Clothes Maketh the Man..Not

The Balenciaga Classique, Chanel 2.55, Chloe Paddington, Birkins and Speedy. Sound familiar? In case you’re wondering, they’re not recommended names for that cute English poodle or that masculine German shepherd. They belong to a category called the “It” designer handbags that many young women and sometimes men covet.

I can name you the close to all the “It” bags, at the drop of a hat, including which season and which specific year, the handbag was launched. No, I do not work in the fashion industry and neither am I a fashion editor. I am your average Singaporean young lady who, like rest of the female population drool over the latest Dior saddlebag or that Louis Vuitton speedy.

I used to flip through Vogue and dog-ear the pages with the latest “It” bags and would constantly return to that page 165, just to ogle at the bag. I was materialistic and would crave for the day when I could buy one these bags. My girlfriends and I would send each other jpeg files stolen from the Internet and we would share our opinions on the newly marketed bags. From designer handbags, clothes, shades and even “It” hand phones like the iphone, we talked about them as if they were our other half.

I was so materialistic.

In the last year, I grew tired of the “It” bags and decided to be more creative with my dressing, by going vintage. Mixing and matching old with new and branded with no-frills. Little did I know, that people do notice.

C had made a comment and told a friend I’ve been wearing “CHEAP” clothes and that I should wear “Branded” stuff. When I heard that I was so insulted! It was such a condescending remark. I thought to myself.

That night, I tossed and turned in bed, the words “cheap clothes” kept echoing in my head and I was so perturbed by it. I asked myself, was I dressing like a cheap hooker, in imitation leather-like scanty tops and fish net stockings? No I wasn’t! Did my clothes have holes in them? No they weren’t! Had the colour of my clothes run? No, they didn’t. So, why the judgment?

They said that clothes maketh the man but I beg to differ. Unfortunately, in Singapore, we are often judged by the brand of our clothing and the maker of the things we possess and this can apply to everything in general. “Oh he drives a Ferrari (high pitch), “oh he drives a toyota. Eeww”.

Is that to say that type of brand makes us the person that we are? Is that to say we have no style if we don’t wear Gucci or Prada? Does wearing Roberto Cavalli make us more stylish? Does driving a Lamborghini make us better drivers? Are we really so superficial and shallow, that we judge others simply because they do not wear labels?

I am not against people who clad themselves head to toe in Dolce, or those who drive a SL 500. If you can afford it, by all means buy what makes you happy, but it is extremely insensitive and patronising to label others simply because they do not conform to what is your standard of designer possessions.

Everyone has a choice. Be it carrying that no-frills bag or wearing those Jimmy Choos. Ultimately, you may buy a lifestyle, but you cannot buy style and neither can you buy class. It’s taken me 23 years of my life to realize that I am being scrutinized for my choice of clothes, makeup, shoes, hand phone etc. It’s been an enlightening yet saddening awakening.

Stone cold

Somehow along the way,
I've lost my heart,
The bitterness that engulfed,
Left a wounded soul.
Yet stronger I've emerged,
Picked myself up,
Rising from the fall.
Although the bleedings' stopped,
It's empty and dead,
Cold and numb,
Towering like an old forsaken fort.
Yet I still yearn,
Like the desert needs the rain,
That when warmth surrounds
The stone cold heart,
Will perhaps someday,
Melt away.

,

Faith

I pray and I hope
That all will be laid out.

Fast forward me to the weekend