Fashion Trends

“A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over the garbage can and says 'That's Punk?', and I say 'No, that's trend!'”                        -Billie Joe Armstrong-

For as long as what I can remember I have been fascinated by fashion. Maybe, before we continue, I should define it to you. I do not see fashion as the latest trends. Whatever you are currently wearing right now, is your personal fashion.

Understand also please that I have never followed main steam fashion. I have always been a little………I suppose the term would be weird or odd.

I have recently been asked by two people (one of whom is writing a piece on me for a blog) to define my ‘unique’ fashion sense. I have been asked if I am a Drag Queen. In today’s blog we are going to look at the fashion that is Zeo!!

As a child I wanted to be many things when I grow up one day and when in my final year of high school I settled on being a fashion designer. This never happened. I pursued a study in Paganism instead. I have however always remained true to my own very unique style. I soon after school entered the Goth community where my freedom to express myself grew bigger. You see in the Goth community you can pretty much wear what ever the fucq you want to. Seeing a boy in a skirt is not abnormal and does not mean he is gay at all. It simply means that he is comfortable wearing that at that time.

That was the most important lesson that the community taught me. Wear whatever you are comfortable in. It doesn’t matter if the shops label that skirt as a female item of clothing. If you are comfortable in it, wear it. Realize that the only label you are embracing by wearing what you love, is the label that has your name written on it. That is not a crime, but something to be commended on.

Since I was young I always had an issue that men’s clothing was extremely boring. I hated it. Jeans and T-Shirt, or shirt. And yes the designs on these clothing items might change but essentially you will as a man always wear a boring cut shirt with a pair of boring trousers. Women have so many choices though. I like choice and freedom. It started by me, after school, dressing up in my sisters clothes. She checked me on it once, but I denied it flat out. I was afraid to be labelled gay. I realize now that my love for her clothes had nothing to do with my sexuality, but it had everything to do with my need to express myself as a Purple polka dot box, with lime green stripes, in a world that only embraced brown boxes. In Metric I started giving my mother weird designs for shirts. She only made one. And I had it a long time, but eventually it was tossed out by my ex, cuz she didn’t like it.

Then I started matching clothes up that would never be matched by anyone and again, I didn’t care what the people thought of me. I have to admit, that in the beginning it was nerve racking. Everywhere I went people stared (that still hasn’t changed) and it freaked me out. A friend of mine, at that stage, one day told me that I must stop pretending that I don’t like the attention. I tried to explain to Dawie that I do not dress like this to get attention, I dress like this cuz this is me and to dress any other way would be to rob myself of my own Identity. It didn’t seem to sink in and I think he still thinks that I dress differently, just to get attention.

Today most of clothes are made by the company called Ritual Divine. Yes this company is owned by my fiancé Paul, but it is still his clothing label. When I speak of Paul now, I do not speak of him as my lover or fiancé but as my tailor.

Paul accepts anything that I want to wear. Once he told me he wont make a particular item cuz he thought it would really look crap on me. I begged and he gave in. He made it and after I fitted it, he had to admit that I made it work for me.

I never look at an item of clothing and think what will I look like in it. I look at it and think what can I do with it. 

For me the key is to be comfortable in what you wear. I go to so many costume parties where people dress up. I just dress with whatever I have in my cupboard, hehehehehehehehe. But halfway through the party people are changing into normal clothing. If you do that, then you should never wear that item to begin with. You should never have the need to change what you are wearing for something else. Yes sometimes you make bad judgement calls and a shirt is to tight or a hat too small and then you have to change, but as you get to learn what your personal fashion label is, you will learn to plan your outfits accordingly.

Like I have a new Wolf Beenie, made from fake furr and I am dying to wear it. Saturday I am going to a birthday braai that will be outside. This means that yes it might be cold enough to wear it, but do I really want it to smell of braai smoke? Think practically and whatever you wear should last the entire night.

Bob Mackie said the following about Cher “She could wear the most complicated piece I could make, and it would be like she is wearing a Jeans and T-Shirt”

Often I get compared to people like Cher and Lady Gaga. Yes I do see this as a HUGE compliment. But I don’t try to be like one of them or any other famous person for that matter.

Lastly, I personally think that I have become some sort of Fashion Icon. If that makes me full of myself and/or conceited, well that’s fine.  People see me in every day clothes that I wear to work and I promise you they cannot even believe that I own a pair of jeans. The secret is…….I don’t, hehehehehehe I wear Paul’s jeans.

So no I am not a drag Queen. I am not an attention seeker. I am not hoping to make an entrance or exit. I don’t actually want people staring and when they do I don’t really give a fucq about what they gossip about. I don’t watch his and hers labels and I don’t mind wearing anything. If you have a design that you wanna make for me, I will try it out.

The only thing I accomplish by dressing like this, I am more in-tune with who I am and living my truth!

Mwah!!