The title of this Blog stands as a testament to the way I’ve always felt and continue to feel about the fashion industry. More importantly, why I’m of the strong opinion that Style transcends fashion; always has and always will.
Although I spent a large part of my working life in the retail fashion business, I never really felt a part of it. In fact, during the heady 80s when logos and designer labels were becoming more important than the clothes they adorned, I made a stand. I only bought a line of designer clothing if the manufacturer would agree to leave off or remove the designer’s name or logo from the garment. My customers were not prepared to wear any clothing item or accessory that visually advertised a designer or their logo for the world to see, moreover, nor was I.
Like me, my clients were focused on buying clothes that worked for them, not for the designer or manufacturer. In those days, the fashion coterie thought I was mad. At a time when most fashion retailers were going loco for logos, I was denying them their (often) unearned place of pride. The buying public had been brainwashed into believing that if a designer, their label or logo was deemed de rigueur, the purchase, almost irrespective of what the item was, its quality, design or price, would be money well spent. I did not subscribe to that false belief. At that time, my views, by industry insiders were considered as being out of sync. I guess I was out of fashion!
