Unglamorous

By Antonio Malara

How good is it to be glam, dress well, trendy and stand out with a touch of personality? But nowadays, although there’s also internet that gives us further opportunities for choice in the field of clothing, being original in dressing is not a simple thing and this is because in reality there is no real freedom in doing so. The freedom to which I am referring is that of fitting, or one or more types of wearability based on the personal tastes or shape of the person. In theory, each of us should have inspiration looking at what the various brands offer and then create their own personal style. Obviously there are those who don’t have time or love to do this and therefore use the type of clothing most suited to the work they do and then they dress without a particular style in their free time. But to go back to those like me who want to stand out because they love to have a personal style, today it is something complicated. I analyzed the difficulties and I came to the conclusion that the fault lies with the brands, especially the most important ones that, rather than being creative, they only create confusion or excessive eccentricity.
I fully agree that fashion must be revised every season by inserting new ideas such as different colors or materials, but all this should go hand in hand with the reference points we call "classic". Once invented a cut of jeans or a t-shirt with a personal style, the brand should label it with a name and always propose it. Instead, above all, the most famous brands mix everything, oversize or slim clothes, high-waisted jeans but narrow in the leg or low-waisted but wide at the ankles.  Same goes for t-shirts, shirts or jackets. At the same time, what I noticed is that beyond the extravagance of some brands, I have the impression that there’s a sort of cartel between them. It seems that they agree on a trend and then each one realizes it by applying their own logo and what remains of their style. Even worse when it comes to shoes, not only have they not invented anything new and original, but when they try to do it they only create horrendous things. Based on my purchases I will try to be more precise by listing what remains positive of the various brands I follow and what I think should change or improve.
My passion for fashion was born in the nineties thanks to Gianni Versace, then over the years I approached Dolce&gabbana items and in the last decade my reference brand has been Dsquared2. Obviously, I have always combined these expensive brands with other cheaper brands or I bought in outlets based on the offers. For a long time I have always managed to find original clothes and accessories that I was then able to combine in a personal way, today I can do this less and less. For example, years ago I bought a D&G underwear t-shirt (which, however, I use to go out), paying for it around € 80, that item still remains the prefect cut t-shirt. Right width and length and tight short sleeves in the middle of the bicep. Years later I bought other t-shirts of the same brand, even if I found a similar fit, it was still not the same. Last winter I bought two more identical D&G t-shirts but of different colors, always proposed in the underwear section.  The black one is the one I wear in this post, very nice as a fit and with the detail of the logo sewn above the Italian flag which is very chic. In this case the problem is related to the price, I paid about € 70 each, I was amazed when a few months later I decided to buy the blank variant. The price had risen to € 225, a simply ridiculous marketing strategy. So even when they manage to do something nice, they end up making mistakes of another kind.

Today my interest for Dsquared2 is limited to jeans and some accessories such as small bags. I consider the jeans produced by this brand to be the most beautiful and original, with washes that stand out even from a distance, in this case the problem remains the style. Even if they classify the models as “slim” or “skater”, in the end they always have a different fit. Of the dozens of models they present each season, unfortunately only one or two are for me. For everything else, Dsquared2 today in my opinion doesn’t produce anything striking especially in the shoe department where the concept of loafers doesn’t exist for them and guess what? This is the shoe that I mainly use throughout the year! Loafers my favorite shoes, luckily Tod's produces many types and colors and this is my salvation. In fact, what the brands don't understand is that in places like the one where I live, there are five to six months of hot weather, so I don't see what other footwear can be used besides loafers. The trend of producing sneakers then reached its apotheosis! For some reason the brands have realized that the most popular model is the “Adidas Superstar”, today every brand produces that identical shoe, each with its own brand on it. The maximum of the inexplicable were the Versace “chain sneakers”, mammoth shoes with an unprecedented marketing launch. I only saw them to one individual, they were ridiculous and out of proportion to the person's body, they made a "Mickey Mouse foot" effect. Another mistake that brands make today is producing extra-large sizes of skinny or slim clothes. Probably they do it in order not to create discrimination but a tight t-shirt for someone with a huge belly does not fit;  this is a fact not an opinion. For example, my city is a place where the fat male has lost all inhibitions in terms of clothing. Seeing a human being of a certain size dress in designer skinny clothes does nothing but ridicule the brand. Too bad that they advertise this clothes on social media by showing off models with muscles and super abdominals. This is pure hypocrisy that turns against them, at this point I want to see fat people on the catwalk for simple consistency.
At the beginning the influencers were the only ones who could create problems for this "cartel" and in my post "Creativity in Jail", I explain the whole process that led these people to be original and invent new trends, and then end up being totally "absorbed” by brands. However, today among the youngest there is still a sort of "miniature influencer", that is, in the groups of young boys or girls there is always one who has more personality in dressing and then influences the others. Unfortunately this phenomenon creates a "college" effect that leads young people to be all dressed alike.
In my opinion, going crazy to create your own style in dressing is unglamorous, every brand should label the garments and create at least types of wearability, then on that one could indulge and invent new materials, colors and patterns. The main thing, however, is the fitting, personally I’m solving the problem thanks to my seamstress and my creativity. Almost most of the clothes I buy then modify them, in some cases changing the style. On the one hand this gives me satisfaction and makes me feel creative but I remain of the idea that this is a task that belongs to the brands, otherwise one wonders;  why not start designing our own clothes?

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Pictures: Maria Chiara Malara