Can You Buy Celebrity Stye?

A question posed by a recent article in Harpers Bazaar, but something Ive been pondering for quite a long time. The subtitle being " The latest round of celebrity fashion lines comes from icons with serious sartorial cred". This sub title intrigued me the most especially when I think of some celebrity brands that simply seem to make fashion a little more "equal opportunity" so to speak. If you know me you know that I ponder credibility, both my own and others all the time and sometimes take the cop out of saying " ITS REALLY ALL ABOUT WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE AND CONFIDENT"( after offering what was probably too much fashion advise with a slight air of arrogance) Well that could really be a range of things right? Comfortable and Confident?. If your old team sweats and Diesal shoes is what makes you feel fly, does that broad sweeping statement really apply? Is that really fashion, is that really an acceptable application???

I digress.

Back to the cred, similarly to street cred, do you get cred just because you lived in a poor neighborhood? You could have been transported everyday to a private school many miles away, or been a continual participant in a Fresh Air Fund type deal leaving you worlds away from your counter part/ neighbor who did not get the benefit of those same experiences. Last July when Lindsay Lohan graced the cover and pages of my second bible I stomped up and down the streets of New York in outrage, tempted to boycott(I know I could never do that, I can barely waite until the first of the month to get the next issue) but decided not to and assured my self that she could not fool everyone into thinking that she doesnt have one of the BEST stylist in the entertainment industry dressing her drunk ass every day, and that someone else was not the fashion maven that granted her the right to be spread across those sacred pages. Id feel more comfortable seeing Rachel Zoe or the costume director that actually made it her business to be the fashion conessiour that can create such looks that launch careers, than Lindsays ass. As far as Im concerned shes a model and we all know what models are....human hangers. Harsh as it may seem, it is the truth, why else would their bodies, or lack of such, be so important. I dont want your big butt making my short shorts look like panties, or your stomach(cause we all have one) skewing the shape of my dress!!!

So who does have "serious sartorial cred" and who doesnt? Well, as the article detailed and I can attest, I think it goes way beyond a desire to look nice. You really need to see fashion as an art form. Now I dont want to go all CORE on you but, its bigger than clothes and outfits, these are garments, these are functional, living breathing, performing art pieces.

I quote this all the time but I really wish that people would understand how serious this fashion thing is.

"Vain trifles as they seem, clothes change our view of the world and the worlds view of us"
Virginia Wolfe

VA is my girl for that one. When you see fashion in that respect, when you see it beyond an ends to a means or a tool, then and only then do you gain cred. So lets go back to these celebrity's. In some cases its them, its what they do, along with having a talent such as singing or acting they really have grown to have an appreiciation for the craftsmanship and artistry that is fashion. Not so much desiring the most expensive dress on the red carpet (well maybe partly) but really appreciating that just like their ability to make people cry in a movie theatre by really embodying a character, a dress can act in that same capacity embodying, fortifying, personifying! Its the same jig!

I was so excited, I had to highlight( and I never mark my magazines farther than a dog ear) a quote from Linda Fargo, Senior VP at Bergdorf Goodman

" Our store is about authenticity. We're not going to give that up just to have a celebrity name. But those girls just love fashion. For somebody like that to become a designer, that feels very valid"

That was reassuring, especially for a girl quickly coming upon her first days at Parsons. Linda said it well, but Erica did too.

" Think of all the ugly clothes out there in the world Cassy! Someone makes them...... your gonna have your place somewhere"


Im valid, I have cred and most people do too. As long as your not using your fashion as a status symbol then I think you have cred. So there, go out there and get dressed, where what the hell you like, what you think matches, what you think is official, cause at the end of the day were human and I might have a cow about Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and other celebritys having a clothing line, but Im damn sure gonna check every month.


Oh well.