Embracing Authenticity: A Reflection on Fashion, Identity, and Brand Integrity

Every season, we're inundated with the latest fad – from galaxy cowgirl, clean girl, ballerina core, to mob wife. There's an aesthetic for the everyday woman to embody, a new personality, a new life. But what happened to my life? As I reflect at the beginning of this year, I ponder how I can reconnect with the things I enjoyed before this self-conscious, perfect, prim girl emerged.

I want to tap back into the girl who didn't have enough money to follow every trend. The girl who needed to be conscious of the items she bought. I was confident in my fashion choices because I loved those items and dreamed about them for months or even years until they were acquired. Whether it was acceptable or not, I was confident because the girls who got it appreciated it.

I don't want to just criticize trends. They can be appreciated for introducing niche fashion to consumers. However, there's a drastic disconnect today between hopping on a trend because it's "trendy" and doing so because you genuinely honor the fashion choice.

There's always been the saying that we are each one of a kind. But as I read Luke chapter 12, verse 7, "Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are far more valuable than many sparrows." I realized that in the process of God designing us to be different and original, we've become just another clone. Copies of a few women setting the beauty standard in our societies. We talk, walk, and think the same. When bows and ballet flats are in, everyone loves them. But the second a new era arrives, bows are out, and fur coats are in. It now enrages me that even the people who want to be “different” “it girls”, and separated from normal society are just a subsection of clones “the alternative clones”.

Now we feel like we have to be one type of person, one taste embodying the character, but no, just be yourself! Be conscious of what you're buying: do you even like it? Do you feel confident and comfortable? When people see it, will they know that this is who you are? Instead of just going through a constant tug of war and cycle of a new identity, embrace the one that you have because God gave it to you and those gifts we didn't have to try hard for, and they honestly are the most flattering.

How does this connect with brand identity? Brands I appreciate are innovative with a quality product. A major issue is that brands, including high fashion, cut corners on textile quality to achieve a specific look or match a certain price point. They don't provide consumers with the fabric quality they deserve, impacting the longevity of the product. So, what do we do? Accept the now or create change for the future. Do you want to be another them or create something that screams you?

with love <3