Change

What is it that makes us change? Evolve? Transition?

   

 In my experience is the context always context…

Times are changing, people are changing, trends and buildings are changing, being recycled, and so are we as people. Our attitudes towards time as well as different episodes in our life makes us grow. But we need to change so that we don’t stay in time, and chose to progress. We need to be rupturistic (trend setter) to break with the routine, and with the already known stuff that we are so used to wear.  We need something that takes our breath away, so that we feel unique and special again.  

Change is inevitable... however, a couple of days ago watching the discovery channel, (something strange for me :P ) I got struck by the idea that there are tons of Amazonian tribes hidden in jungles that live under conditions that we used to live millions of years ago.. so why don’t they “evolve” (according to what we consider evolving in the technological, cultural, or globalized world) I am not saying that its wrong for them to keep their millennium culture intact. But it’s just an observation I made, considering that while they were building a house out of mud, in a parallel universe Thomas Edison was trying to create electrical light bulb, or while they were painting their bodies Louis Armstrong was walking on the moon (considering its actually a true fact) but then again, while they where dressing with animal fur, Coco Channel was inventing a new style, or Ford, creating the ford T line…these are tribes that happy in their cultural environment, live isolated and do not evolve in the same kind of way as global society does. Is it because of a resourceful reason, political, social, and geographical? Maybe they don’t know what’s beyond their tribe. Are we happier being ignorant? Or are we to scare to know what’s beyond our knowledge?

 

Another case that caught my mind was after I went and visit an Amish community. These are people that same as the Amazonia tribes live isolated, but they consciously isolate themselves from the global society due to beliefs that keep them happy in closed communities. So we need to change because our context pursues an evolution, or we just want to stay in a comfort zone. .. Where does evolution come from? In these cases I believe it’s a matter of choosing to change, choosing to be up to discovering what’s beyond out knowledge as an individual, as well as in a society.  Is it good to evolve? 

It’s a never ending debate, was the dolly sheep a positive evolution? Evolving does not always mean good, but it does give us a sense of progress and improvement. This debate comes not actually knowing in person how people in tribes live. I do have experience of Amish people but always as an outsider.. I haven’t spend more than a day in the community but I sure felt their culture of keeping themselves isolated from the world, made me realized whether I belong there, their tranquility, their peace.

So all in all, I believe we need to change, to progress, to evolve, and to learn from past mistakes. Why is history of much importance in school? Its not to fill in an hour of activity, but to make us conscious of our past, our present and have an idea of our future, so that we do not make same mistakes. Every situation is different, but still, change is inevitable, wisdom does not come with age, but that, depends according to the experiences, and our open minded view towards the world. 

Trend Setters

There are two reasons that make me think why trends are born. On the one hand, due to spontaneous individual creativity of mixing a combination of designs, elements and arrange them in a way that breaks with the actual commercial image. On the other hand, there’s Fashion Week. A week dedicated to express renowned designers . It is in this period that a trend may filter itself into the commercial stores to be adaptive to the day to day use, and to the street clothes. Coz speaking truthfully, not everyone dares to expose the exaggerated design clothing into the street. And so trends from the cat walk turn into original trend setters in the endless search to be unique and individual, until everyones start to imitate it, and so a new trend needs to be born. Its called the circle of the fashion industry.

Who new that Navy boot would turn into such a hip street compliment?

 

The curious case of being unique

A few days ago I started thinking about uniqueness, how unique we all are, and the importance to embrace that uniqueness. I understand that fashion trends are made for people to follow, but I also understand that people should be faithful to themselves, their beliefs, their style, and their personal touch. That doesn’t mean that we cannot change, since one of the great things of fashion is that is always renewing, and reusing, or creating new trends and styles for consumers to identify.

Every time I take the train or the bus, I get to appreciate people’s personal fashion, noticing, that people that have a style outside the trend are the ones that call even more for attention.  The reason I believe a trend reproduces itself is when we want what we don’t have, maybe we don’t feel attracted at the beginning, but once we seen somebody else wearing it we want it. So here comes the contradiction. We want something when we see it works for someone else but then again, we want to remain unique. The uniqueness is what makes us so special, we can be similar with someone else’s style but in the end we are unique and that is soo great. Even if we don’t like our hair, nose, hips, or our legs, we all have a different body type and we should know how to work it according to the clothes and fits we know it works for us, because unfortunately not every trend, clothes or design works for everybody.  

