{Be Styled} Staying ‘On Trend’ During Fashion Week…

On Saturday, I’ll have the opportunity to attend an event I first attended last year during my time as a columnist for an online women’s magazine. It’s the Front Row Fashion Show Presented By Vogue (yep…the magazine!). It’ll cap off the Fall 2013 Fashion Week events presented by The Bellevue Collection (a high-end destination shopping center near Seattle), and it’s pretty amazing. I’ll have the opportunity to interview celebrity stylists and even Vogue’s own Market Stylist and Director of Events, Cara Crowley. To say I’m excited would be a great understatement!

With all of the fuss and glamor that will surround the events this weekend, I feel I need to get to let all of you Delight readers in on a secret. Perhaps it isn’t so much of a secret as it is a burning, persistent nudge that hasn’t left me since plans were finalized to attend this year’s Fashion Week shows. It’s a sense that I need to prepare my heart and mind to be intentional and missional. What do I mean? (I can almost hear some of you going “huh? Missional and fashion week in the same sentence?!”) Read on…

First, let me share with you all something from last year’s Vogue show. It happened when I walked into a restroom where some of the models were gathered. I overheard some conversation between two models when I walked into a stall to tear an annoying tag out of my dress.  One of the models was complaining to her friend about her feet. She felt they were too big. Her friend on the other hand, was rambling on about some guy and plans for later in the evening. Later, I watched them strut down the runway looking stunning and wondering how they could critique themselves so harshly. I remember being almost shocked to hear professional, gorgeous models complaining about their appearance. They travel to amazing places, wear amazing clothes (well, most of the time), and are made to look nothing short of perfect. I have often wondered “but what’s behind all of that so-called glamorous lifestyle?” And the reality of it? Oh…so much we don’t see.

That model’s comments changed my perspective that night. I think what we need is a perspective shift when it comes to the fashion world and what is continually purged and pushed towards us as consumers of it all; because here’s the thing: this industry is a crazy, image-based, self-focused mess. 

And this industry needs Jesus.

And this industry needs you.

The real you.

As women, we’ve all felt pressure at some point in our lives to fit in; wear the right clothes, or project a certain image. Some of you may still be stuck in that place, and some of you may have grown in confidence to just be you in all aspects of your life and how you dress. But I would bet that many of us, whether we realize it or not, fight an image-related battle relentlessly.

In today’s world, I feel there needs to be a more balanced perspective in regards to fashion. Many of us want to be modest, yet trendy. Many of us aren’t sure where the line is between classy and, for lack of a better word, trashy. Many of us were raised to think that modesty meant wearing turtle necks and floor-length skirts (although we’ve made great strides in that department thanks to the maxi-skirt!) and many of us don’t know what the word ‘modesty’ even means. Some of us think fashion magazines are all sinful wastes of paper while some of us, and I’ll include myself here, grew up knowing what ‘haute couture’ meant by the time we learned to walk! So in order to move towards that balanced perspective on all things fashion, here’s what I’ve begun to pray:

*That God would help me more deeply realize and accept who He has created me to be.

*To allow His light to shine in all areas of my life, including an outward example in the way that I dress. (For me, that means modestly with an appreciation for trends that I feel reflect my personality, comfort, and true personal style.)

*In environments where the outward appearance is glorified, that I would allow Him to use me to share the hope of unfailing, unconditional and true love, where true identity and peace are found. This is what I mean when I say ‘missional.’

So, dear Delight ladies, I hope you’ll pray with me for divine appointments during Fashion Week and beyond. It is a mission field unlike any other. Because in life, it’s so much more than staying “on trend”; true, Christ-centered identity is the only thing that will sustain us no matter what season of life we’re in.

 

Are you someone who has a heart for style and all things fashion related? I’d love to hear from you!