Fashion has always been defined by the decades culture influences such as music, political events, art movements, role models or idols for teens, controversial pieces of literature and photographs. These are the things that street fashion have come to encompass and I believe that we will always continue to dress in accordance with the music we like or what our friends find cool and the “it” thing of the moment. This is because we surround ourselves with people of similar interests and values. If you look close enough I think you can see through the use of social media we've been able to create online communities that allow the concept of “street fashion” to become more expressive and more widely seen, but less physical, actually out in view of the public.
I can think of a few examples where street fashion has developed our perception of events through out history, the most prevalent I can think of that I have a connection with is the birth place of peace and free love on the streets of Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. If there is one place on earth where tie dye is the appropriate dress code this is it. If you haven't been there it's definitely a place stuck in a different time, a lot different from any street I've seen in Australia. It's a little rough around the edges but you can picture Jimmy Hendrix or Janis Joplin walking down the street smoking a joint.
. Source .
On a different note I myself am a great example of the minimalist trends that has set down it's roots, on the Sunshine Coast streets its kind of an unwritten dress code where girls my age you will see often wearing a white t-shirt, light blue denim shorts and white converse as the "safe" option – this look is originally inspired my Scandinavian minimalist fashion trends. Let’s be honest who ever really likes choosing the safe option. I admire people who stand out because I myself am not always willing to do the same. Those of you who wear timeless classic wardrobes or vintage pieces not recycled trends everyone has seen before a million times are the people who are noticed. In reality I could go all “As an artists who respects creative integrity and intellectual property I am disgusted… Do you not have any value of respect for individuality?” on you, but seriously that lady is the definition of a twat.
As we allow the Internet to fully expose street culture through social media, I believe the street has begun to shrink, as the Internet grows bigger. This is probably one of the reasons I personally admire professional Vlogger's on YouTube because we as the viewer are able to glimpse that little be extra into their likes and dislikes than a simple “sit down” video each week can provide. This also raises that question if we take to much inspiration from bloggers about what our day-to-day lives should look like. I think I can confidently say no we don’t, nobody is a carbon copy of another person we've just been exposed to people with similar interests. I find interesting that a lot of Youtuber's dress nicely from the waist up
because they’re on camera at home. I've seen a lot of mixed reactions from
people on this subject such as (and I’m paraphrasing from memory) “It’s not a fair representation of themselves” or “It’s
deceitful”. My own personal opinion is that the Internet it’s self is the world
put through a camera lens it’s never going to be 100% accurate or as reliable
as the “street” we once took inspiration from but it’s given us the opportunity
to connect with so many like minded people, that maybe this concept of ‘how the
people around you dress must be how you dress’ was only holding us back until
now.
Sorry I began to ramble but I had so many things I wanted to include. I'd love to know your thoughts on this subjects so feel free to leave a comment below.
. Stay Cool and Dress In
Whatever The Hell You Want To .