 I used to think I wanted to be in the fashion trend of the moment but then again… why? To be part of something bigger than me? To feel secure? What better challenge than to feel comfortable in my own skin and impose the trend. Taking the risk of sounding a bit too egocentric, I have seen a lot of people starting to use a lot of trends I thought I started, (well thanks to designers from another country I got to apply them to my own country) and it felt so great when people asked me where I had purchase these or those shoes, and that I was the only one using them. I realized then that even thou I’ve been questioned for my style in the past, there are people that do know how to appreciate it. We don’t need to change for anybody else as long as we feel comfortable with our own skin, and if people do not like it, it may not be our problem that we don’t fit their expectations on fashion, in fact, that’s the greatness of uniqueness, and people may like it was well as repel it. We don’t need to please anyone but ourselves.    

The best part is that perfection does not exist!!! Imperfection is what makes us so perfect.

Photos: By Picasso

Special Post in Spanish: Feliz Año Nuevo!!! lleno de felicidades y oportunidades :)

Después de un tiempo, uno aprende la sutil diferencia entre sostener una mano y encadenar un alma.
Y uno aprende que el amor no significa acostarse.
Y que una compañía no significa seguridad , y uno empieza a aprender ....
Que los besos no son contratos y los regalos no son promesas, y uno empieza a aceptar sus derrotas con la cabeza alta y los ojos abiertos , y uno aprende a construir todos sus caminos en el hoy, porque el terreno del mañana es demasiado inseguro para planes ... y los futuros tienen su forma de caerse por la mitad.
Y después de un tiempo uno aprende que, si es demasiado, hasta el calor del Sol puede quemar.
Así que uno planta su propio jardín y decora su propia alma, en lugar de esperar a que alguien le traiga flores.
Y uno aprende que realmente puede aguantar, que uno es realmente fuerte, que uno realmente vale, y uno aprende y aprende... y así cada día.
Con el tiempo aprendes que estar con alguien, porque te ofrece un buen futuro, significa que tarde o temprano querrás volver a tu pasado.
Con el tiempo comprendes que sólo quien es capaz de amarte con tus defectos sin pretender cambiarte, puede brindarte toda la felicidad.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que si estás con una persona sólo por acompañar tu soledad, irremediablemente acabarás no deseando volver a verla.
Con el tiempo aprendes que los verdaderos amigos son contados y que quien no lucha por ellos, tarde o temprano, se verá rodeado sólo de falsas amistades.
Con el tiempo aprendes que las palabras dichas en momentos de ira siguen hiriendo durante toda la vida.
Con el tiempo aprendes que disculpar cualquiera lo hace, pero perdonar es atributo sólo de almas grandes.
Con el tiempo comprendes que si has herido a un amigo duramente, es muy probable que la amistad jamás sea igual.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta que aun siendo feliz con tus amigos, lloras por aquellos que dejaste ir.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que cada experiencia vivida con cada persona es irrepetible.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que el que humilla o desprecia a un ser humano, tarde o temprano sufrirá multiplicadas las mismas humillaciones o desprecios.
Con el tiempo aprendes a construir todos tus caminos en el hoy, porque el sendero del mañana no existe.
Con el tiempo comprendes que apresurar las cosas y forzarlas a que pasen, ocasiona que al final no sean como esperabas.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que en realidad lo mejor no era el futuro, sino el momento que estabas viviendo justo en ese instante.
Con el tiempo verás que aunque seas feliz con los que están a tu lado, añorarás a los que se marcharon.
Con el tiempo aprenderás a perdonar o pedir perdón, decir que amas, decir que extrañas, decir que necesitas, decir que quieres ser amigo...
Pero desafortunadamente, sólo con el tiempo... 


from a friend :)

Coco: Breaking out of the corset

Coco Chanel, a woman that fought her way into fashion, was determine not to let her past and origins limit her future and ambitions, and so with a broken heart, the legend begun.

                                         

The creator of more than a trend and a way of styling gave a new meaning of what clothes represented and symbolized back then.  For this post I am going to dedicate it to the life of the woman that made an epic change in women’s fashion clothes, Gabrielle Coco Chanel.  A woman that inspired me to be different than everybody else, imposing her free way of thinking in a male society through clothes.  A perfectionist, creative, break through woman with a strong character, became an icon and reference of women’s fashion throughout time. Her legacy, The House of Chanel, is now under the direction of Karl Lagerfeld with the intention to keep her spirit and ideals alive through time, molding and changing to satisfy and fit the woman of the present.

Her style transcended, time and wardrobes, becoming a classic both for mother and daughter. They are more than clothes but her brand is now considered a legacy. She built a brand, but a whole new perception of what the stereotype of woman represented back then. Classy and elegant Coco broke the female figure of women being portrayed as dolls. She created a new image of the woman of the twentieth century, portraying an independent woman, feminine and elegant but still comfortable and emancipated form the restrains of the fashion trends of the time, which kept women inside the fixed and breathtaking corsets that imposed a determine figure and style. She changed the epitome that the women of the time represented; she made a radical transformation introducing same pieces of clothes that only men wore at that time, into women’s wardrobe, such as cardigans, blazers, even short hair. 

