Superbia

By Neslihan
I never got why vanity or pride was a sin. I mean what's better than a great dose of self-loving or should I say self-glorification. And vanity was never as accurate as in our digital age. Facebook, Blogger, Instagram, Vine, Tumblr: it's all about justifying your extreme pride. Hey, look at me! Look at what I'm doing! Look at what I wear! Like me, hype me, love me! It has never been more present than this.

I remember growing up having rolemodels. I worshipped The Spice Girls and Jennifer Lopez must have been my style icon at the age of 6. I wanted to dress, walk and talk like her. I would buy a bunch of teen magazines and try to copy her style and 'If you had my love' was on repeat. I would lipsing to it as I'd flawlessly whip my hair back and forth. Those were the carefree days. I couldn't care less what my outfit looked like. I would be dressed in red from head to toe and I stood behind my decisions because I was confident about my colour comboes. I didn't care less about other's opinions and in some strange kind of way I still don't but something has changed along the road.

I'm still rocking my ugly shoe philosophy but I've given up looking like a colouring book. And whenever I do, I try to be the fashionable counterpart of it. To me dressing up is not about being on trend (but I find myself being a trendwhore more often) but about being true to yourself. I'd never wear something that doesn't follow my aesthetics. But somehow I've lost my rolemodels and I've become my own icon. I don't know whether that is sad or pathetic but I'm quite enjoying it. I used to be the rules kind of girl, you know the Trinny and Susannah kind of rules. 'What not to wear' but I've gradually let go of that theory since I believe you can even rock a sack of potatoes as long as you're wearing the right kind of shoes. And since I've let go of those stupid rules I feel freer.

It's about creativity and an authentic style because there's only one you. And who motivates you better than yourself? YOU know what you want to look like. YOU know where this is all going. That's why YOU are your ultimate manager. You've got to hype yourself, believe the image and expand your horizons (your closet in this case). Because that's what's fun about dressing up: it is temporary and you can shift styles like that. You don't have to stick to one kind of uniform. Keep all your options open and don't limit yourself because to limit is to kill your creativity.

There must be a way to praise yourself though because you want to show you're confident and unique. And that's when all those profiles on social networks jump in. Instagram or should I say Selfiegram is all about promoting your life. Food pictures, OOTDs, pictures of your friends and you partying. Look at the fabulous life I'm living! Doesn't this also sounds really Kanye'esque to you?
You have become your own Scary Spice or Jennifer Lopez. Whenever I feel uninspired for example I turn to my blog and I know that sounds vain but that's how I relive the inspiration. It feels as if I sometimes need to remind myself of my fashion believes, which changes monthly. And I think that's good because that's how you become more critical. I'm not a rooted tree, I am a feather in the breeze, who's being pushed into all kinds of directions and I let that breeze lead me. I trust it because I know the journey is all that counts at the end. I don't travel through this fashion spectrum in order to reach my destination. I travel for the journey.

All pictures found on tumblr.