Nolan Maine is one of my friends here at Malone and I noticed something about him right off the bat. He knew how to dress. This was something that was strange to me because many of the people at my University did not really have their own style but just mirrored others and followed trends. Nolan is from Cincinnati, Ohio currently but was formerly a resident of San Francisco California! He attributes this to most of his fashion sense and why he wears the things he wears. He is a skter so his fits follow that of a skater. Cropped chinos and jeans most of the time with long fitting t’s and accessories galore. He did not just dress cool but thought very different as well. Nolan is an entrepreneur and is in the midst of starting his own company called YCTs. Along with skating, Nolan also enjoys art, music, golfing, and boating. The YC stands for yacht club and t stands for t shirts. He takes white t shirts and puts his own spin on them. He attributes his passion and influence from the easy going life of life on the sea. He is very excited to see where his goals will lead him and has no end in sight! Farewell to my readers, I hope I showed you a little something about fashion and its far greater impact past a computer screen!

The 3 outfits above are great examples of European Fashion. From casual to work to play, Europeans maintain their look. They stick to solid colors and tend to stick to neutral colors as well. Parisians especially take basic to beauty in all that they wear. They tend to have their legs exemplified and wear form fitting clothes. Below are outfits put together by Americans and the difference is greatly evident.

The above outfits are outfits commonly seen in metropolitan areas in America. Americans love their accessories as seen by the hats being worn by the models above. Patterns and textures take over which is different from the European mindset of basic solid colors. Snakeskin is pretty popular in America while leopard and other prints of the sort are popular in Europe. Both areas of the world have their own taste and work beautifully together. Taste, cultural differences, and morals play into each of the continents style trends.

Who he is: Virgil has become the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection along with being the creator of his own clothing line: Off White. He did not just wake up one day and become all of this though. Virgil starts his career while obtaining his undergrad degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison aiming towards civil engineering. He obtains his degree and and then in 2006 he receives his masters in architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology. This is where his interest in fashion is peaked while the Rem Koolhas building is finished. He did not gain recognition though until 2009 when him and his close friend Kanye West join the Fendi internship in Rome. They introduced newness and disruptiveness while together and many in the firm took a liking to them right away. Through the years of 2009-2012 he helps other designers create brands and offers inspiration. 2013 comes around and he launches his brand OffWhite. He takes all he has learned in school, his own interest and liking such as street wear luxury, music and all things visual to implement in his brand. Nothing of his collection was shown until 2014 during Fashion Week in Paris. Since then he has added to his repertoire by becoming and performing as a dj at venues such as Lollapalooza. He has been an influence to me in ways of not stopping at a peak but to reach to the sky and break the peak. He could have easily stopped at being good at fashion but he expanded into music, visual art, community outreaches, etc.. Virgil has been an inspiration for me and hope that you all, after reading this, share the same opinion.

Below are my top 5 clothing stores with links to each attached!

1.) General Quarters (Los Angeles) https://generalquarters.com/

2.) 97th Vintage (Great Britain) https://97thvintage.com/

3.) Urban Outfitters (Philadelphia, PA) https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/

4.) Uniqlo (Tokyo) https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/men?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItdKo46K76AIVCo7ICh0nlgm7EAAYASAAEgJeYPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

5.) Topman (United Kingdom) https://us.topman.com/

Leopard print was introduced to fashion from way before the camera was invented. People viewed leopards as fierce and extremely determined. The print originally came from the actual fur of the leopard in forms of body coverings. People who wore leopard print were seen as the same (fierce and determined). Women began wearing the print around the 70s to establish their feminine power and all it meant to be a woman. Today we see leopard print as showy yet classy. Staying true to itself, the leopard print will continue to model a life of resilience and fierceness. To learn more about the leopard print and what it has meant throughout history. Check out the book titled “Fierce: The History of Leopard Print” by Jo Weldon.

Flares and bell bottoms were the trademark of the 70s. Fashion became ones identity during this decade. Women started wearing shorter skirts and men started wearing higher boots. Marijuana and the psychedelic boom of this decade had part to do with the bright vibrant colors as well. People began expressing themselves through the clothes they wore and traction was gained. More self expressive designers started coming out such as Yves Saint Laurent and Halston. The 70s was a time of political change and self expression and the clothes worn during this time aligned perfectly with the political unrest at the time. Below are some photos of what fashion looked like during this time.

Fashion today has taken a step back into time. Bell bottom jeans and denim are the newest and greatest trend in mainstream fashion. Men and Women both are obsessed with denim. The fashion site “askmen” had this to say about denim: “Today, denim has taken on a life of its own, and we are far from the days when jeans were simply worn by miners, railroad workers or carpenters. Today, everyone from the trendsetters to the yuppies has embraced the denim craze, which has taken on a life of its own.” Denim was crazy in the 70s. Men and women both would wear denim to work, the beach, and everywhere in between. We can see these same trends today in magazines like GQ and Vogue. In today’s world, self expression has never been more relevant. People wear bright colors to express themselves just as they did in the 70s and bold statement pieces such as the red oxford with the bleach white blazer in the photo above. Self expression has always been a part of American culture, but in the 70s as well as modern day, it has never been more pertinent. In the following photos you can see how the 70s have impacted the self expression of style and fashion today.

1.) who/what inspired you to get into fashion

2.) what makes your fashion “yours”

3.) What do you think fashion outwardly means. What do your clothes say to people around you 

4.) how is it having your own brand and designs? Challenges, high points, etc….

5.) What is your plan for the future in the world of fashion

1) The musical artists that I looked up to and my brother inspired me to get into fashion.

2) I believe what makes my fashion “mine” is exactly the same thing that makes anyone else’s fashion “theirs”. I know what type of clothes I like because I like how they look and if I like how I look in them then I would consider it a part of my fashion.

3) I believe fashion is just an art of self expression that is based on clothes. I believe my clothes tell the people around me that I am expressive and believe my differences are the things that make me who I am.

4) I wouldn’t say that I have my own brand necessarily. However, I do enjoy to create my own designs and personalize pieces of clothing so they are more personal and unique. I really enjoy doing this because I can make things that I really like and I won’t see anyone else with the same exact shirt. This is also nice because occasionally someone will ask you about your clothes or where you go them from and you can tell them “Well, I actually did it myself”. The main challenges of this is that its rather time consuming and often isn’t always the cheapest means of purchasing clothes.

5) My plan for the future in fashion is to continue trying to be myself but I am going to push my self this year to try and not buy any new clothes. Fashion is one of the biggest polluters of our earth and I believe there are just far to many ways that you can find really cool and unique second hand clothes that there is no sense for me to contribute to such a large polluter.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

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• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
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• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

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