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Vive La Façon by Mackenzie Rawcliffe
I like watching young ladies, wait — what? Just kidding but, really, I do. I work at a high school, and in the morning before school starts I have duty in the cafeteria. I’m front row for the high school runway.
Since I’ve started writing this column, I’ve had to start noticing and meditating more on my own and others’ fashion choices, so I can’t help judging everybody. Creepy? Yes. Useful? Absolutely. I’d like to share what I’ve observed by presenting the first three stages of fashion.
First Stage: Infancy
For me, this stage is all about my mom. My sisters and I were never out of sync with homemade matching jumpsuits in various patterns. This was really nice in a way — we got many well-deserved compliments because we looked so damn cute — but they didn’t ring true. Probably because we had nothing to do with how we looked and every squeal of approval was really directed at our mother — a master of toddler chic.
Second Stage: Youth (middle and high school)
Oh, to be young and angst-y. Is anything filled with more wickedly fun drama and painfully awkward moments than our school days? That is why I love the cafeteria catwalk. As a slightly older individual, I might as well be invisible so no one notices my appraising glance.
To my surprise, high school fashion isn’t that bad. Well, at least the girls — the boys don’t seem to be trying yet. Parents are still buying new clothes every September and holiday and the injections of now are visible. Girls are heavily influenced by pop culture and store mannequins — currently there is an abundance of short floral skirts over tights with draping scarves.
It is easy to sort outfits into “didn’t care,” “tried but not quite there” and “nice.” Most girls fall into the third category. There aren’t many that go above and beyond, show some personality or take style risks. The point is that during this stage the struggle to control their image is on display. Allowed to pick their own clothes and not sure who to copy, the choice to create is rare.
Compliments didn’t feel genuine when I was in high school either, because I didn’t even know what I was trying to do and half the time I had just chosen clothes to annoy my mom. Youth is the fashion stage of stumbling self-discovery but it is a little bland.
Third Stage: Adult? (college and grad school)
The question mark expresses my own confusion about what I am. At 25 years old, I know I’m legally an adult, but it’s hard to believe.
College is the time to be creative and experiment, though the daily grind and short finances make freedom of fashion expression difficult. Our styles have gelled and we have a list of colors and clothes that we feel comfortable in. But I would contest that comfort is not confidence, and ignoring our artistic selves denies us one of the greatest parts of being human.
Creation is as close as we get to being gods and lucky us — we get to do it every morning as long as we wake up early enough. I’ve tried to encourage people to treat every day like it is an event worth attending, something to put on the Ritz for.
Unfortunately, this has meant that since I’ve started writing this I’ve had to actually do it myself. And for the first time in my life I’ve gotten compliments on my outfits that make me explode with happiness. By far the best was when the whole staff of Fiddleheads sent a representative to my table to tell me that my outfit was inspiringly great. That compliment keeps me warm and confident on the coldest, grayest, most disappointing days.
I want more people to experience that feeling, so The Maine Campus Style section has joined Facebook. You can friend us and then give yourself or your friends “style props.” For example, let’s say your friend looked really great at your birthday party and you want to tell them.
Tag the person as a “Do Stylemecampus.” Weird name, I know, but I had trouble getting around the name detector. Apparently, “Style” isn’t a believable name but “Do” is.
When you tag someone as a “do,” please comment why you think their look is great, otherwise we’ll untag them: This is about style and being nice to your friends. I’m also going to leave open the possibility for debate on whether someone is really a “do” or not so please be selective, genuine and defend your choices. I’m so excited to discuss, dissect and celebrate UMaine street style.
Oh, and what are the other stages of fashion? I haven’t reached either of them so I don’t feel qualified to comment. First: Career Stage — bleh, I’ll need to nurture our creativity subtly in order to survive that stage — and then the Purple Hats Stage, when you’ve reached the age where you don’t give a damn anymore and are going to wear whatever you want. Some things only get better and more fun with time.
Bangor Daily News