Olumurewa Damilola

Fashion is more than dressing up, it is a statement. Sometimes we think a dress is just a piece of fabric strung together to be worn but it’s not just a piece of dress, a dress is as powerful as a piece of writing because when we dress up, we tell a story and we express ourselves. In recent times we do have people allocate themes to their events that guide the way the guest dress, for instance, the just concluded Met Gala which the theme was centered around ‘black dandyism’ promoted black culture and heritage through various woven fabrics.

In addition, the ‘mother nature’ theme of the just concluded AMVCA awards allowed different personalities to express how the theme appeals to them by exploring different sides to “mother nature” through their outfits. All these reinforces fashion as being very powerful for self expression.

It should be noted that fashion encompasses everything from the dress to the hair, from the accessories to the shoes and bags. For instance, keeping an afro hair is peculiar to Africans identity so a girl or guy with an afro hair is more likely to be identified with a sense of African. Also, a girl choosing to dress like a Tomboy is definitely defining how she wants to be perceived as an individual in the society by dressing as a Tomboy. So dress like how you want to be addressed. Wearing clothes shouldn’t all be about trying to cover our nakedness but rather it should be backed with purpose, it should be about portraying ourselves and our identity through a piece of fabric.

Moreover, fashion is used to defile social norms and standards. In the 1970s, Punk fashion aimed to provoke and challenge the middle class culture through illicit iconography and sesual innuendos, they were most times inscribed on the shirts.

Also, punk fashion was characterised with crazy hairstyles, crazy jeans or ripped clothes and crazy makeup, if there was anything that describes punk fashion it was uniqueness and the ability to defile the social convention of how fashion is perceived. A similar style to the punk style, in recent times, is the alternative fashion also known as alte-fashion where we have people wear crazy makeup, wear mismatch outfits, layer up their dress and use different materials to complement their outfits such as nylon, safety pins, buttons and anything you could possibly think of. This is defiling the social norm of dressing in a certain way as we all can express our sense of fashion in different ways because there’s no all-size-fits-all to fashion. Fashion should be diverse. Also, the popular saying that; “Dress the way you want to be addressed” is very true. There is a certain confidence exuded when you dress well and there is a certain way you feel when you look good. A certain feeling of satisfaction. In as much as it’s important to not only rely on an outfit for confidence, it’s also essential that we feel confident in the outfit that we wear because the way you feel about your dress determines how you are going to be perceived or addressed by people. In a world where perception matters a lot, if you feel so small, uncomfortable or not confident in an outfit, people are definitely going to perceive you as someone who isn’t confident or bold enough, or much worse, someone who lacks an healthy self esteem. Imagine walking on a normal day with a slouch because you do not feel good in your outfit, you are most likely to be viewed as graceless and timid. The bottom line is dress the way you want to feel and be addressed.

The meat and potatoes of it all is to be intentional about that outfit, shoes or even the jewellery you put on. We shouldn’t view fashion as just ‘mere dressing up’ because it’s more than that. It’s about expressing individuality, it’s all about exuding confidence and it’s all about telling our unique stories. So find your style, find what outfits make you feel good about yourself because finding one’s style makes it easier to express oneself and to explore fashion itself. Lastly, do not not be afraid to communicate and express yourself with fashion, embrace your individuality and stand out through every piece of dress you wear and every piece of accessories you put on!