaim that we keep recreating its “looks?”
Fashion designers today are constantly redoing the 50’s glamour, 60’s mod, 70’s disco, 80’s material girl, and 90’s grunge. Each decade is remembered as having a “look” and it is that “look” we are told to recreate. I am sure in reality there was more room for interpretation in each of these decades, but there was also a way to be in style and everything else was out. Today everything goes, which is liberating, but to me occasionally frustrating. As the world moves faster, we are all constantly connected by the internet, with a million possibilities and responsibilities before us. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a “look”? Sometime I find myself craving the simplicity of a time when there were a few less options, a nostalgia for the perfect images from the past. Instead we have endless stylish options, which constantly include throw backs to the previous decades. This points to a world that is more individualistic, less conventional, but possibly also less discerning. If style is indicative of the self-image we choose to project to the world, what does it say that currently we are a bit haphazard and constantly romanticizing the past? Why didn’t the 00’s create a “look” and why as we approach the halfway mark of the current decade do we still not see a cohesive style? What is it about the past we are so desperate to reclaim that we keep recreating its “looks?”
 1950s |  1960s |
Women today cannot desire the restrictions women faced in the 50’s, yet they happily romanticize the decade’s glamorous silhouettes. Not many women today are stepping up to participate in political protest, but the 60’s also have a strong grasp on the nostalgic world of fashion. What is it that people today expect to gain from keeping one foot in the past when it comes to choosing what to wear? The world of fashion used to be constantly innovating, creating the next big trend that would force women everywhere to throw out or alter last year’s clothes or be out of vogue. Now it seems to do nothing but recycle past ideas and present them to the public again. So, are we the public less demanding? Do we not care enough to expect something new and truly creative? I worry that the ambiguity of our style might be indicative of a larger loss of direction. We the generation of the 00’s do not know what we stand for and therefore we cannot formulate a “look” to call our own. So, we blithely pick through the past to put together a collage rather than address the issue at hand, our world seems a bit out of control.
 Monique Lhuille Spring/Summer 14, inspired by the 1950s. |  Marc Jacobs '13, inspired by the 1960s. |
So, as I look around on the street, in shops, at magazines, trying to define my own “look”, or how to say who I am with what I wear, I find myself constantly feeling guilty. I want beautiful clothes, well made, and with innovative designs and often when I find a piece like this I choose to ignore how it was made or where it came from. When I go shopping for food or cleaning supplies or cosmetics, I am constantly evaluating what chemicals went into making it and how they might hurt me or the earth, did the company test on animals, are they fair trade, and the list goes on. I will put a product back if it does not pass my scrutiny, but when it comes to clothes this is not the case. Of course I have my list of excuses to pacify that nagging feeling, I don’t buy things often; I take very good care of them so they last; I don’t have very much money to allot to clothes; I don’t want to only wear hemp t-shirts. None of these excuses are enough, if I care about the earth and my health the way I claim to I should act on it.
With this in mind I began doing some research that lead to a series of conversations with a respected friend, who was doing her own research for environmental groups. One of the groups, Green Works, wanted to publish an environmentally friendly list of places to shop for the holidays. You can find the entire list here, but I wanted to highlight some of the brands I am excited about and recommended for this list.
First, to fill the void in fashion, there is Reformation, a women’s clothing brand devoted to using dead stock and vintage fabrics to minimize their foot print. They have some really cute clothes and next time I am updating my wardrobe I plan to try them out. Another favorite of mine is the Honest co. which originally was started to create products its founders felt were safe to use with their babies. It has expanded to include a whole range of household and personal cleaning products. I have not had a product from them I did not like and I especially like their shampoo, conditioner, and healing balm. All of the companies on this list are stepping up to give consumers a better option. And by choosing to buy from companies like these we can take one step in the right direction and away from the past.
Moving into the future maybe it isn’t important that our decade have a “look,” maybe at this pivotal moment in time our “look” is our consciousness. We can be dressed in an endless variety of styles that showcase individuality, as long as the people underneath them are making mindful decisions for the welfare of the planet and everyone on it. So, that even if our clothes are looking to the past, we are focused on our future.
With this in mind I began doing some research that lead to a series of conversations with a respected friend, who was doing her own research for environmental groups. One of the groups, Green Works, wanted to publish an environmentally friendly list of places to shop for the holidays. You can find the entire list here, but I wanted to highlight some of the brands I am excited about and recommended for this list.
First, to fill the void in fashion, there is Reformation, a women’s clothing brand devoted to using dead stock and vintage fabrics to minimize their foot print. They have some really cute clothes and next time I am updating my wardrobe I plan to try them out. Another favorite of mine is the Honest co. which originally was started to create products its founders felt were safe to use with their babies. It has expanded to include a whole range of household and personal cleaning products. I have not had a product from them I did not like and I especially like their shampoo, conditioner, and healing balm. All of the companies on this list are stepping up to give consumers a better option. And by choosing to buy from companies like these we can take one step in the right direction and away from the past.
Moving into the future maybe it isn’t important that our decade have a “look,” maybe at this pivotal moment in time our “look” is our consciousness. We can be dressed in an endless variety of styles that showcase individuality, as long as the people underneath them are making mindful decisions for the welfare of the planet and everyone on it. So, that even if our clothes are looking to the past, we are focused on our future.
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