"You`re considered superficial and silly if you are interested in fashion, but I think you can be substantial and still be interested in frivolity." - Sofia Coppola
"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." - Coco Chanel
I know that I am preaching to the choir here, for the most part, but I refuse to give in to the idea that if we want to be taken seriously, we should subdue, or at least pretend to subdue, our love of clothing and style.
I took issue with a recent comment (not on this blog) which implied that to have a style blog while writing about Zimbabwe was offensive: that by having this other interest and blogging about it, I was belittling the plight of Zimbabwe and its people and detracting from the impact of my novels and articles on the subject. As if people would look from the writing to the author, see that she was wearing a pretty dress and instantly disregard everything else. I understand, in a way. I do. I have an entire blog about the subject of vintage style, and clearly it is a big part of my life. I also blog about the writing process, and I am planning to expand this area, but I would hate to give up the vintage clothing aspect to my blog. I understand that someone might look at this and assume all sorts of things about my character. This comes with the territory. I do, however, want them to examine those assumptions and see if they are fair.
My whole life has been defined by my experiences in Zimbabwe, as have the lives of many of my family and friends, and all the other people, black and white, who lived and are living in Zimbabwe. We experienced a lot of tragedy; the country's as a whole and our own, personal tragedies that were caused by it. I think it will take an entire career's worth of writing to explore, express and try to understand the years I spent there. However. While this necessarily occupies a large part of my life, I also have hobbies that I enjoy. Among them are blogging, vintage clothing and style. I spend my days working on my novels, by myself, at home. This blog is an escape for me: an opportunity to indulge in other things I enjoy, and an opportunity to be part of a supportive and friendly community with similar interests.
Would people have the same negative reaction if I had a cooking blog, or a parenting blog, or a travel blog? Why is a style blog different? If I want to write about serious topics, am I therefore not allowed to have an interest in clothing? Or, if I want to have an interest in clothing, am I therefore banned from writing about serious topics? Why should they be mutually exclusive? Of course there are more important things in life than clothing, and we all know that. I know that. But one cannot be serious all the time. It is our hobbies and small pleasures in life that keep us sane.
This is just my story, of course. There are many other vintage and fashion bloggers out there who enjoy the same hobbies and, to a woman (or man), they are intelligent, strong, creative people with interests outside of their blog, successful careers, and lots of ambition and drive. I object to the assumption that an interest in fashion and clothing means that one is unintelligent or shallow. It is an art form like any other and a valid outlet for creativity, and I do not see anything wrong with that.
Linda Grant, whose book 'The Clothes on Their Backs' was shortlisted for the 2008 Booker, is a personal heroine of mine in this area: she has a blog, The Thoughtful Dresser, where she discusses clothing and its importance to identity, creativity and daily life. One of the quotes on her sidebar really resonated with me:
"The only true and lasting meaning of the struggle for life lies in the individual, in his modest peculiarities and his right to these peculiarities." - Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate.
Allow us our right to modest peculiarities.
I would love to know your thoughts on this. Do you meet with criticism or judgement for having an interest in fashion, or a fashion blog? How do you deal with it?
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