Fashion Victim

i generally agree with Suzy's definition of fashion victim above but would add that there seem to be some people for whom fashion is a hobby nay a PAssiON (eg that carrie from Sex& the City) and the clothes they wear are as much a part of them as eg. books are for me. are they "victims" (cos lets face it, carrie bradshaw often looks GODAWFUL and chilly to boot, but she's thin enough to get away with it) or are they just utterly cutting edge dahling *mwah*?

Ouch - almost guilty.

I'm intrigued by this whole leggings revival. I will worry if Olivia Newton-John style headbands come back, but now I've said it, they will.

Bear in mind, ladies and gentlemen, that some of us on the mags are in the habit of sticking any old shit in there to see which fools bite.

SJP in Sex In the City is an embarassment to herself: she wears things like a cape or a stupid necklace with her name on it because she thinks it is trendy, not because she likes it or because it suits her.

Dear ILE, am I a fashion victim?

But isn't the notion of an FV something to do with this distinction breaking down: what of ppl whose genuine criteria of 'like' include an awareness of or sensitivity to social context/behaviour/industry timing-structures, and who enjoy the sense of being first/contemporary/clued-in? This isn't regarded as a bad thing wrt to other cultural/intellectual interests - so do we just think of those FV ppl as 'fools who bite' or 'victims' because they are:
(a) employing criteria not only heavily focussed on other ppls perceptions of them, but also
(b) heavily determined by material goods, and
(c) goods which are to do with appearance

- and not only do we have ideas that these are all shallow and trivial compared to 'being your own person', but also the idea that there is largely a top-down control mechanism at work here too - the insider movers & shakers deciding what is going to be the case for the high st. plebs (though many would say there's often an element of bubble-up before the trickle-down) : so, even the FV's 'likes' are not really their own - just the result of false consciousness jerked around by semi-invisible strings.
(Given the extent to which some version of this model is applicable to all kinds of mass-consumption goods, maybe we shouldn't feel so comfy in our dismissals?)

haha the absurd logical opposite extreme of an FV is someone who doesn't pay any attention atall to what anyone else is wearing and who doesn't care what they look like either - a schizophrenic piss-stained dirty old tramp for example.....

no anna, you're not. i always think you dress v well actually.

otoh i have def been guilty of wearing impractical clothes in the past (and have been freezing my ass off in boston cos i still haven't found a coat that i like), and have something of a habit or wearing clothes that make my friends wince (cf those yellow-pocketed jeans), so i may not be the best person to make this call.

Return compliament - I like those yellow pocketed jeans. (I think we have had this conversation before)

i got called fasion victim the other day, i'm like yes and.

mind you i gget called Bungle more...i'm waiting for the day when i get called fascist bungle

This is more due to low self-esteem :(

gareth i will so end up calling you a fascist bungle next time i'm drunk in your presence, i fear.

is it generally acceptable for heterosexual men to be interested in fashion at all? my best friend C claims that every time i talk about clothes i come across as v gay (but then, she makes this claim about lots of other things about me).

(Alright Ned - I'll just go and look for the noose....)

Snowy, there are fashion victims and fashion victors. Deep down we all know which we are. And must be said I hate copying looks a lot more than being copied - most of the time what other people are doing with their look is of little or no consequence to me but I have to say I'm not down with the mullet/early 80s stoner-slut look. *SHUDDER* the memories.

Fashion comes from ALL SIDES. The side I hate most is a school clique-like self-appointed in-crowd determining what's hot and parading around in it to impress the clique. And for the most part you can buy your way into that crowd, so I'm not really interested in them.

I've maintained, ALWAYS, that there is a big difference between fashion and style. Fashion is followed, style is something you've just got - or not.

"Hang on, can you tell me about the last article you wrote for Vogue? Oh wait, I forgot. Your idea of fashion is the Evening Gowns segment of the Miss America Pageant and you picked me up from the airport in a yellow terrycloth tracksuit. Defence rests."

Dan, did I mention she arrived in a black Cadillac she'd bought because of a win on Mystic Lake slots, with small black poodle bouncing all over the seats? I'm worried that the transformation into one of Marge Simpson's sisters will be complete when I next see her.

following is cool. i follow better than any leaders could ever have imagined. plus...i look better

Koln THAT good, eh G?

:)

I'll bet certain of my friends think of me as a fashion victim, but that's their fault, not mine.

[Nabisco, I'm just waiting for skinny Nick to pop up on this thread to say Ethiopians send HIM food these days ;-)]

Dickon to thread!

I did see a woman today wearing leggings with pumps. She had a winter jacket over this ensemble, so I couldn't tell if she'd gone full-on 80s.

That said, if the high-fashion elite is simply recycling one style after another, I would like to see mini-crinolines make a comeback, because I never had the opportunity to wear one during the 80s, and I sort of feel cheated.

Round here they never stopped. (Not that I have any more fashion sense - far from it, I horrify proper fashion victims even on the rare occasions I don't just pull on the nearest sloppy jumper that doesn't have too many curry stains down the front - or anything, I just dislike leggings.)

Was that THEE Dickon Edwards in the Radio Times letters page this week?

Hooray for sweaters with built-in mittenlets!

Well, it was me, if that's what you mean.

How odd that you're talking about ONJ & Xanadu, just after I did in my diary. You fashion victims, you. ;)

In the film, when ONJ turns into a cartoon bird, she is still wearing leggings. That's style.

when i hear the words fashion victim, the two coreys always pop into my head.

am i a fashion victim? nah. i'm too tall too worry about fashion.