So Vogue?

       'This... stuff'? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select... I don't know... that lumpy blue sweater, for instance because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back...However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff." For me, this quote spoken by Meryl Streep (aka Miranda Priestly) in the iconic movie The Devil Wears Prada, speaks volumes about the American fashion industry. For those who do not care about fashion, wearing an unfashionable item means you're an individual. However, for those who revel in being "in Vogue" wearing the wrong thing can make you or break you. In the previously mentioned movie, the fiery editor of Runway magazine often educated her new assistant's assistant on the do's and dont's of the fashion world. The whole movie examines in the inner workings of fashion, and how even if you do not care, once fashion grabs you, it can be difficult to let go. This theme is all but to true for thousands, if not millions of Americans. I can freely admit that I have been consumed by fashion. I pour over magazines, I think through everything I wear and purchase. It costs time, money, and energy to be fashionable, and for what? So that maybe someone will say "hey, that's cute,"? The fashion world is so consumer driven, it is practically like an epidemic; spreading from person to person until almost every American is drenched with the knowledge of what's "in" and what's "out". Fashion affects so many different parts of our lives; our body image, our monetary worth, our personal worth, our sense of personal style, and so many more. Possibly the most harmful of these effects is body image. Countless girls, and even some boys, starve themselves in attempts to fit into the latest Marc Jacobs pant or Versace dress, and this is not limited to the general public. Models, the salesmen of the fashion industry are practically poster children for eating disorders and poor body image  Thin is in, and it is sad. In the past few years, the fashion gurus at be, have been pointing out horrors of poor body image through articles in their magazines and online blogs. Is it just me, or is it ironic that the fashion industry sparked a great deal of the problem, idolized it in their models, and now are the advocates for "love your own body and individuality"?
               Before I continue, let me say that not all parts of the American fashion world are awful. When it isn't breaking our banks with its sky high prices (they sadly do sell Hermes Birkin bags for $280,000), slimming our bodies to skeletons, and making us just feel plan bad for not looking a certain way, fashion can be fun. Who can admit that it isn't fun to go shopping here and there? Or flip through the idolized pages of Vogue? Or show off their latest Dior coat? The colors, the print, the blur of fashion is a blast. American fashion is constantly evolving, much like its population, and we as consumers love it. While there are fewer American based fashion houses than the European empires, the country across the pond makes their voice heard all over the world through their clothing. From east coast posh, to west coast bohemian, the styles of America are now worldwide, and whose to blame for that I wonder?
            So fashion; is it good or bad? Like so many things in our lives, it is a necessity that has been blown into extravagance. There is an up side and a down side to everything, but it's up to us to decide which side we let affect our lives.

this is a link to another blog I find interesting. It is a written by a 13/14 year old girl is who now a fashion blogging icon. She is invited to a variety of fashion weeks and has had articles published by her and about her in teen vogue:

http://www.thestylerookie.com/

some information found at:

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/275043_the-most-expensive-fashion-designers-of-all-time-a-list
http://www.imdb.com/