The stale state of personal style
Style icons became who they are by taking a confident chance on fashion
By Carole Park
Issue date: 11/1/06 Section: Editorial
This issue, two Vic students offer us style-challenged Torontonians some insight on how to spice up our wardrobes for the cool winter months that lie ahead. The state of personal style has grown incredibly stale as everyone either identifies with the "It" celebrity of the day or continues to wear the same thing they have been wearing since eighth grade. Canada as a whole seems to lack a style identity outside the realm of lumberjack flannel, puffy parkas, and obscenely large fur hats with earflaps.
Various locales have their own distinct city style: L.A. is known for being laid-back, New York is a little more edgy and fierce, the French are reputed for looking effortlessly glamorous and England is home to style icon Kate Moss. While Canada has produced stylist Jay Manuel for America's Next Top Model and David Furnish, husband to perhaps the most extravagantly glamorous man, Elton John, there is little else left. Canadian designers are definitely up-and-coming, but have difficulty presenting a distinctly Canadian perspective. Canadian design duo DSquared, who have enjoyed substantial international attention, largely mimic New York street style. Perhaps the west coast can be credited with a granola-crunch-hippie look that should not to be seen, anywhere, ever. Montreal is known for being stylish, but most chalk it up to the French-Euro connection.
However, Toronto is having a little bit of an identity crisis when it comes to style. Shops like Over the Rainbow are constantly pushing the L.A. aesthetic of laid-back $300 jeans and the looks created by celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe. Hate to break it to everyone, but the cold, icy Canadian winter we get in Toronto for nearly half the year doesn't really permit flouncy skirts with four-inch stacked heels. We also don't all have a driver, like Hilary Duff does, who is willing to schlep us down to the corner of Cumberland and Bellair. Sadly enough, too many people turn to Hollywood celebrities for style inspiration, failing to acknowledge the crappy weather we have here - and the fact that the Chinatown Louis Vuitton knock-off isn't the real deal.
Various locales have their own distinct city style: L.A. is known for being laid-back, New York is a little more edgy and fierce, the French are reputed for looking effortlessly glamorous and England is home to style icon Kate Moss. While Canada has produced stylist Jay Manuel for America's Next Top Model and David Furnish, husband to perhaps the most extravagantly glamorous man, Elton John, there is little else left. Canadian designers are definitely up-and-coming, but have difficulty presenting a distinctly Canadian perspective. Canadian design duo DSquared, who have enjoyed substantial international attention, largely mimic New York street style. Perhaps the west coast can be credited with a granola-crunch-hippie look that should not to be seen, anywhere, ever. Montreal is known for being stylish, but most chalk it up to the French-Euro connection.
However, Toronto is having a little bit of an identity crisis when it comes to style. Shops like Over the Rainbow are constantly pushing the L.A. aesthetic of laid-back $300 jeans and the looks created by celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe. Hate to break it to everyone, but the cold, icy Canadian winter we get in Toronto for nearly half the year doesn't really permit flouncy skirts with four-inch stacked heels. We also don't all have a driver, like Hilary Duff does, who is willing to schlep us down to the corner of Cumberland and Bellair. Sadly enough, too many people turn to Hollywood celebrities for style inspiration, failing to acknowledge the crappy weather we have here - and the fact that the Chinatown Louis Vuitton knock-off isn't the real deal.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Lula
posted 11/01/06 @ 3:28 PM EST
I know this is a uni newspaper...but this is the most freshman english 101 essay I've read in a while. Painfully so. Get some talent, Strand!
Post a Comment