Where are you in your relationship with popularity?
Do you still blatantly want to be popular?
Do you "not" want to be popular.
Or do you honest to g(G)od not want to be popular?
And does the 3rd category even exist?
Prove it.
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Anyhow, I sometimes think that popularity is the basis for everything we do.
Money's nice, fame's peachy, but popularity, I mean, honest to goodness popularity?
Money's nice, fame's peachy, but popularity, I mean, honest to goodness popularity?
it's a drug.
Are the rich happy?
The drugged ones, maybe,
but the rich rich?
Are the famous content?
But the well-loved? Those folks have it all. And the extra-famous who think that they're well-loved? Even better. Because more is more when it comes to good attention.
So how does this apply to a Midwesterner's fashion blog?
Well, how does it not?
I mean, when it comes to popularity, I think us Middle America folk are pretty far down there on the totem pole of adoration.
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Well-liked? Maybe. But loved?
That adjective belongs to our friends on the coasts - the objects of more deep-rooted obsessions than Ryan Gosling himself (if Ryan Gosling obsessions were deep-rooted).
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And Fashion?
The ultimate popularity contest.
Who wears it first, Who knows what it is, Who makes it it, and their devoted and hopelessly directionless followers - willing to venture into strange waters in an attempt to achieve the ever-elusive "cool".
Denim on denim? Birkenstocks? Nail art?
Onesies?
It's like someone's playing a joke - forcing us to prove just how willing we really are to sacrifice our pride for potential popularity.
In conclusion : as my always-inquiring friend put it via text yesterday eve,
"Is the 'fashion culture' really a culture, or just a cult"?
Is fashion really a way of life, or is it a continual quest for some sort of acceptance?
Do we really strive for personal expression,
or are we after something else?
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I'd once have resoundingly shouted "No!!!" . . .
but now I'm not so sure.
Maybe the moment you stop really caring about popularity, is the same moment that you stop caring about "Fashion".
Maybe the moment I stop caring, is the moment I'll stop writing this blog.
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| jumpsuit: urban outfitters, shoes: colin stuart |
Don't hold your breath.
Cheers.
Photos by Shoiab
I really think of fashion as personal expression and then I go out and buy something that everyone else has...
ReplyDeletehehe....but you put your own spin on it. totally!
Deletexo
n
Literally the reason why I wrote this post
Deleteplease. keep. blogging.
ReplyDeleteseeing that wisconsin is my adopted home....i'm going to cheer for you any way i can. you make the midwest look good!
but you do pose an interesting question. sadly, when it all comes down to it, it's about acceptance in some shape or form. i could say i don't give a shit what my nosy neighbour thinks about how i dress and pretend i don't notice his cocked eyebrow, but deep down i do....or i wouldn't walk back inside and vent to my hubby. and to admit that actually really sucks.
but, keep on keeping on gab.
xo
n
I wonder if the desire for popularity is more about a desire for acceptance. And I wonder if following fashion trends is a way to gain that acceptance through what we choose to clothe ourselves in. One double denim wearing, Birkenstock stomping groupie silently nods to another as they pass each other on the street, or something like that.
ReplyDeletekb x
I think this topic sort-of ties in with your last post. It's always the unique or unpopular (totally different from whatever is in trend at the moment) person that gets a spotlight shined on them in fashion, and then everyone else does the same thing in order to be trendy/popular. Street style has evolved into a never-ending parade of people all doing essentially the same thing style-wise - to the point that it (and most fashion blogs) aren't interesting at all anymore. What does this say about that original person - the trendsetter - though, I wonder? Is the ticket to fashion popularity actually doing something completely different than what's popular? This probably makes no sense at all... Ah, well, thanks for making me think! Your blog is always good for that :)
ReplyDeletemakes perfect sense. So counter intuitive, but so right.
DeleteYou have to not care in order to make others care.
Here's the thing about popularity....YOU CAN'T CARE. All the popular girls in high school didn't give a fuuuuck...but their best friends (sidekicks) always did A LOT, and those gals always seemed a little pathetic. (harsh, I know).
ReplyDeleteIn relation to fashion, I find the not caring is what makes you style badass.
xo
ashley
www.thephotogramps.blogspot.com
Blerg, what an ongoing question that I've yet to answer myself......either this jumpsuit looks stunning on you :)
ReplyDeleteBrooke @ what2wear
To my view your blog is much more or even beyond fashion.Keep on!!:-)
ReplyDeletexo Ada
http://antapal.blogspot.gr
My thoughts in allegory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Jones_(Counting_Crows_song)#Lyrics_and_performances
ReplyDeleteor more directly:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/06/everyone_is_lon.html
But I don't think popularity is a cure, just a band-aid.
I've noticed that to be popular, you shouldn't give a damn what anyone thinks- which is hard! And it explains why there are so little populars. But whatever!
ReplyDeleteI love love love these photos of you. Keep em coming!
http://fshnfrdm.blogspot.com
OMG I wrote a similar topic just hours ago, then I browsed Bloglovin and found this post! ARE WE SEPARATED AT BIRTH?!
ReplyDeleteI just published my post titled "Being Cool", and how everyone truly really wants to be cool. I think that at certain levels, everyone wants to be well loved. I mean, isn't that the reason people make friends, date, and marry? But I guess at a certain point in life (ahem, age 40), you stop giving too much f*** because you have too many things to do, like the people who are actually IN your life, not around it. So it's like "giving up on being popular, but for better purposes.
Nadya
eyeshadow illustrator
The Dilly Chic