CREATE YOURSELF: FASHION EMPOWERMENT

Fashion Empowerment.
We are born into this world with an identity. A name given to us by our parents, and a life predestined by the hopes and circumstances placed by everyone around us. How do you define yourself? A race, a gender, a career, social status, fame or money?

Perhaps, the problem begins by the very fact we spend far too much time defining ourselves rather than creating our own identity. We have the power to mold our lives and ourselves into the shapes and colors we desire, but we lock ourselves into preconceived ideas that have been placed around us. Why?

Fashion. As superficial, meaningless, and vain as many people believe it to be, it is actually one of the most practical ways of discovering your identity on a daily basis. What you wear is a reflection of how you think and feel. This is why your style evolves alongside your experiences, confidence maturity and surroundings. 

Creating yourself neither begins nor ends with what you wear, but it is a progression of limitless ideas   and questions regarding yourself as a work of art. 

Who are you today and how would you express it? What are your limits, fears, and dreams? Break free from the mold of following everyone else around you, and start questioning and creating your own path. 

Mix and match things you like, and break free from the idea you must "fit" into a square that society has placed upon you. 

To be creative, means you no longer see yourself as a creature of attraction, but an ever-changing creation of ideas. Your primary goal is not to be beautiful, but to say something. Strengthen the ability to express ideas, and eliminate the need to conform. 

If you want to wear your skirt as a shirt, and your pants as a scarf, then do it. Challenge yourself by feeling uncomfortable, and push the boundaries to make people THINK.

Stay Tuned !

 In 2018, Talk Fashion Blog, will be exploring new and unique ways to explore the art of fashion expression. Fusing the fashion world with philosophy, psychology  literature, mathematics, music, and art, we will be exploring the limits of personal style. Join us!

xo,

Maya

HOW FASHION CAN HELP YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION BE SUCCESSFUL?

"Do not go to bed until you have gone over the day three times in your mind. 

What wrong did I do? What good did I accomplish? What did I forget to do? "

-Pythagoras

A new year, a new you, but how?

New Year's Resolutions are often created with a mindful goal to attack specific things you would like to change about yourself. Whether it be your weight, your lifestyle, or unrequited passions, a better you is waiting to be born. Unfortunately, every year we spend 10 minutes creating a list that is probably more productively used as a piece of scratch paper.

Why do our resolutions fail and how can fashion help?

New Year's resolutions usually fail, because they are concentrated lists of problems, without any regard to the formula behind these bad habits. Here are 3 examples of how fashion can help your resolutions:

RESOLUTION 1

HEALTH/FITNESS

You want to lose 10 pounds. 

You make a list of how you will exercise more, eat less, and stay away from processed foods. Sounds like a good plan, right? Wrong. This plan is too centralized on the specific problem and lacking in inspiration, and motivation.  If you want to lose 10 pounds, try adding the element of fashion and stay motivated. Invest in an attractive, but comfortable work out gear and enjoy getting ready for your exercise sessions. Buy a fun dress that is 1-2 sizes smaller, and hang it in a place you can see it every morning. Use it to motivate you, and provide you with visual imagery that is a tangible version of the future you are creating. 

RESOLUTION 2

PERSONAL LIFE

 You want to be more outgoing and meet someone new. 

Your plan includes, going out more, downloading a dating app, and being more "social", but most likely you will do none of them. The problem is, improving your personal life, can only happen, if you change on a "personal" level. Often times, this includes what we choose to wear. We fail to realize the impact of how we dress, and its relationship to how it attracts or rejects human interaction.

 The style of clothing, color, and cleanliness, are all factors observed before a smile is exchanged, or a word is spoken. If you want to improve your social life, start by evaluating your current fashion choices. Simple changes such as wearing a softer or brighter color, will immediately make you appear more cheerful and approachable. 

RESOLUTION 3

CAREER

You want to quit your stable job and chase your dream job.

Your plan includes calculating your finances, and mustering up enough courage to quit your stable job. However, most people, never find the courage and live a life of paying bills, and unrequited dreams. 

To "imagine" the reality of a dream, you must realize the discomfort of the unknown. Fear is one of the main reasons we stop ourselves from pursuing our passions, but the lack of positive visual imagery also exacerbate our fears.

One of the most simple ways to boosting positive visual imagery of your dream job, is dressing the part. Adopting the style of the person who has such a job, is a strong foot in the door of imagining yourself as that person.  

Best wishes and may you have a phenomenal 2018! 

xo,

Maya

S. FREUD: HOW TO DRESS ME, MYSELF, AND I

FASHION PSYCHOLOGY 101

Take a look at your closet. What is it like? Is it a chaotic mess filled with multiple personalities? Or is it a small organized capsule collection featuring only the basics? 

According to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality, balance is key in all genres of personal taste. Surprisingly, being too chaotic and instinctual with your choices is just as bad as being too organized and predictable.  

Freud theorized that personality contains 3 main elements: id, ego, and super ego.

1.) ID: impulsive, uncontrollable, and primitive. 

Like a baby, it is the unconscious element we are born with that is extremely impulsive. It has a simplistic desire to satisfy our primal instincts, without any regard to its effects on others. This is the part of you that picks clothes based on primitive needs, such as warmth, desire, pleasure, etc. 

An overly dominant id, can lead to impulsive fashion choices, uncontrollable shopping habits, and disorganized sensibility of any type of order, or logic.

