Is Effortless Fashion Really a Thing?

I recently read an article in The Debrief about effortless fashion and the focus of the article was that we shouldn't be using the term effortless fashion or effortless dressing because in reality, achieving this effortless look is a lot harder than magazines (and society) give off. 

After reading Pandora Sykes' article it really got me thinking: we are living in a world where the epitome of fashion is an effortless look which in reality is not so effortless to achieve. Telling someone if they look effortless or not is a bit of a double edged sword: you either insult them because effortless could mean that they have put no thought into their outfit whatsoever and couldn't care less, or you face the trouble of making your friend/mum/sister feel that they have severely overdressed for your coffee break and that they need to be more effortless...

Back in May The Debrief did an interview with Shopbop's NYC based fashion director, Eleanor Strauss, in which she voiced her opinion on this effortless trend by saying: 'I like to think what I wear looks effortless - but in all honesty I probably tried on around fifty outfits and was then late for work.' 

There is a stigma that arises if a woman spends hours planning her outfit; to some it suggests a level of vanity and excessive self-pride, however in reality most women (obviously not all) DO plan their outfits or DO spend time thinking about what to wear. The ability to just 'throw on' an outfit is much more difficult than we realise, and I know that if I was to just 'throw' something on it would not result positively and I would most likely end up wearing a horribly coordinated outfit or joggers and a hoodie.. 

William Rast || Distressed Jeans

I spoke to Eden Gasson, who I recently did a style profile on, about her thoughts on effortless style in which she replied saying "I could never say my style is effortless. I love fashion and love planning my outfits [and] getting inspiration. Fashion can be effortless but I think it's hard, and for most people it's not. "

"In regards to being able to throw anything on and look stylish, I guess people who can do that are just lucky, or have a good quick eye for a good outfit and I'm jealous if people like that exist!"

I really struggle to come to terms with the idea that a look can appear effortless. There's just something that I don't quite get. I mean if you really have put no effort into your outfit that fine, and you have successfully achieved the goal. However what I just don't understand is the concept behind buying and outfit purely just look like you couldn't care less? Think distressed jeans, over sized shirts and that 'boyfriend' look that keeps coming back. I can't tell you the amount of people I know that have bought a perfectly nice pair of jeans only to rip them up so they look distressed and create an effortless look.

One of the things I really do struggle with in regards to effortless fashion is what it really means. Whilst writing this article I did some research and Googled it. At first I went onto reddit.com and read a discussion about effortless style and how to define it. Whilst reading it I realised that effortless style means different things to different people. it should be noted that to one person, effortless style could be literally just grabbing whatever is lying on your floor at that exact point, or maybe even just wearing a really simple and boring outfit (but still nice?) However to some people the concept of effortless fashion is something completely different. Some of the women on the discussion page made it clear that their idea of effortless fashion is a combination of the comfortable and the stylish. It seems that keeping it simple and stylish is the main idea behind this effortless fashion movement.

Alexa Chung || Huge style icon for effortless fashion

However after reading some of the discussion on Reddit I simply just Googled "effortless fashion" and lo behold up appeared hundred and thousands of Pinterest pages and blog posts on How to Achieve Effortless Fashion and articles about Alexa Chung Looking Effortlessly Chic. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes I do like looking at these articles and Pinterest pages, but surely if you're basing your look after Alexa Chung and learning How to Achieve the Perfect Effortless Style in 5 Ways from a magazine it defeats the point of having an effortless look in the first place? 

Personally I'm not a fan of the term effortless fashion, I think it comes with too many contradictory connotations and in the long run, achieving a complete effortless look without putting effort in isn't going to happen. It will require putting in effort somewhere along the way. And whats so wrong with having put effort into you outfit anyway? There should be no shame in admitting to your friend (and yourself) that yes to did put effort into your outfit, and yes it might show, but don't you look great.

I would love to hear what your opinions on effortless fashion on - leave them in the comments below.

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