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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|| Review || iMerchandise: The Fashion Buyers Hero ||

To all you fashion buyers out there, have you ever wanted a device or app that makes the wholesale clothing buying process simpler and more efficient? Well look no further: iMerchandise does just this. 

There's nothing quite like it out there and best of all it's free (who doesn't like a freebie?) Its aim is to help stores and line owners that attend fashion shows get rid of those pesky handwritten line sheets and order forms. No more hours spent cutting and pasting your favourite pictures and designs onto "vision boards." iMerchandise does all this for you!

"The new fashion app that simplifies the wholesale 

clothing buying process for retailers."

CEO and Founder of the app, David Secul is a retailer himself and said of the app: "I've created this app with my own funds initially for my personal use." He soon realised how wonderful his app was and how much the rest of the buying world and retail world would benefit from experiencing it themselves.

The idea of iMerchandise is to keep all your info and ideas in one place and, in a sense, act as your own virtual personal assistant.

Personally as I am not a fashion buyer or retailer, I have no need for the app. I do however know that if I was a buyer/retailer I would love this app with every bone in my body and there would be no turning back. I honestly recommend every buyer and retailer out there to download, and get their mitts on this wonderful app - so do it. 

GET THE APP HERE

(All images are property of iMerchandise)

|| Art Trip || London Tate Modern & Tate Britain ||

As part of my Fine Art course at college, we are lucky enough to go on plenty of trips to various galleries, many of which are in London. Last week a large group of the art students, ranging from the AS & A2 level students to the B-Tech Diploma students, embarked on a trip to two London Galleries: Tate Modern & Tate Britain.

Theres something so enticing about art galleries, particularly for me those of modern art. They really open up your eyes to so many types of art and helps you to explore new artists. Galleries are a cultural experience that stimulates the brain in a way that only art can: a creative yet intelligent way.

I thought I would post some of the pictures I took from the trip, just to show my readers what spectacular and wonderful art both these galleries contain.

Tate Modern

Jannis Kounellis || Untitled

Joseph Beuys || Monument to the Stag

Picasso || The Weeping Woman 

Hrair Sarkissian || Education Sqaures

Gerhard Richter || Cage (1) - (6)

Lorna Simon || Five Day Forecast

Miyako Ishiuchi || Yokosuka Story

Niki de Saint Phalle || Shooting Picture

Project Space: Inverted House

This particular project I found so completely inspiring and wonderful. The whole collection was absolutely wonderful. My own current project is Space & Place so I found this particular collection to be so motivating and stimulating.

Siniša Ilić || Untitled

Tina Gverović || Parastates


 ||MORE IMAGES BELOW||

|| Angela & Roi Handbags: fashion with philanthropy || Donate by Colour ||

A few weeks back I received an email from the co-founder of online handbag company; Angela & Roi. I was over the moon to receive an email requesting if I could write about them, and obviously I said yes.

Angela & Roi are an online handbag brand that “combines fashion and philanthropy by colour.”

As my readers will know, I am very keen on vegan produce and am very much against the use of animals in fashion, and I was delighted to find out that Angela & Roi use high quality vegan leather to make their handbags instead of animal leather. Their bags are boutique quality, minimally and classically designed with minimalistic styles varying from totes, shoulder and cross-body bags, and each with various colour options. Their aesthetic is “vintage-inspire with a modern touch.”

“Our company was founded on strong moral principles. We prioritize ethical and respectful treatment of our customers. Our products reflect our value system that is focused on customer satisfaction, not profit margins. However, we believe we can use our resources productively in a way to impact the greater community. We believe fashion can be utilized to both an artistic and charitable effect. Our company presents an opportunity for us to intertwine consumerism with philanthropy. We hope you can join us in our effort to donate toward the solution of various causes.” Angela & Roi

One particular aspect of Angela & Roi that really fascinated me was their Donate By Colour mission. The idea behind this is that different medical issues relate to specific colours i.e. Lung Cancer awareness is linked with the colour white, so when cusomers purchase a white handbag from Angela & Roi, they automatically donate $5 to Lung Cancer Alliance. In total, Angela & Roi work together with 11 non-profit organisations:

Each handbag is accompanied with a detachable coloured ribbon, which associates, to the specific cause. By attaching the ribbon to your bag, you are helping to raise awareness of the associated cause.

• Red Ribbons – AIDS
• Orange Ribbon – Kidney Disease
• Grey Ribbon – Diabetes
• Purple Ribbon – Alzheimer’s Disease
• Green Ribbon – Anxiety and Depression
• Brown Ribbon – Cancer
• Blue Ribbon – Colon Cancer
• Gold (Yellow) Ribbon – Child Cancer
• Pink Ribbon – Breast Cancer
• Black Ribbon – Melanoma (Skin Cancer)
• White Ribbon – Lung Cancer

 Learn more about Angela & Roi’s causes here.

“We maintain our positive attitude toward change. We frame our campaign within our energetic color theme. Colors grab us out of the dreary day-to-day existence and shoot us into a world of vivaciousness. We chose to link different causes with specific colors. We wanted to create easy to recognize categorizations on our website. We understand how associations between tangible objects and pleasing concepts strengthen interest. Our purses speak color, and we believe our products should converse with our greater charitable goals.”

Not only do their bags support many wonderful causes, but also they are absolutely lovely! Every single one is beautiful, with excellent craftsmanship and designing  and all at an astonishingly wonderful price; ranging from $65 to $148. Below are just some of the types of bags Angela & Roi offer, with each design coming in an array of colours.

Palette White Cross-body

Sunday Black Tote

Palette Purple Cross-body

Square Mandarin Orange Tote

Palette Light Brown Cross-body 

Mini Navy Body-cross

Classic Wine Cross-body

Casual Grey Shoulder Bag

 As you can see, the bags are absolutely gorgeous, are wonderful prices, part of a wonderful and charitable mission, but they also do free deliver and returns. (Not that you would want to return them!)

Website // Facebook // Twitter

Leave a comment below letting me know what you think about this wonderful company, and do definitely check out their website. Let me know if you buy one of their bags too, I'd love to hear what you think about it and which colour/cause you went for.

I personally look forward to when I buy my own one - I'm saving up!