A turning point for both women and fashion, for she was the one that started thinking that change could be achieved even if that meant creating a revolution of minds. Coco hated corsets, and therefore clothes meant a freedom of movement, concept by which she based her designs, giving women more freedom and liberty to feel elegant and comfortable. She eliminated the concept that to be beautiful women had to suffer.

And so she became an inspiration, to move forward, and change.

                                                      

The marketing behind the lipstick

What is it that makes us feel secure about ourselves?

Is it the attitude? The personality ? Or the clothes ? in my experience I believe it’s a mixture of all three. However, the perception that we have varies according to the circumstances we are in. For example, if we have a job interview or a date, o just a party with friends we want to look our best, and sometimes we need a back up help of a designer to keep us secure of our image. Here is where the psychological value of the business brands comes in. Why is it that celebrities and consumers rely so much on designers to let them advise what to wear to a party or a premier? Because they feel that designers anticipate to the hip trends of the moment, and so be the first to impose them. Sometimes these risks are recognized and seen as an In trend or a fashion crime.

In addition, the consumers dress to portray a style, an image, an attitude.  Why is it that a brand has (in many cases) more meaning than a X design? The answer has various possibilities. On the one hand, we have the personality created by the marketing team in which they assign a meaning that makes it worth much more worth than its cost, they want to portray an ideal for which people feel complete and differentiate themselves, maintaining a personal style. For example, Carolina Herrera would be the epitome of elegance. The purpose of having a brand, is to assign value so that people can easily differentiate it from other brands and have it position as a top of mind. It’s as simple as thinking of a “coke” and the first think that comes up to our mind is “Coca-Cola”. Coca-Cola became a number one transforming itself into a generic in the market, people don’t see brands; they see A brand, which makes a lot of difference in a competitive market. So, the value a brand tries to convey is as a reference in order to make people feel that they can actually acquire their personality, sophistication and image of the brand. They inspire. This is why in many cases advertising campaigns use public images of the media to become a referential and use their image to sell, and communicate the idea: if you use Armani underwear you can actually feel like you look a bit more similar to Beckham just because you are wearing the same under pants. It’s a way to sell, and a way to complete the ideal that every person has in their minds by using the same clothes. This is due to the fact that we feel more unique and confident knowing that Beckham has it too.

So to conclude, we use Kottlers marketing view for which we are never selling just a product, but the idea that the product transmits. So if we want to sell a lipstick we are not selling, just the material and sensorial product itself. Instead we sell beauty, and the ideal image that the lipstick transmits.     

Fashion Genes

Its funny how culture can vary our perception of suiting up. If we go inside a determined society, of a determined town or country we could see what style, habits and trends people have. But it goes far behind our favorite celeb style, or that weekly magazine that advises us what’s hip or not, it goes far behind, it goes till our mothers. Yes, they are the first fashion role models we have, and our faithful parameters of what’s good and wrong, even before our girlfriends. That’s why, when we go back on our childhood photos, we cannot believe what we were wearing. I mean come on mama! Seriously? Was that ever fashionable? And amazing as it seems, when we are young and before we develop our own style, if our mom told us, that’s gorgeous on you, it is very likely that we should wear it, no matter what outsiders said if mom liked it we should like it too. So we become dolls. Conclusion, our mothers and even our grandmothers were our first fashion role models, which means that many of our habits, we copy unconsciously from her, the woman that gave us life and the one that will guide us on our discovery for fashion.


So before society and fashion magazines educate us on our personal developed style, we are dolls that have no opinion and that will wear anything given. That’s until we are aware that there are other role models that might inspire us on our own sense of fashion and personal style. We become conscious of our own individuality since we live in society with parameters of style acceptance.

A funny anecdote that made me reflect about my clothes, happened on my first visit with my friends, to Las Vegas. We were lost as any tourist that was exited for being in one of the most talked about cities in the world. Wearing our best sexy clothes we decided to go partying, on our way out on that overwhelming city we ran into a ticket seller who recommended us to go to the Playboy Party at the Palms. Imagine out excitement when we decided that we were actually going when the ticket seller said “But you have to first get changed” we could not believe his words, we had been preparing and pampering ourselves for that whole afternoon, and to receive such a complement, our faces were ecstatic with a bully tone, “are you saying that we don’t look good for the occasion?” expecting for the ticket seller to change his mind. It was strange to realize that we were not dressed to the expected standard. We could say… well it WAS Las Vegas, and still it could have been just a matter of taste, of what the ticket seller would consider appropriate for the occasion.

Me and my big sis enjoying the waves...  Funny how when we are young we can wear anything with the excuse that we look "cute".