Don’t get me wrong, it is intriguing to buy clothing items full of fun and funky designs that we know we would only wear once. The racks are full of them. The sheer tops that are just waiting for a rip, but they’re so shiny we just cannot walk away. The platform heels we know would give us blisters for the next week, but so many compliments at the same time. The ultra-mini handbag that our chapstick would barely fit into, but the aesthetic potential seems endless. We love these items, we love the idea of strutting down the sidewalk the one time wearing them, but when it comes to our daily fashion–the practicality is missing.
The appreciation for those fun and funky pieces does not need to go away. It is always okay to have a few things hanging in our closets that may only be busted out once or twice a year. However, the other 363 days a year, we want to seem just as fashionable, while still maintaining comfort and ensuring our pieces are practical in every setting. Practicality does not correlate with boring or a lack of style, but actually elevates our personal taste by benefiting other areas of our lives apart from our inner fashion guru.
Practical clothing means pieces that are designed to be comfortable, durable, and functional for everyday wear. The concept allows us to continue with our daily routines and prepare for possible situations, while ensuring our style is maintained simultaneously. When we know our day will be spent on our feet, but we wear platform heels or sandals regardless, our fashion choice is not benefiting our lifestyle. Heels and sandals are not the only footwear with style; sneaker brands are coming out with more lifestyle-centered styles, and brands are releasing both flats and heels that support mobility and comfort. Rather than having to make a compromise–comfort or our personal style–brands are allowing us to have it all! No more suffering feet or embarrassment about our shoes, practicality within fashion design is coming to save the day.
It is not only our feet that we need to take care of when looking in our closets. When the weather is counting on our fashionable downfall, with cold temperatures, snow, or rain, we often think our whole outfit will be destroyed due to our necessity for a coat. We either sacrifice our style and wear the coat we have had for years, or we freeze or get soaked because we just cannot hide the outfit from the world. I am not sure when jackets became the enemy, but there are more options than that oversized parka or poncho-esque raincoat. Brands well-known to the inclement weather-wear world, like Patagonia or North Face, have taken the time to design jackets that offer warmth and protection, all while giving us choices to let our style shine through. Even retailers known for fashion, such as Aritizia, have stepped into the outerwear world with jackets that keep us from freezing or feeling like a fashion nightmare.
Fashion is all about choices. A choice of style, a choice of expression, constant choices of how we want the world to perceive us in a fashionable sense. One of these choices, though we fall into it regardless, should never be about sacrificing our warmth, protection, or comfort. Everyone should feel their most confident, style-worthy selves, but confidence is not only about how we look on the outside–it is about how we feel internally while sporting our latest fashion finds.
