My Nan Is A Style Icon

My Nan Ingrid is an artist and effortlessly creative. Her creativity is a gift manifested not only through her art but also through her fashion sense. This innate style she possesses is still present but is the most interesting to me in her youthful years. I particularly adore her love for colour, big patterns and prints that speak for her warm and lively personality. I am also drawn to the way she brought life to the clothes she wore, simply through her presence and demeanour.

Getting dressed is an act that is deeply connected to us both personally and socially. The way we dress is governed by two main factors, personal tastes and aesthetics and an inclination to follow the sameness of our peers. Ingrid explains that she dressed in “bright, bold, loud clothing” to draw attention to herself, however, her desire to be noticed did not exceed her need to fit in. “I looked to popular trends and my friends for what to wear because I wanted to fit in. I wanted to stand out, but I still wanted to belong.” It can be seen that behind the decision of choosing what to wear, is the desire to be included and accepted into wider groups whilst still maintaining a sense of individuality.

The clothing choices we use to construct our appearance, act as a façade that we present to the world to depict not necessarily our true self, but who we aspire to be.  As a young working woman with feelings of inferiority in the workplace, Ingrid describes how she constructed her own self-image, to reach the same status as her colleagues. “I wanted to be taken seriously. I wanted to be perceived as smart, sophisticated and educated. So I lead people to believe that I was, through what I wore to work.” Uncontrollably, our clothing is always read as having insight into our true self. However it is suggested that through fashion you can manipulate the perceptual reading of your character, into making people believe you are whoever you  

want to be.

Fashion allows us to develop and openly express our creativity and personal style .  It is through this exploration of our true selves that we are able to toy with our identity. Using her love for fashion as a means of escape from the restrictions and hindrances of a difficult home life, Ingrid explains how by expressing herself, her identity was able to blossom. “I expressed myself through what I wore. I was breaking away from a hard home life and my clothes were how I escaped it all, they were a way to take control of myself and my own life.” Fashion is a medium for expression that allows you to discover pieces of your  

identity through freedom and creative experimentation.

There are multiple layers of complexity that form Ingrid’s personal style. Her sense of self has been formed by her desire for both sameness as a group and differentiation as an individual, her ability to manipulate the way others view her through her fashioned appearance and the exploration of her self expression on the way to discovering herself. All of these elements combine to make her the beautifully fabulous and strong woman that she is today, all for which are the reasons she is my style icon.

Kisses,