Thanks mods - I hope this brings some new attention to content that's fairly
evergreen.
I wrote this in ten minutes and it's v. rambly, I'll probably come back to it
this evening because I think there are some threads to be explored here - a lot
of what I imagine/advocate for is what I hope r/ffacj_discussion will someday
be, but it's not there yet, and I'll be the first to admit I don't take all of
my own advice!
> Do you think any of the advice in this guide needs to be updated?
I think it fails to address what is a pretty large divide (and source of
recurring controversy) on FFA: people who want build a wardrobe or improve their
existing one to ~*fit in*~ v. people who want to develop a deeper appreciation
of fashion AND change/improve their style. For the former, it's very succinct
and to the point, has decent practical advice, etc.
For the latter, I think it fails to impress upon people who missed out on an
arts education the necessity of "learning to see", building a visual
vocabulary, a functional grounding in art history etc. Nowadays, moreso than
ever, the best designers and collections are highly reflexive and referential,
every trend, from the high street to haute couture, is riffing on something or
someone that's come before, and having a sense of that makes the experience of
going through a collection or breaking down a look to understand how it works
and how it came together so much richer and more engaging.
And yes, what I'm suggesting is excessive and elitist and not strictly
necessary, but the rise of MOOCs and museum publishing arms has made it more
accessible than ever before.
> Do you use this advice in your approach to fashion? Would you refer someone
> else to it?
No, see above. Right now my favourite recommendations are MoMA's Fashion as
Design and the collected works
of Valerie Steele, Harriet Walker, and Cathy Horyn.
> Do you think this advice leaves anyone out? For example, is it relevant to a
> wide range of body sizes? Does it work for where you live? Does it fail to
> take into account the experiences of people of different races, or gender
> experiences?
Yes and no? It's generic enough to apply to anyone, but it's a
functional, practical approach v. one grounded in theory, and for people who
want to really interrogate intersectional aspects of style and fashion, the
functional understanding is necessary but not sufficient.