We go again,
I’ve been a really big participant in the culture of footwear design and copping culture of style as it comes to understanding story and what makes a good garment.
The Price Of Quality
Mostly because of art school, the seven years I was there art school taught me so much in terms of quality of garments; pattern cutting; embroidery; printing; graphics and effort it takes to make all these great quality clothes we see today. So you see, nothing has just been a hyped apparel, it’s been a cut and sew garment made in Italy by the ateliers at the factory who need to get paid.
Prints on high quality fabrics is hard and it’s a one shot deal – I could go on and on about what goes into making certain clothes – the point is the quality and style has grown important to me. Not just what was printed but what I would wear. Of course there are some undeniable insatiable designs that I give into with hype but i still had this incline that although I like the company that made them I just wouldn’t wear it.
I’m not a hound for hype, I’m a hound for great garments with great design. How did I get to this stage I’ll tell you, but it’s not like the norm.
Outfit Coordination
Where all this started was in college. More so when I was a kid. But in college I had money to do something about my situation. I’ve been told I was stylistically inclined but in art school it becomes more apparent. With the women you’d like to attract and what you feel comfortable in.
Now that I look back I cared a lot about my silhouette and less about detailing which came much later. Details I loved were colour coordination.
No matter the colour kicks hat hoodie would have to match jeans couldn’t be too tight and hat would have to tie the outfit together. With this. It’s all about what I felt like in the clothes and being conscious about colour very early
Silhouette
In university it was about my shadow. Literally my silhouette and what I’d like to look at on the ground. I kid you not how my hat looked like in a shadow was so important, all my colours were muted at this stage.
Many earth tones and black, most important was silhouette. What I tried to gain was an understand of weight, I looked so much in my reflection and tried to be bold with shapes just because I could because the weights were perfect.
All the while the price of the garment didn’t mean much. This was right before the boom of thrifting and Pyrex for context. I was so bold with weight at this stage because I could match and manage what I would wear.
COLOUR
Post university I made a concerted effort to bring back colour and not just in blocks but the prints the embossing and playing with loud shapes and garments. Which is much like I wear now. And I’m growing to wear the only difference is, because I care so much now since I was 14. That most garments I want to wear are what I want to see myself reflected in or sell. See many people say copy someone else’s style but that gives you no sense of self.
I took it a step at a time, with limited fund I played around with tone, texture, weight, silhouette & quality all on my own accord with no hype involved. I can’t lie I’ve been a broke student most of my life so I had to manage but what no one could say was I didn’t have my own style because at all those stages I did and was happy every time I looked in the mirror because I knew I was being myself and not spending an arm and a leg looking like my favourite rapper or popping stylist.
I had a solid ten years to grow, not knowing exactly what I was doing but in retrospect I fully understand what I was trying to gain in those stages and that was a sense of self in terms of my appearance. I never had as much funds as most or an archive but I knew what was in style and what style I wanted to see myself in. Now I’m the me who knows what he’s looking at when he buys garments and what works for me myself.
So if I see a design and I’m like ‘yo that’s ill, I love the design direction’ I’m copping for that reason but with that adage comes with a full understand of what it means to my wardrobe and the period of design it’s emulating.
We’re learning more of – Whatever Moves Your Dial
Damilare. Not Your Typical
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