6 Things I Learnt in 2015
At the risk of sounding a little like my mother, omgeee this year has flown. As always, a lot has happened and you'll be hard pressed to avoid relentless 2015: The year that was stories in your feeds. So here's another one. No, jokes, sort of. I won't attempt the big or real issues, but I will share the little things I learn't this year.
1. I don't have #squadgoals
This year the world (by the world, I mean the media obvs) seemed to lose it's mind over the wacky concept of famous people hanging out with their famous friends, looking fabulous while basking in their general famousness. I mean honestly, who'd have thought that people with similar lifestyles who work in similar industries would know each other, let alone be friends with each other! It's crazieness!Swifty is partly to blame for this, as she really did set a new precedent with her banging actor/model/it-girl/musician squad and just like that, saaaa many famous people in the one insta pic sent the world wild. #squadgoals was born. Since then the tag has taken on a life of it's own and has become a favoutite of annoying girls who love to overuse it. Personally, I'm not about it. I don't aspire to have famous, attractive, wealthy friends - I'm set with the ace friends I've got #squadsorted.
2. Normcore is A-OK
In case the concept is new to you, let's preface my thoughts with Wikipedia's definition:
Normcore is a unisex fashion trend characterized by unpretentious, average-looking clothing. "Normcore" is a portmanteau of the words "normal" and "hardcore". It was intended to mean "finding liberation in being nothing special."
The world gave in to Normcore in 2015 and silently celebrated the movement in the comfort of their lounge pants and sneakers. Streetstyle saw basics reign supreme with jeans, sneakers and sloppy layers replacing the formal glitz of seasons past. And I'm ok with this, because as much as I'd like to think that I can flit around all day at work in couture (which I don't) normcore means I can work my sneakers into just about any look and still be on trend. Jerry Seinfeld, I have you to thank for that.
3. I have no time for click-bait & bullshit anecdotes
I've found it very interesting to watch the quick topical demise of highly respected publications as a result of their need to create endless content for their digital platforms. It's been a swift fall for these once highly respected publishers who are clearly struggling with the demand of online content, and as a result seem to think spewing out 679,545 stories everyday is the best solution.Case in point: Thanks Vogue US, but Rihanna proving that a minidress looks best with tomboy shoes is not a story. Especially when your 'story' is an image of Rihanna wearing a summer dress with sneakers and your writer saying 'Plus, it wouldn’t be a bad-gal look without a touch of cool tomboy style'. Groundbreaking.
4. The new bratpack kinda bore me
With all the daily and hourly updates I get about Kendall, Kylie & Gigi how could I not be fascinated by them, how could I not have learn't something from them? but I haven't (this excludes Kylie actually - she taught me never to get my lips done and to chill the hell out with my makeup) and here's why: they are now beyond saturation point. There's not a day that goes by when I don't see the pretty, normcore faces of these babes, but I'm kinda bored. I don't need to know the name of the coffee shop Kendall once went to in March and I don't need to know how many cars Tyga has bought Kylie. I'm all about them, don't get me wrong, but for now until these babes offer me up something a bit more enticing, I'll just be taking a nap.
5. The world is ready for some happiness & colour
It's often said that the status-quo can be fairly accurately reflected by the fashion climate and if this year is anything to go by, we're looking like sunshine and lollipops. Repressed and dingy fashion was dropped and replaced with an eclectic, colourful, I-don't-care-what-you-think attitude. Chloé, Dior and Alexander McQueen are just some of the brands who presented shows bursting with joy and an unexpected optimism. Beautiful floaty dresses, dreamy sheer seperates and colour as far as the eye could see has us set for bright season to come. In a world that is fiercely changeable and tumultuous, this is a direction I'm happy for us to continue in for 2016.
6. I'm still not a belieber
I will most likely lose readers with this learning, but put simply: I'm not and never will be a belieber. The latter part of 2015 has seen J Biebs make one of the most triumphant comebacks (or entrances if you feel he was never there in the first place) in pop culture thanks to his new album, but sorry to say, I'm just not there. And that's ok, I mean I don't hate him, he's just a kid and I'm just indifferent - to him, his music, his over-modelled campaigns and his current bleached combover. But in the words of the boy himself, never say never hey.
images via fashiongonerogue.com, vogue.com