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Why Is Fashion So Trivialized?

"I can't stand when people try to trivialize fashion because it's so much more than just the clothing. It's actually not about the clothes. It's never about the clothes."
- Leandra Medine

I have had this quote drafted on my blog for months now. I grabbed it from an early episode of Man Repeller's Monocycle podcast (I tried to find the exact one and literally cannot for the life of me figure out what episode it was, SORRY) when I went on my short-lived podcast binge back before my first long bus trip to New York City at the end of September. The gist of the conversation, or at least this portion of the episode, was about how fashion is trivialized still to this day by people who just aren't that interested in it.

I've always found that fashion is fairly misunderstood. I mean, to this day, how many of us fashion loving gals still get those raised eyebrows when we express any sort of interest in our outward appearance? Heaven forbid that I'm into fashion! Actually, the original draft of that line was "heaven forbid that I'm into fashion and books" but then I realized that it doesn't matter. Even if I wasn't into books, why would that make my interest in fashion any different? I also like watching sports from time to time and have to sort my lipsticks by the season to make room for them. Does that change anything?

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I would say I don't want to be that person, but I'm going to be that person that says that it's probably because fashion is a stereotypically "feminine" thing and we all know how society treats women. Apparently, there's nothing more shallow than being interested in clothing over...I don't even know. What are we supposed to like besides clothes? Politics? Why can't I enjoy both of those things at the same time? (Not that I particularly enjoy politics, they're kind of the worst, but ignoring them at this point in time is physically impossible, let's be real). 

I will admit, I think that maybe–keyword, maybe–people have chilled out a little bit on trivializing fashion and the people who enjoy it. Kind of. Just a little bit. But then again, maybe it's just looped in with beauty and haircare into one big umbrella term that most people call "high-maintenance" for some reason. And then the big question "Well, who are you dressing for?" or "Who is all of the makeup for?" 

The typical "empowered" answer is supposed to be, "Um, me?" I guess, but I don't see the issue with wanting to look nice for another person, as long as it's not like...forced or some sort of weird emotional and mental game that they're playing with you. But that's neither here nor there and I'm already getting off topic, as per usual for me.

I loved the conversation that Leandra started (probably years ago, let's be real) and I'm sure this has something that's been going on long before I started getting into fashion. The idea of something you love being trivialized is always shitty. I mean, we could denounce football into maniacal screaming and fanatical men. Is football much more than that? I'm sure it is, I just don't pay attention to football. I feel like the same goes for fashion. People who don't care about it denounce it as frivolous and just women obsessing over expensive clothes for no reason. Neither of those things are actually gendered, yet we assign genders to them to make them seem more and less serious, right? 

I don't know guys, what do you think? Has fashion gotten to the point of being taken seriously, or are we still stuck defending our interests even if we don't owe any explanations to anyone about the things we like?

Sweater: H&M
Jacket: Marni
Jeans: Levi's
Shoes: Charlotte Olympia
Sunglasses: Prada


  1. Love this! My automatic answer to the question "Why is fashion so trivialized" is "The patriarchy." #sorrynotsorry

  2. I absolutely love this post, Francesca! I always love your outfit posts and admire the confidence you have. I want to start showcasing my sense of style on my blog more and you inspire me!

    Lauren // http://laurensjourney.com

    1. Thank you, Lauren! Oh boy, very glad my "fake it til you make it" mantra translates to through my photos hahaha. I hope you get to in the new year! I'd love to see that content on your blog in the new year <3

  3. It took me a couple of goes to read this because I was too busy jamming and Into You by Ariana Grande and, well, I really do have the worst attention span ever. But anyway, I love this post a lot! It brings forth such an important topic that I am sure many of us are well aware of. And in answer to your last question, I do, sadly, think we're going to be defending ourselves for a long time yet. Sure, maybe things have gotten better and all, but we sure know how society likes to treat women.

    1. I am honestly 100% okay with everyone being too distracted to read my posts if they're listening to Ariana Grande. She's a babe and "Into You" is deadass one of my favorite songs of all time.

      I feel like the steps towards getting better in the "fashion" aspect were so miniscule that they've gone unnoticed because of all of the other steps backwards that society has somehow managed to take. Sigh. MAYBE ONE DAY.


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