'The production and marketing of new styles of goods, especially clothing'

- definition of fashion according to Oxford Languages

Here is a question for you: 

What does fashion mean to you?

Is it a way for you to express yourself? Is it some social construct that keeps people always wanting more? Is it something that your friends are always talking about and trying to get you more in to?

No matter what you think, the definition of fashion means many different things to people all around the world. Here is some honesty for us all: what some people think of as fashion, lots of people hate and vice versa. Take a second to think about that. Now put it in the back of your head because guess what.. their opinion doesn't matter. You wear what you want because it makes you feel confident and beautiful. Who cares what anybody other than you has to think about it!! 

I have always looked at fashion as a way of escaping from the norm. Fashion is so much more than just clothing for people. Most of those people feel like it is a way to embrace and express themselves. Think of it like a megaphone, allowing the person to announce to everyone loudly what they like without saying a single word. The feeling is freeing and fluid with their definition. It can make a terrible day seem slightly better, the thought that even if nothing is going correctly in my day.. at least I look hot. 

Do you remember the days of gauchos? Back in the early 2000's that use to be the hot new trend that everyone was wearing, a true fashion statement. Now when we look back at it, it could be something that we can't believe we use to wear (I would religiously wear a brown pair from Justice..). Here's the thing, that is totally ok. Life changes and so does the definition of fashion as we define our own look. 

In 2018 writer Leandra M. Cohen asked 12 editors, stylists, designers, and consultants this question: What is the point of fashion? I read the article a couple months ago and it has been engrained in my head ever since. Here's what two people had to say:

"Fashion, to me, represents life. When I wear something that makes me feel more... creative, more interesting, stronger, complicated -- that's where I feel the most love, the most engaged with the world. Changing my wardrobe is the quickest route to feeling like everything is new again, that anything is possible. So the purpose of fashion is to make you feel alive and present."

Amy Smilovic

Founder and designer of Tibi

"Joy. That is the purpose of fashion for me. The joy of wearing something that makes you feel powerful or beautiful or in control. The joy of seeing a fashion show so beautiful that it turns you into a wide-eyed eight year old. The joy of buying something you dream about, or giving that to someone else. The joy of new. It's not about feeling less than -- less cool, less rich, less skinny (as I know fashion cans often do). It's about what makes you feel better."

Laura Brown

Editor-in-Chief of InStyle

No matter what you think fashion means, that is YOUR definition of it and that is truly all that matters. So use that to power your style because it is the best way to express yourself! Fashion trends may come and go but what will always remain is your confidence in whatever you are wearing. Go crazy! Who is going to stop you?

xoxo Leo babe,

Jaela