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Self-care is more than a face mask
Written by Shona Radcliffe // @shonaradcliffe Something that’s thrown around a lot nowadays is the notion of ‘self-care’. I’m sure you’ve seen the Twitter threads, the magazine articles and the Instagram stories of other people practising ‘self-care’, however this ritual is becoming more and more based on purchasing products under the illusion that they’re going to make you a better person, instead of actually building ourselves a better tomorrow. What we now consider to be self-care is actually a superficial, romanticised version of looking after ourselves, perpetuated by internet culture and the pressure to be constantly improving. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be working to change who we are,…
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Fast Fashion And Being Seen On Screen
Buy, snap, post, discard. Our consumer culture encourages incessant buying, and approval from peers via social media further incentivises our hunger for newness. For some of us it’s become the norm to be seen on screen only once wearing a new outfit. Fast fashion brands like ASOS and Pretty Little Thing have capitalised on this and their massive Instagram following is testament to their power. Buying in line with ultra-fast fashion trends has become the norm for some of us – after all, all our heroes are doing it, right? How many of us have watched our favourite influencers unveil their fashion ‘hauls’ – many of which cost hundreds of…
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Does Consumerism Really Make Us Happy?
Written by Chiara DellachàInstagram: @_slaveil_ // Web: https://slaveil.net Once upon a time people were proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities and sense of purpose. Once upon a time people looked for happiness in experiences, relationships and achievements. Some would even find it. Then consumerism happened. The sad truth is that consumerism has influenced us more than we think. Our consumer-self has become so powerful that it took over our human-self. ‘Uh-uh. No way. Sorry but I’m smarter than them, I don’t let advertising trick me into becoming a consumption-addict. I am a conscious buyer”. Then why is that whenever we’re faced with important social and political issues (like climate change, mental…
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Pressing Pause on Fashion
This year I’ve been travelling around and living abroad. As a result of having to live out of a suitcase, I’ve had to keep clothing purchases to a minimum. In fact, I actually went 6 months without making a new clothing purchase. In the fast fashion era we’re living in, going 6 months without a new purchase is quite unusual. I know many people can barely make it through a week without hitting the shops or the apps. It was definitely the longest I’d gone without buying new clothes. I was forced to live with the same limited amount of garments – about a quarter of my wardrobe. In there…
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Fashion: Body Image, Diversity and Mental Health
The fashion industry often comes under fire for lack of diversity, but are their statements of change anything more than empty promises? Thankfully, we now have more models of varying shapes, sizes and ethnicity but I still wouldn’t go as far as saying the fashion industry is inclusive. We have women such as supermodel Ashley Graham whose success is worldwide, and is really pushing the body positive moment but the sad truth is whenever we see “plus size” models doing well and landing big campaigns they are still blasted with a lot of hate. And it is clear that social media also has a huge impact on the fashion industry: for…
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Retail Therapy vs. Fashion Addiction
When we consider the euphoric highs and ever-increasing lows associated with addiction, is intoxicating ourselves with fashion really as harmless as we think? With her flowing silk scarf and ornate drop earrings, Rebecca Bloomwood sweeps into an upscale department store. Here, glossy mannequins tempt her with their plastic-perfect figures and designer outfits. Later on in the film, Confessions of a Shopaholic, we learn that Rebecca is deeply in debt. However, that doesn’t stop her from going full Wrestlemania at a sample sale where women engage in tugs-of-war over boots and dresses (an excellent way to infantilise women, but that’s another story for another time). From the saccharine, pastel-hued shopping spree in Enchanted, to Carrie Bradshaw’s reverence for shoes, retail therapy is a…
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Fake It ‘Til You Make It: Creating Confidence With Our Clothes
Stumbling into a 12th step recovery program at age twenty-seven, I “came to” rife with fear, guilt, shame. Self-confidence was in the gutter. I hadn’t lost much else as I hadn’t possessed the skills and mental health to achieve anything of value to lose. There wasn’t much in the way of a wardrobe. I waited tables and outside of that uniform, it was the grunge era. My clubbing outfits were sparse ensembles of plaid mini skirts, flannels, tank tops and Doc Marten boots. I plunged into the “stream of life”. Participating as a new (albeit raw) self-aware adult, I found the current – without any buffers or numbing agents – to…
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Fashion and Mental Health: How does the Fashion Industry impact how we feel about our bodies?
Fashion and Mental Health: How does the Fashion Industry impact how we feel about our bodies?
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Fashion and Body Positivity
Where I live there are loads of student houses. Earlier in the year a paper dubbed it ‘the Magaluf strip’ of Liverpool. A bit reductive, really. Save a few vomit splatters up the walls, bountiful takeaways and you know, a road, I’d be surprised if they were anything alike. If I was off to the Balearics to booze it up and all I found were a few tipsy students knocking over wheelie bins, and a couple of roadmen creeping around in Ford Mondeos I’d be asking for my money back. Confidence Through Clothes Student areas are good for the local economy. They fill the pubs and bars and fill the…
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Fashion Victims
When we consider the euphoric highs and ever-increasing lows associated with addiction, is intoxicating ourselves with fashion really as harmless as we think? Shopping for clothes is more a form of entertainment than it is a necessity these days. It’s a form of escapism, relaxation and pleasure. That’s why the term ‘retail therapy’ has become everyday language. Let’s be honest, most of us have enough clothes in our wardrobe. In fact, most of us probably have more clothes than we need. So, when we go shopping, it’s largely for fun. From High To Low It feels so good to come out of the shopping centre with bags full of our…