2.) Ego: calculated, conservative, narrow-minded.

 Very much like a control center, the ego is the element of rationality. It is able to control one's impulses and manage it's choices with calculations and directions. 

An overly dominant ego, can cause you to be conservative, narrow-minded and predictable. Your choices follow the fashion book and your style can lack spontaneity and understanding.

3.) Super Ego: moralistic, and judgmental

The Super ego behaves as the moral compass, and suppresses all unacceptable behaviors and pushes idealistic standards. It acts to civilize our behaviors and distinguish right from wrong.

An overly dominant Super ego looks to perfect and abolish all unacceptable choices.

Each element of personality is negative, without its equal counterpart to balance them out. Be aware of our natural impulses to forget to be diverse, and embrace contrast. 

 It is easy to fall into one category of mind set, but fashion excellence is achieved though embracing all aspects of our personality.

Always remember to style with a healthy dash of spontaneity, a structure of calculation, and a sprinkle of morality. 

xo,

Maya

A Letter From Maya...

Welcome to TALKFASHION!

Inspired by nature, art, music, and culture, TALKFASHION, covers the evolving force of self discovery. 

The  inner dialogue between you and your heart is the key essence of finding yourself and your style. 

Forever looking to what inspires you, fight the gravity of normality.

Be brave enough to make  mistakes, and have courage to walk the path alone.

What you wear is equally simplistic and complex. They say, " Never judge a book by its' cover, but how introspective to create the perfect cover for a specified book!

You are a what you wear and within that equation is art.  

The greater the art the greater the message.

What do you feel, and how will you arrange your image today?

Sincerely,

Maya Horikawa

(Creator of TALKFASHION)

What is 箱入り娘 ?

箱入り娘 (hako-iri-musume), is a Japanese proverb describing a metaphorical "box" that surrounds a girl who was raised in an overprotected family, and given very little freedom. 

                                                                   
 At the heart of TALKFASHION, is a Girl in a Box (箱入り娘). For her, fashion is an inspirational  tool to discovering herself, and finding her voice. Breaking free from her mental prison, requires cutting the need to impress, and the importance of her heart. Observations of nature, art, music, color, and emotions, are all used as guides to push her senses of expression.
 What she wears is no longer just garments to keep her warm, nor are they tools to impress her peers. Clothes, are now a self discovery tool, of creating an image that reflects the person inside.

Join TALKFASHION 箱入り娘 Girl in a Box, and follow her artistic journey of introspection, inspiration, and self projection.

                                                        xo,
                                                      Maya

ARE YOU FASHION PIGEONHOLING?

What in the world is fashion pigeonholing?

Pigeonholing is any process that attempts to classify disparate entities into a small number of categories (usually, mutually exclusive ones).

Fashion Pigeonholing is when you classify yourself into a particular style group. 

A lot of how we dress, is a direct representation of who we think we are, and how we see ourselves. Factors like, social circles, work, school, hobbies, etc., can find us stuck on a limited variation of self awareness and style. 

This is your comfort zone, and it feels safe. You know it well, and chances are you've dressed that way for years. You shop at the same stores, gravitate to the same colors, and basically, buy the same outfit in slightly different shades and lengths. 

The problem is, life is an ever evolving force. You are evolving and your style should be as well. Staying fresh means trying something new. This does not mean you should make a 180 degree fashion flip and abandon everything you know. Fashion is a collection of ideas, and keeping the essence of your style aesthetic will stay relatively unharmed. The challenge lies only in your own mental stereotypes of who you think you were, are, and will be. 

"Oh no.. that's not YOU!" -(My mom) 

To this day, every time I go shopping I can still hear my mother's infamous words, "Oh no.. that's not YOU!" . Funny enough, those exact words are still preventing myself from stepping out of my little pigeon hole. 

Don't be afraid to grab a style completely different from anything you know. You may surprise yourself and actually like it.

Take care and lots of love.

xo,

Maya

BEAUTY CHAT: ARE YOU UGLY OR ARE YOU LAZY?

The truth of the matter is, laziness is ugly. YOU are not  Ugly. 

Like anything in life, "effort" does make a difference. Those extra 5 minutes of attention, will make a world of difference in your appearance, mental health, mood, and self image. 

Beauty is defined in the work you apply to take care of yourself. Just like a plant needs proper nutrients, sunlight, and water, your attractiveness depends on factors of maintenance.

This includes: skincare, hygiene, exercise, personal maintenance and wisdom. I hate to break it to you, but you are not just born beautiful. No one is. 

It is a daily effort that fluctuates based on will power. I personally,  struggle with my skin and weight  during stressful or hard moments in my life. This is a result of poor food choices, lack of sleep, and exercise. 

Just like any skill, you must learn the techniques to maneuver your actions for the desired reactions. Learning from your mistakes, looking for solutions and striving to be better on a consistent basis, is not an easy task. It is okay to fail, we all do; but,  personal beauty can only be achieved with humility and acceptance of those mistakes, and the commitment to try again. 

The way you live your life, and the effort you put into yourself, is your personal canvas. 

The clothes you wear, match your personal aesthetic. The books you read, represent the shape and directions of your thoughts. The food you eat, symbolizes your desire to live.  The art you love represents your soul.

Just like the furniture in your home, your efforts should bring you joy, and comfort. 

A sense of home.

Live Beautifully!

xo,

Maya