FASHION AND SOUL?

SOUL: 

-The spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body and in many religions is believed to live forever.

-a person's deeply felt moral and emotional nature. 

-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

We all struggle with emptiness. The unknown is dark, and scary, and often leaves us feeling lost and without purpose. Rather than facing these questions, we distract ourselves by looking to others for answers, and mimicking habits that are proven to be socially successful. 

 How we dress is no different. We treat what we wear as a costly game of cat and mouse. We chase, we catch, and repeat. Fashion ideas, with very little personal attention leaves the soul forgotten and lost. 

 Believe it or not, there is so much LIFE in deciding what you wear. What you wear is a daily question of personalization, and problem solving on the unknown variables that make you unique.

However, this is a skill. It is only as powerful as your emotional abilities to feel, create, and produce ideas into your reality.  To be able to express, and share bits of your identity requires an internal understanding of what that self identity is. Such knowledge of who you are, can only be obtained through daily practice of challenging your own internal thoughts. 

A life well lived, is one that thinks, questions, and finds its own answers.

xo,

Maya

Warning! Stop Fashion Censorship

First of all what is censorship? 

Censorship is the  act of hiding or removing ideas, words, media, that are viewed as unacceptable, or inappropriate. In other words, it's a form of mind control that inables people from making their own opinions on issues viewed as harmful for society as a whole.

So what is fashion censorship?

Fashion censorship is the act of denying yourself or others from dressing beyond the "norm". It is the act of subjecting or being subjected to the opinions of someone else's fashion style as the guidelines of what you wear. 

How does it happen? 

The whole process is so subtle, pretty much nobody even realizes it has affected them. There is no big green monster in real life,  forbidding you to wear anything. However, the monster does exist, and it is created by society. It forbids you from dressing outside of the cookie cutter and straying from what is "popular". Need proof? What are trends really?

For me, I can remember back to Junior High and loving these amazing, fluorescent green suede shoes. They were lace ups, with a black chunky platform and so bright you would think they were made of Kryptonite. I can remembering being so excited to wear them on my first day of Junior High, and absolutely positive everyone would rave at my awesome find! To my shock, my shoes were received in utter disgust. I could literally see their eyeballs pop out of their head, and the gasping shock of horror on their faces. Everyone sneered and giggle cruel remarks, "Nice clown shoes Maya." or "Please never wear them again Maya." Suddenly my shoes felt like a horrible mistake. I felt out of place, and unwanted. This is what it meant to go against the "Norm". I was embarrassed and with that comes fear. Suddenly my judgement seemed inadequate, and I learned my opinions could not be trusted. I studied magazines, followed trends, and picked up on what everyone else deemed appropriate to wear. Now, people were noticing, and I was accepted. It felt good. It felt right. It just wasn't me.

The thing is, as I achieved this "cool" status I was losing something far more precious, the ability to think, and form my own opinions. What happened to me? Where did I go? You get so busy impressing others, you forget to treasure your own voice. 

Life is full of censors. Every time you try learning something about yourself, it is always visited by these censors of fear and doubt. After all, censors are simply warning signals of possible harm. 

Be brave and fight against your fashion censors. Do whatever you think is right, and fight for it.  

Sway from the pack, and you're labeled a freak. Stay with the pack and learn nothing. 

xo,

Maya

Fashion, Transgender, and the Crap We Believe

As you may have all heard, former Olympic Gold Medalist, Bruce Jenner, has recently admitted to his transgender ways, and declared himself as a woman. Currently, as a "trending" topic, I find myself intrigued by how uncomfortable people get when identity, fashion and gender do not match up to the social stigmas they were born believing. 

As depicted on the doors of universal toilets, a boy wears pants and a girl wears a skirt, try switching things around and all hell breaks loose. People enjoy labels and categories, because it is convenient and easy. Unfortunately, such conveniences, creates a society based on identities predestined by gender orientation and physical appearance. The question of who are you, remains insignificant to the idea, what are you?

For example, the whole concept of creating the word "transgender", is a mistake in itself. It's like having two main teams and putting the odd balls in the corner with another useless label. The point should remain on who you choose to be. Identity is a choice, and something you create, free of any stigmas.  Life often mimics high school and it is time we realize there are no rules in creating who you are. Social groups, and finding your spot is a waste of time, and emphasis should be made in creating your own way, and persona. The term, "male" or female is strictly a "biological" one and it should not restrain your thoughts, preference, or ways of self expresssion. 

 Fashion in all ways, should be the first to adopt the new mind set, of "no rules". The idea of " to be a women is..." or " to be a man is..." should be abolished and corrected to finding what it means "to be (insert your name)..." 

You, like the fingerprints and DNA you were born with, are completely, and unexplainably unique. You are far more valuable than any label could ever begin to understand or describe. Do not cheapen your existence by defining your life based on social pressures. 

Fashion is Freedom.

xo,

Maya

PS. sorry, about the very late post on my "Sakura" dress. New posts coming soon!