Here’s to the latest fashion trend innovation called athleisure, a
trend in which work-out and athletic themed apparel is worn in various
environments apart from the gym and similar locations. And cheers to that
special person in my life who made me live vividly again. This
discourse revolves around surviving sartorial blocks and regaining that
enthusiasm for life by falling in love again. Love comes in various forms
for all of us, it could be the love for traveling, love for sports or perhaps
it’s a platonic type of love. For whatever the case, what’s important is
keeping that love burning especially under the shadow of cynicism. In this
case, love for me came from choosing to stay in fashion as well as crossing
paths with a bloke that ticked all my boxes, and who happened to have a massive
heart. For some time, I’ve been in a fashion rut. I haven’t been
inspired with the pieces of clothing I've put together which is a signal
that things aren’t that good. Fashion has that power to make us feel something.
It can act as an outlet for hope and inspiration for projecting our ideas of
who we are and who we want to become. So when I was facing a sartorial
block, a condition of being unable to style clothing or proceed with
fashion, I knew something was up with me.
Sartorially speaking, I’ve lost my mojo and
being in that jaded situation could be frustrating because it puts you in a
void condition. I had to do an introspective confrontation to determine
what was really bothering me since there was tension within myself and as a
result apathy begun to ensue for my outward appearance. My personal and
professional life were predisposition to change and I had a hard time grasping
it all. On the bright side, I knew one thing hadn't changed which was my love
for beautiful things such as the exquisite lace on my lingerie, the impeccably
embroidered floral on my black velvet boots, and that spray bottle that holds
captive a potent sweet evocative scent of lavender infused with the more
feminine rose aroma that transports me across thousands of miles. These things
still made me happy and served as my source of escape despite the fact that I
was ready to give-up on the idea of ever finding a suitable romantic partner. I
was a romance cynic at best, relentlessly pounding in my head “who needs a
boyfriend when you have a career” – as if those two aspirations couldn’t
co-exist together.
We’ve
all had that traumatizing moment that shattered us. Moments for which we
thought broke us, but were we really broken? Or perhaps we were broken open
instead. Sartorial slip-ups are just like heart breaks, they have a way of
unmasking and exposing our deepest weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I remember
being all dressed up in a sophisticated black ensemble for work and all of a
sudden, my faux leather sandals started falling apart. It was so embarrassing and
such a struggle since I had so much to do that day and on top of all chaos, I
was already an hour late. I had to snap out of that self-pity mode and get
going. My options at that time were either get the sandals fixed or get a
new pair, the closest stop was a 7/11 store and they had flip-flops but no
freaking way I’m wearing flip-flops with the ensemble I have on, so instead I
got some adhesive and did some D-I-Y. And there it was, a sartorial conundrum
solved. If only love affairs could be solved with an adhesive found in a
convenience store. Heart breaks could leave us retreating from any form of
genuine intimacy. There is nothing wrong with retreating, it is perfectly
healthy but we can’t keep closing our doors. As a matter of fact, real healing
begins the moment we start trusting again. A blow that occurred in a
relationship can only be healed in a new relationship. Just like how a
sartorial slip-up could only be repaired in a fashion come back. Had a passe
style in college? Become the work force fashionista.
The
point is, when facing a sartorial block or fashion rut, start trying out new
things. Make an attempt to add your personal spin to a current trend or if you
are the type that always wear jeans why not toss on a skirt every now and then.
Keep tweaking your clothing attire until you find a style that you love and
same goes with dating, keep your options open until you met the right person
who satisfies all necessary criteria you have for a life partner. It's essential to figure yourself out, address what's
going on inside and reconnect with yourself before you start connecting with a
new person. And then start bringing that out in you selection of dress and overall ensemble. Start valuing the new life experiences
and maturity you have gained as well, rather than yearning for youth and
naivete. Having experienced love, loss and slip-ups only enriches us and
enables us to fully determine our relational and sartorial needs and true
desires. So there it is, I've survived my sartorial block and came out on
the other side. The way we portray ourselves with fashion visually says a lot
on how we feel about ourselves. I fell in love with fashion again the moment I
fell in love with the person I had become, and along the way I found myself
falling in love with a man who surpassed my dreams for a partner.
