Inner Monologue

If I haven’t said it before, I read and listen to a lot of fashion-related media and criticism. I love when I read a critique or an essay that describes a piece of clothing or an outfit or a trend in a way that really makes me understand the deeper meaning behind it. Truly what separates the greats from the general internet chatter about fashion (a topic for another post). However, there are certain words and phrases that I see so often in fashion media that have become so empty and trite and honestly, just so fucking irritating.

• “With a twist”

This may be the one I’ve hated the most, for the longest. I’m not sure if it originated in the 2000s magazine culture or in blogging, but anytime someone describes their style as “X, but with a twist” I want to scream. What does this even mean??? What’s the twist, M. Night? “Preppy with a twist.” Unless the twist is that your wearing Rick Owens boots with your twinset, I’m really not sure how much of a radical shift from the style archetype you think you’re embodying here. “Classic with a twist.” Translation: I have picked a non-neutral “fun pop” of color (another phrase that can walk the plank) to offset my khaki and navy outfit. To me this always reads as “I know I’m following a basic style archetype but I need you to know that I’m different.” No, you’re not, every other girl says the same shit. So unless you’re going to tell me what the twist is, find a better word to describe your boring-ass outfit.

• “Juxtaposition”

This is related to the “with a twist” in that people seem to think that the key to good style is contrast and conflict within an outfit. And it absolutely can be, don’t get me wrong, there are very stylish people who do this very well. But it (this word and the concept behind it) seems to have become a short cut to what is deemed as great fashion reporting just to drop in this word that we all learned in a high school English class? Not exactly a shortcut to Pulitzer that some people think it is. So can we please find a synonym for this word? I’ll start us off: “tension”, ever heard of her? “The rough organic textures of the knitwear juxtaposed with the sleek sheen of the silk skirt…” Snore. This one at least has a good theoretical underpinning to it, but we need to find another way to talk about these concepts.

• “Irreverence”

This is a newer word in the overused fashion lexicon, and actually one I used to really like. When it first started to get sprinkled in, I do think it accurately described a moment of levity in fashion, specifically in a lot of the small, non-conglomerate brands, who were starting to ask serious questions about capital F “Fashion”‘s place in the world. A sort of “why so serious” attitude that was really fun because it reminded us all that, outside of this billon dollar business, getting dressed should be one of the most joyous forms of expression. They’re just clothes, who cares, wear what makes you happy and don’t overthink it. But again, oversaturation is the thief of joy and when I see this word applied to some of the collections of giant mega-houses, it really just started to lose any real sense of meaning.