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You're Told an Interest in Fashion is Vain
NEWSLETTER
11/5/20262 min read
We’ve been casting women interested in fashion as vain for a long time now. At least a few hundred years, probably longer. However, it doesn’t take much exploration to realize that the idea, at best, is a cop-out. More often, it’s a way to undermine and remove power from women.
Because fashion IS power. And not just for women, for everyone. But women tend to get hit most with the “vanity” argument.
I told you it doesn’t take much to see how this argument doesn’t hold water. Ready?
Imagine the pope. To Catholics the earthly representative of god. Now, imagine the pope popping out of the Vatican church in a t-shirt and Levi’s jeans. I’m pretty ambivalent on the pope and Catholic church, but still, the pope in his robes and fancy headgear feels way more impactful.
But okay, that’s the pope. What about a regular, everyday person? How about a flight attendant. Imagine one walking the aisles telling you to push your bag farther under the seat. If you’re like me, you hop to that command right away. Now imagine the flight attendant is wearing a baggy hoody and pajama pants. You think you’d at least hesitate before following their command?
These are displays of a uniform conveying authority. There are other ways for clothing to wield power. Tell me, what book have you read - fiction or nonfiction - that described a character without ever depicting what the individual was wearing? I’m going to answer for you: You probably haven’t read a book like that. Authors use clothing to help us more quickly grasp, or more deeply understand, a character’s personality. It’s like a loudspeaker clarifying an otherwise muffled message. Magnifying or clarifying a message - that’s a form of power.
I’ve been made fun of for caring too much about clothing, probably starting when I was a young teen. Before I had this knowledge and perspective, I did question myself. I worried “maybe I am shallow for caring so much”. I didn’t fully understand why fashion felt so important to me.
But shoutout to growing older and life experiences! Understanding my own style and its impact on how I feel, the experiences I hear from clients, and learning perpetually more of the history of fashion, I can say I now live at the other end of the spectrum.
Clothing is impactful. Clothing is some of the most intimate art and expressions of humanity that we have. Clothing can be endlessly fascinating and revealing. The complexity and importance of fashion makes calling it merely vanity comical.
If anyone criticizes your interest in fashion as vain or self-absorbed, you can stand tall knowing they’re likely intimidated by your power. Or at the very least, don’t understand the depth of clothing’s impact the way you do.
You go girl, go.
