Working in the fashion industry is rough. It is a superficial, photo-shopped, ‘not what you know but who you know’ kind of industry. It causes eating disorders, mental illness and body dysmorphia. It generates trillions of dollars a year for the wrong reasons and the wrong people. But, if you’re lucky enough to find your niche and your place within the menagerie that is the fashion industry, you have the power to make an immeasurable difference. The difficulty, is blocking out the rest of the shit. The ‘MTV It Girls‘, the fake-boobed six-pack-flaunting bronzed beauties, the ‘trending’ must-have shoes and bags and clothes. Finding your passion is easy, staying true to a genuine ethos is not. Fashion is competitive, cutthroat and relentless. It’s hard to find a positive voice when there are so many different messages.
For too long, I have succumbed to the pressure of the fashion industry. The pressure to have the most followers, the most likes, the best outfit, a particular look… It’s so overwhelming and it’s not healthy. I’ve been made to believe I need to do things a certain way, buy more things, be a certain size to be successful, go here, be seen there. Pressure changed my love of fashion into a source of stress and I had forgotten why I started The Fashion Advocate in the first place.
At the moment I am embracing “The Life-Changing Magic Of Not Giving A Fuck” by Sarah Knight, and it is an amazing read. It’s such an obvious lesson in life, but for some reason we all forget about our own happiness and bend over backwards for others’. I don’t care how fast or how slow The Fashion Advocate grows, so long as I make my little difference. Ethical fashion should not be an option, it should be a necessity. I am going to continue advocating for change in the fashion industry until this becomes the norm, and “Not Give A Fuck” about the likes, followers, what I look like, or any of the other superficial and stressful expectations society defines as the ‘norm’ in the fashion industry.
Find what you love, surround yourself with positive people and rid your life of the bullshit. And of course; buy less, choose well, shop local.
The Fashion Advocate x
