La Mode

Fashion...has always seemed so shallow to me. I mean, consider most models. Sample size is what, a size 2? how practical is that? And yes of course, they not only have to be skinny, but the have to have the right hair, height, skin (texture-wise, not color-wise...thank God), etc. They have to be "just so" or else they are out of a job. Imagine the immense pressure. After taking a step back, I realized that fashion is quite like any other art form. At the end of the day, it's really not about the models. It's about the end result: the clothes, that designers spend months slaving over only to present it in a fashion show about 6 minutes long, at most. Then they wait patiently, albeit nervously, for what the critics have to say. What the critics decide will affect the entire future of a new designer's line, and at least a season's collection of a more well versed designer. If a design is deemed unfit by a critic, the designer loses credibility. This means virtually no chance of making it into a prestigious magazine, or onto a well known celebrity, and certainly not a top notch store of any kind. Yes, the fashion industry is indeed cut throat, to say the least and not for the faint of heart. But shallow? I think not. I confess, at one point in my life, I tried my hand at designing...very briefly. I'll even post a few pictures from my portfolio, but I realized I had no vision, no comprehensive "je ne sais quoi".








My stuff was all over the place, and quite frankly, I lost my passion for designing and moved on to drawing and painting other things. I digress. My point is, fashion affects us all, whether we like it or not. For example, when you wake up in the morning, look in your closet and say "I have nothing to wear", 4/5 times that statement is untrue. But you looked in your closet and saw that you had nothing in there that you FELT like wearing, or that looked good for whatever you were planning to do that day. If fashion wasn't important, it wouldn't matter one way or another what you put on. When you see someone walking by that looks attractive and you say to yourself "I sure wish he dressed better", in essence, you are admitting that though you find this person attractive, there is something missing; something stopping you from talking to him or her. You see folks, fashion makes the world go 'round. That pair of Burberry gloves you bought last winter weren't purchased because you didn't have any gloves, but because you WANTED a pair of BURBERRY gloves. Same goes for that Gucci purse and that Armani suit. Fashion (especially high fashion) gets a bad wrap when people with low self esteem try to weigh self worth with how expensively they dress. I have personally never owned anything Gucci or Fendi, coach, anything like that. I wouldn't mind having any of these brands, and sure I could afford them...if I saved up for them. I can enjoy them just as much as a person who owns every item they've made, just by appreciation. I think appreciation for fashion is highly underrated, partially because of the way people perceive the industry. If anyone off the street was to look at me, they would probably never be able to guess that I had an interest in fashion. But I do. Honestly, I dress like a tomboy. Jeans, vans, t shirt and I'm good. That doesn't mean I don't know how to dress though. When I dress for church, people might change their perception of me and fashion. I'm sick of using the word fashion...but there is no English synonym for it. So, La Mode is here to stay. I would like to know what you readers out there think about it.

Day 1...

See, I had this grand intro all ready and planned out, but for some reason I had trouble getting the appropriate font to appear. It took me a good two minutes to realize that I could just write now and fix it all later. However this does not make me slow. Greetings everyone. After much hubbub and futile attempts at coercion, I have decided to try my hand at blogging...for real. I mean, I had to sign up for this one, so yea, it's legit. So is this the part where I introduce myself? Hmmm... Well, my name is Diana, but it's also Awura Abena. See, i'm from Ghana, so I have two names: My given name, and my Twi name. Diana is the name on my birth certificate, but my family calls me Awura Abena (Arabena), Abena, Awura, A-rab, and occasionally D. I have several interests and hobbies, and very little patience with which to outline them all (which is sad, because...that's what blogging is about, right?...nope not really). Music, defines my life. Life would be meaningless without it. Cliche? Yes...very. But also very true. In fact, I'm listening to Eleanor Rigby (Beatles) right now. I do almost everything with music in mind. Do I play any instruments? Why yes. Yes I do. Two: Piano and Guitar. Guitar is the most recent addition to my repertoire. I guess it's true what they say about piano: once you learn to play it, every other instrument is easier to learn. I never knew I would be able to play guitar. It always looked so complicated to me. And it is...but, I believe there is a code to every instrument and once you crack it, playing any song becomes very simple. I play both instruments by ear, but I also look up chords for guitar because it's easier for me to read than sheet music for piano. I also paint, draw (duh, I paint so that's a given...or is it? hmmmm...) and sing. I would love to learn Japanese, Italian, French, and Spanish before I die. I took French for five years, but I lost a lot of it, because I didn't practice it much. As a result, I write it much better than I speak it. I do, however, speak another language fluently: twi. Twi is a language native to the Ashanti region of Ghana. I didn't grow up speaking it. My parents always spoke/speak it at home, but I would always respond in English. So for the longest time, I could only understand it, but never spoke it. That all changed about four years ago when I moved to Arizona. My cousins made me learn through incessant ridicule. Et voila! Maintenant, Je parle twi avec anglais. C'est super, non? I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. I have never lived anywhere longer than six years. After three years in Scotland, we moved to Ghana. Another three years and we were in New York City. Five years later, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After six years there, Gilbert, Arizona, where I currently live. Complicated, no? Imagine having to relay that history every time someone asks where you were born, followed by "how did you end up here?" I'm used to it now though. I guess that completes the manditory "getting to know you" portion.

So you're probably wondering what i'm going to be blogging about. So am I. I suppose anything I feel like blogging about, until I find my niche. Wait, did I just use the word niche in a sentence? wow, I think i'm losing my edge. Maybe introducing myself made me soft somehow. People like Olivia Polermo from MTV's "The City" use the word niche on a regular basis. No, this is not a celebrity blog. I'm not famous, so what should I care what goes on in their world? Besides, Perez Hilton has that area covered. Maybe I should blog about how music has fallen so far in the year 2010. It really IS all just a little bit of history repeating....yes, I took it there. Every song sounds like the 80's these days. Everything is a Madonna or Eurythmics rerun, YET people feel like they've found a "new style" or "edge" which I find completely riduculous, and mildly entertaining. The same could be said about fashion, but we all know fashion is deeply influenced by music/musicians. I could write about relationships and men, but...that's not new for me. Besides, I've been called a man basher one time too many. Not that I mind it; my brand of honesty is an acquired taste and therefore hard to swallow at times. So, I'm going to leave this blog open ended for now. Stay tuned, there is much more to come. Goodnight, currently non-existent readers.