Does How We Dress Really Matter? What I Wore For a Fall-Day Party
Diving into the debate of whether or not fashion is inherently superficial, plus how I dressed to attend an engagement party this month, ha!
Dress for success. Full look description below.
Every once in a while I sit down to write about a topic and can’t help but think, who cares? Fashion is so trivial and taking the time to research and write about it is too. In a way, I actually think thoughts like this come from the fact that fashion isn’t at all trivial.
There is an air of superiority in believing we need not take into consideration details in dressing like a party’s color scheme or the host and hostess’s general aesthetic, etc. “How you look should be the least interesting thing about you,” was something my brother, sister and I heard a lot from our dad growing up. To this day, when we seem to be getting a little too vain he will confidently utter these words, as if stating a fact. While my mom, siblings and I never fail to tease him and brush off his words, his mindset seems to exists among many confident, successful leaders. Does that mean there’s something to it?
In Ryan Holiday’s Discipline is Destiny (a fantastic read) he speaks on creating a sort of uniform for yourself, think Steve Jobs, and then never having to think about it again. While he acknowledges the importance of avoiding a “sloppy and slovenly” appearance, he equally states that valuing details such as sharp creases and brand names is superficial and lacking in substance.
To me, this mindset is how one ends up at a party dressed in their typical uniform, perhaps feeling above those who put more thought into their looks, but actually appearing rude to the people who put time and energy into creating an atmosphere for their guests. While they themselves might believe they don’t care about fashion, what they’re communicating is that they care very much. They care about not caring.
What I’m getting at is, acknowledging that different occasions call for different appearances, and that fashion can be a fun form of art does not mean you lack substance. Putting that extra bit of thought into how you dress does not make you superficial. When we attend a party the dress code has a way of establishing the overall ambiance and level of formality of the event. It sets the mood and helps guests feel comfortable.
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Views from the engagement party I attended earlier this month:
My best friend knows how to blend colors. Snapped during party cleanup.
Is it me or is everyone getting engaged? For the day-time party, I finally pulled out the dress my mom gifted me from Cuban brand Dador and cinched it with a Scanlan Theodore belt (I also love this one from Miu Miu):
Headed out and absolutely fashionably late, here. In my Dador dress with Scanlan Theodore belt, Ferragamo shoes, Burberry sunglasses (autumn eyewear!!!), earrings gifted from Mom, Able three dot ring, Kate Spade bag plus an heirloom watch and pearl bracelet gifted from a sweet friend.
Wearing heirloom jewelry brings me a lot of peace and comfort when visiting a new place and/or meeting new people. Left hand and wrist details, below:
Fun fact: That’s a belly-button ring in my right ear.
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With that, thank you so much for being here. I have been STRESSED OUT, but creating All-Year Season is a pleasant reminder that life doesn’t have to be all that serious all the time. There’s room for play in the chaos. Until next week…
Yours Truly,
Kyoko
