SHORTENING THE ODDS IN THE FASHION STAKES

 

Fashion is a risky business. It is always- and has always been-a bit of a gamble.

 

Being with the in-crowd means being cutting edge,experimental  and a little bit different-as Coco Chanel insisted we should all be. That is very well and groovy when you carry it off. When you don’t, its not so celebrated!

 

 

 

When Twiggy has her golden locks cropped in the 60s it could have gone horribly wrong for her;when Christian Louboutin insisted on making the soles of his shoes bright red there was no guarantee that the idea would catch on, and Azzedine Alaï’s refusal to court the limelight might have seen the man they called the King of Cling sink without a trace. Of course, each of those leaps of faith are now inescapably iconic. They nailed it!

 

Living on the edge

 

Punk diva Vivienne Westwood has lived on the edge of what is wearable and what is just that little bit too outré for the past 30 years. Not many designers have been able to combine her experimental, gambler’s spirit and stay relevant.
The secret story of fashion is that for all the ideas and designs that come to shape the way we all dress, there are plenty that sink without a trace. And the same is true for all of us. For every one of the famous winners in the fashion game, there are thousands more of us who have gone home hanging our heads in shame at somehow having failed to quite capture the mood of the moment, or having tried to fit an otherwise sumptuous outfit to a body shape it was never intended for – we’ve all done it!

 

 

It turns out that even real gamblers like to limit their risks with a bit of a helping hand from time to time, and I think that maybe we could do the same. There are websites that help gamblers to find the best and the safest places to play. Theirs is a different sort of risk, and they play for a different type of stakes, but I like to think that blogs like this one do something similar for our readers.

 

It’s not just in couture that the right support can do wonders for us all!

 

Striking a balance

 

As in so much in life, there is a balance to be struck. Practicality and poise are not the same thing. Four inch heels have their place, but there are plenty of times when a good boot is immeasurably a better option!

 

That’s what we’re here to help with. We’re here to celebrate the beautiful and the spectacular, but to deliver it with that invisible advisory safety net. We all need a little steer every now and again, a quiet voice from the good fairy on your shoulder telling you to take a second look in the mirror and imagine what your bitchiest best friend might say if someone else were to go for that look. Keep listening!

 

Of course, the beauty of playing with designs that are risky, experimental and dangerous is that you can win big time. But there is no denying that playing the fashion game can be a risky business. We’re here to tip the odds in your favour.