Fashion status

Stereotyping by fashion statement is so last century

By Jennifer Johnson on January 31, 2008

As the fashion world has had to say goodbye to Valentino, the one man who could possibly be referred to as the godfather of fashion, I, too, may have a farewell at hand. While weeding out from my closet clothes that have become obsolete since dropping a bit more weight, one item kept causing me distress; a dusky pink, thick, stretch cotton mini-skirt with wide belt loops perfect for wearing a badass belt or winding a thick scarf through. The skirt sits just below the natural waistline in a way that has always suited me. Throw it on over a pair of leggings in cooler weather and wear with flip-flops in the summer. This thought kept giving me pause, “Do I look ridiculous wearing a pink miniskirt at my age?” followed by, “What the hell does ‘at my age’ mean?”



Fashion, age, beauty and self-worth have become so entirely entwined. It’s difficult to read anyone any longer simply by what they are wearing. Our grandmother’s generation could easily identify the age or social status of a woman or girl by the style and type of clothing she wore. That’s impossible now. Wealthy young men and women intentionally adopt fashions that suggest vagrancy, but then whip out $500 phones, pressing keys with manicured, well tended nails. Others work three jobs, save for months and then make careful, intentional purchases. Whatever the state of your pocketbook, the length of your hem or the age you feel you are inside, you can daringly reinvent yourself or add to an existing personal style by being outfitted at Tacoma’s Vanity Fashion Boutique or at Gig Harbor’s Betty Vintage.



[Vanity Fashion Boutique, 3108 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.985.7845]



[Betty Vintage, 4221 57th St. Ct. N.W., Gig Harbor, 253.853.5760]