I got to thinking about this topic recently while browsing through some of my fave design blogs. I noticed that many of them refer to ‘this designer’ or ‘that trend’ or ‘this is hot right now’… and I started thinking – hey, maybe I should be doing this too?

It was a fleeting thought, however. I am not, nor have I ever been, a ‘fashionista’ – I was brought up wearing hand-me-downs, and to actually disdain the desire people seemed to have to buy something because of the name printed on it or it’s label.

I guess I was brought up, to some extent, to be an ‘anti-fashionista’.

Don’t get me wrong, I obviously care about what I wear, and what I buy to adorn me and my surroundings. I care about beauty, and style, and comfort. I care about where that accessory or item of clothing comes from, and what it’s made from. Now that I’ve discovered the handmade world, I feel as though I’ve finally found a home – a community of people who care about these very same things – rather than just what is ‘fashionable’.

So, I hope that you’ll never catch me wowing about ‘the latest trends’ – because that’s not what this blog – or what I – am about. I want to buy and share quality, classy, quirky, unique, beautiful, genuine, interesting goods – preferably handcrafted or vintage, of course!

I think real style is eternal, and more than that, your own style should reflect who you are – what you value and what you think is awesome. I think perhaps that is why teenagers are often the biggest fashion-tragics – they’re still trying to find out who they are, to find their own unique style – and they often go through the stage of just doing what their friends think is cool. I, on the other hand, was a complete style numpty as a teenager – it took me until my 20s to even care what I looked like!

I also believe that having our own style is freedom – the freedom to wear what makes us happy, to create a style around our personality. This year, as I’m approaching 30 and taking a new path in life, I’ve experimented with my style – gone from a long-haired pretty-dress-wearing woman to a bright red, short-haired (with an extra ear piercing) slightly more funky style… just because I can, and because it’s fun to play with my appearance!

I just love coming across blogs like Super Kwaii Mama, where a real, genuine person is showing and loving their own style. It gives me hope in this age of mass-production and conformity… hope that a larger portion of the western world are moving towards their own style – back to valuing unique clothes and handmade garments.

So, this is not a fashion blog. It’s about style, baby – and the substance behind it.

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