What I mean by integrated is this:
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| Mori Girl Dress Found Here |
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| 50's inspired dress |
I genuinely like both of these dresses. I could see myself wearing and enjoying both styles. Yet they are both wildly different from each other and neither is Neo-Aristocrat- the aesthetic I am trying to cultivate. How, then, do you stick to cultivating your own style and not be led into different aesthetics by different passions and interests?
With my top three mainstream aesthetics, there are certain rules to the fashion which can help even if they are not iron clad and often broken. With goth, black and certain motifs can easily identify a gothic dress from others (no matter what sub genre). Steampunk has the same color guidelines- sepias- but also the Victorian influence and the presence of technologically whimsical accessories. Lolita, the most fashion defined aesthetic, has the clearest guidelines- a specific, distinct silhouette, specific embellishments, specific brands.
Naturally, none of these laws are iron tight or never broken. I have seen white goth outfits, chinese steampunk and punk lolita (which I'll be honest- I don't get.) But even these outfits which deviate from the norm at least have the norm from which to deviate. When you are creating your own aesthetic, there are no guidelines but the ones you impose on yourself.
Now, I as I am glancing through my closet- I am not seeing much coherence anymore. Maybe I've lost sight of the Neo-Aristocratic aesthetic. Maybe it was too vague to begin with. Maybe the heat and humidity of the summer has just made me not care. Either way, I am tired of looking in my closet and not having a good idea of what I am wearing.
This is, unfortunately, not a complete overhaul of my closet. Grad school budgets don't allow for that, but it is time that I set down my own guide lines for Neo-Aristocracy. I will also be trying to focus a little more on the Neo-Aristocrat Aesthetic rather than just documenting my life.
What are your guidelines for what you wear?
I don't focus very much on creating a cohesive aesthetic in my style.... I don't want to have a set of rules, self imposed or not, to follow... that would just kill my joy and creativity! My only guideline is to wear only what feels good and feels "me". This method has actually led me to have quite a cohesive personal style, but one that doesn't fit into any single mainstream aesthetic (but drawing inpiration from many). I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I like a particular aesthetic, or parts of one, I can always find a way to make it mine and part of my personal aesthetic! I feel no need to classify my style, put a name on it or impose rules...
ReplyDeleteSame here. I like your response.
DeleteHey Nadja! Thanks for commenting. It's given me enough to think about that I'm actually going to write a blog post as a proper reply. But I've taken a look at some of your outfit posts and agree: you do have a very appealing, cohesive aesthetic. Brava!
DeleteAnd here is the proper, full response: http://evolvingaristocrat.blogspot.com/2013/07/m-y-previous-post-about-necessity-of.html
DeleteThanks again for commenting both of you!