Fashion is not Man Repellent

A local Jewish owned magazine is making its rounds as a fashion periodical for the frum gal who likes her InStyle. It has photos of what is supposed to be fashionable Jewesses, but I blinked in confusion. 

In the rigorous education of Hungarian aesthetics, there is one rule that is paramount: Looking good. Meaning, if a tutu is the hottest new trend, it wouldn't matter to me, since I look laughable in anything flary. 

Nearly every woman featured in those glossy pages was wearing the new it-item, the furry vest. 

I wish the furry vest well. But due to my build it is a partnership that will never be. Additionally, I eschew vests of any kind, since my arms would be left exposed and chilly while my torso would be overheated. I prefer more even, all-round roasting. 

There are many women who look sharp in a furry vest. But not everyone does. Nor does the standard thigh-length flatter all, since it obscures the curvaceous lines of the female figure.  

If one wants to look at fashion strictly in terms of artwork, that is one thing. Art has its pretty, its ugly, its downright terrifying. But art should not be predictable or overdone, either.

Fashion is about a personal sense of style, of cultivating an individual identity via the conduit of wardrobe. First comes an established sense of what one can wear based on body type, next how snazzy details can then be availed of. 

Purchasing a furry vest because everyone else has does not make one fashionable. It makes one trendy. If one dons a furry vest because one truly feels that it highlights their physical qualities and downplays their faults, wunderbar.  

Clothing, for me, is my means to bring out my best self, both in appearance and the resultant confidence. Trends, unless they actually like me, have no place in my closet.