Pop the Bubble.

As a student of Gordon College, a small Christian "liberal arts" college, inspiration can be very limited/limiting. Sometimes I find myself itching for something fresh....something that I can gain energy from. Having the lovely privilege of having a car on campus lets this "itch" be scratched and the bubble of familiarity be popped.

Getting a cup of coffee on Cabot Street in Beverly, Mass liberates me. The streets are filled with the young hipsters and the old hipsters....and everything in between. A man recently walked by the window of the Italian coffee shop, Trevi--wearing a Santa hat. It is almost Valentine's Day and it may seem absolutely nuts---but I guess, whatever you can find to keep you warm in this bitter cold is this most important thing to focus on.

Cabot Street is known for having a lot of artsy/indie/hippy type folk because of the local art college, yet it's not what you'd expect. The mixture of people that are drawn to this street/town constantly baffles me. There are the rich (the VERY rich), the poor (homeless/college students...), the in-between....everything you could possibly imagine. Each individual, for the most part, acts like they're raising their "I am unique" flag. Their outfits are rich with color, texture and yet look so relaxed and comfortable....

It's like a breath of fresh and energizing air....sitting here with my strawberry smoothie next to the window, on a red covered cloth chair. It's like the song...."people, people who need people...are the luckiest people...." We need to be surrounded by all different kinds--even if it intimidates us or makes us feel so far from the familiar--the bubble. This is how inspiration is born--how it can be created...

"Style" is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma."

-John Fairchild

THE RELIANCE OF SPELL--CHECK….

Rereading this blog I am slowly realizing that I rely heavily on spell check and also realized that I am terrible at typing. Those two combined equal disaster, for sure. My apologies. Here's to better typing ability!

Merci Beaucoup, Coco Chanel.....

Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing the film Coco Before Chanel. It's an absolute masterpiece of fashion, history, romance and inspiration. Coco Chanel, who originally went by the name Gabrielle, is my new favorite person. Even though this movie is simply a portayal of this majestic woman, it still inspired me. It reinforced the notion that celebrating your unique self will eventually gain you success in the future--this notion is so often discouraged in our culture/society, but you will be encouraged if you see this film.

Coco Chanel hated the way women threw themselves at men--parading around with their low-cut and tight dresses. She was frustrated by the fact that men could be so controlling and dominating--she wanted to get her sucess by herself. She had to rely on some people in order to do what she did, but in essence, she wanted to be an independent woman. She had dreams--very big dreams that at the time seemed so silly and unreasonable to others around her, especially the women.

She transformed the fashion world--a world that was once dominated by men. She believed in herself and had the gusto, the talent and the heart....without her there would be no "little black dress," no tweed suits, no patented purses with gold knobs and gold straps, no lavish perfumes...and no pants! I am a fan of dresses, but not having the option of wearing pants? What a world that would be....She never wanted to be considered a foolish and incapable woman and I applaud her for that.

Another thing--the famed horizontal blue striped shirts (the one in the picture above) were inspired by her as well. One day, she went to the sea and saw fishermen wearing them and decided to reinvent the style by making them a tad more feminine and elegant. Those shirts are quite coveted in the fashion market and they're hard to come by. How amazing that she was inspired by fishermen! This proves the point that inspiration for fashion/style is everywhere and anywhere--you just have to make sure you keep your eyes and mind open....

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, the street; fashion has to to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.

--Coco Chanel

EMBARKING ON AN INTERESTING ADVENTURE…

For my Media, Ethics and Culture class we have to do something called a "Creative Project." I have scrambled my brain countless times trying to come up with something clever and fresh, but alas--nothing really came to mind. Nothing, until today in class.

I have toyed with the idea of doing something with fashion and writing because I love them both equally but could not formulate all my thoughts into this one big idea--thankfully I can rely on the clever minds of others. Today in class, a student mentioned how she was going to do a blog about food and sort of pledge herself to either eat vegetarian or organic...or something along those lines. Then my professor said that I should create a fashion blog and provided me with fairly good ideas of what to do with that, but nothing really turned the light bulb on in my head.....

UNTIL!

....until after class.

I thought, "I could pledge something too!" Instead of food, I have decided to pledge to...well, I guess the world, that I will not purchase any new clothing items. Now, having said this, I already feel worried and frightened because this is going to be quite the challenge. I could easily categorize myself as a "shopaholic" and often can't resist an item of clothing that calls my name ever so sweetly. So, starting Monday, February 8, 2010--I will be only purchasing used items of clothing. I will be scouring the local area (which is Wenham, Beverly, etc.) for vintage stores, consignment shops and other places that sell used clothing. The ultimate goal is to go the whole semester without buying anything new and to see if I can afford a style that is just as nice. I will also be researching the industry of fashion and how it affects each and every one of us--whether people realize that or not, it's the truth!

I am still a bit unsure of the idea I have going here, but ultimately I want to prove that style doesn't have to cost a lot of money and that the fashion industry itself affects what lingers down into consignment stores and such. We are all apart of this fashion world and interact with it. Fashion, to me, is a communicative expression of personality. We all have something to communicate, it just depends on whether or not you really what to "say" what you want to "say."

I say, that I can still have a nice sense of style without purchasing the newest of trends and the newest of clothes. By doing this experiment, I will be more resourceful, save myself money, and will still help out local companies....aka: the economy.

Hopefully within the next few days I will have a more concrete idea of how I want to do this, but for now....

let the adventure(s) begin.

**and yes, I will be making my final "new clothes" purchases this weekend....