Most little girls adore playing dress up. It’s fun to parade in mom’s tacky purple corduroy dress, orange sun hat and beige high-heel pumps in front of the mirror. Despite the oversized and mismatched clothes, we thought we looked great. And we did.
But when we put on our clothes and look in the mirror as adults, everything is of the seemingly right size, shape and colour. Whatever happened to our creativity? Did we leave it behind with our childhood?
Ottawa takes the cake when it comes to a lack of fashion creativity.
The majority of people in this city dress the same, either as proud wearers of baseball caps and sneakers, or slacks and boring ties. And there are always those who buy designer clothes and proudly flaunt a brand name across their chest. But where does creativity fit into this style equation?
Take for example Japan’s street fashion, which is a huge inventive fashion craze slowly but surely seeping into North America.
Japanese youth hit the streets wearing bizarre outfits, like a baby doll dress with knee highs, in an attempt to start a trend and make a statement. In Tokyo, people are photographed on a daily basis wearing the most outrageous ensembles.
Famous musician-turned-fashion designer Gwen Stefani has her very own posse of Harajuku girls that she takes everywhere, from music videos to photo shoots. Harajuku is an area in Tokyo, Japan considered the centre of teenage culture and style.
In the 1960s, London, England was crawling with young mod rockers making trendy fashion statements. At the time, designers were inspired by their style and brought this statement to the rest of the world through ready-to-wear clothing lines.
It seems then that the idea of street style isn’t new or overplayed — it just hasn’t caught on in smaller cities.
Will Ottawa ever jump on the street fashion bandwagon?
Almost a year ago a small clothing store, Ruby X, opened in Centretown. People who pass the funky Bank Street store will likely notice the creative and colourful window displays. Inside are s-shaped racks that suspend from the ceiling and showcase small, delicate articles of clothing. Most of the items, from flower print eclectic pants to cloth hot pink sneakers, are from Japan or China.
A Ruby X salesperson says that although business is good, the people who shop in the store — mainly in their 20s and 30s — avoid the “crazy” items.
He points to a pair of tight black pants with a purple-haired cartoon character running down the leg. He says it would be great if non-Asian people would buy funky pants that stand out like these ones.
Another clothing store in Centretown, similar to Ruby X, recently went out of business, proving that some people in Ottawa aren’t ready to release their inner funk.
As children we are told not to stand out. It is believed that those who do so are begging for unwarranted attention and go against the baseball cap and black slack grain.
Would anyone in their right mind walk down Bank Street wearing a pink, puffy baby doll dress with pigtails and knee-highs like they do in Japan? Not likely.
But what about in larger cities like Toronto or Montreal where fashion trends catch on quickly? Maybe.
In Centretown, the least we can do is think twice about trying on clothes we wouldn’t normally wear.
This could help us find our inner child — who would no doubt have fun parading across town in an outfit as mismatched as an oversized purple corduroy dress, orange hat and beige pumps.