FASHIONQ WORKSHOP
by Elaine Geh

The word ‘fashion’ often brings me back to my teenage years when we were pressured to dress like our peers. In my time, shapeless, neon-coloured shirts with jeans and sneakers were the in-thing. Now, it’s hipster jeans and spaghetti-strapped blouses.

If you haven’t got the right physical frame to carry the current rage in fashion, the resulting effect can be disastrous - for the person in question and for others too. But then, what should truthfully be pointed out as indecent or in bad taste, has been hailed as ‘cool’, ‘sexy’ or ‘liberated’, lest you be labelled a ‘prude’ in that social group. Remember the story ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’

I came across an interesting comment in a fashion article on Asian designers, which appeared in Time magazine (September 27, 2004). A designer from Hong Kong had bought a pair of designer shorts and jacket for the occasion of his grandfather’s 80th birthday. His mother sent him out again to get a proper suit and had this to say: ‘It’s not about you…..dressing well is about being polite in society. It’s about respecting others.’

I can empathise with the mother, but a part of me believes that we have to be comfortable with what we wear too. Surely, dressing well is about wearing clothes that fit the person?

It was at the Fashion Q workshop on October 30 which the Family Enrichment Society (FES) organised recently, that this apparent discord was resolved.

The brochure promoting the workshop promised a makeover in a natural way, by enhancing our femininity through self-confidence and awareness. Now, why would a full-time home-maker and mother of three or soon to be four be interested in participating in a workshop like this? After all, the two other home-maker friends whom I had invited to join me for this occasion had turned it down flatly, without a second thought. A decent blouse or T-shirt with pants or shorts was enough for dressing well. A course on how to handle difficult kids or do your housework in double-quick time would have grapped their attention more. I was tempted to agree with them, but vanity and curiosity over my own dress sense thus far, got the better of me.

It turned out to be a most enjoyable and enriching afternoon. The workshop was conducted by two very qualified and fashion consultants – Jo Clary and Anna Tsang. They basically covered the many aspects of dressing such as colour, style and design of clothings, accessories and hair style to suit a person’s body type, colour, skin tone, style personality, face shape and lifestyle. Practical tips also included personal grooming, hygiene and how to achieve economy of wardrobe when travelling, so that every piece of clothing works for you. I wished though that there were more time during the workshop session, in the presence of the experts, to explore the different aspects of looking good.

Anna Tsang’s detailed discourse on the importance of colour in creating a flattering image for each person was one of the main considerations put into practice at the workshop session. Each group in the workshop had to work at achieving a fine balance of all the factors in dressing, to create a ‘dramatic transformation’ for the selected member picked for a makeover.

As luck would have it, my group decided that we would draw lots to select the ‘guinea pig’ and I got picked. To tell the truth, I did not feel myself when they were done with dressing me up. Perhaps an elegant and sophisticated image was the idea, but the fact is that I never wear jackets and the blue-green silk-like jacket blouse was not my favourite colour or choice of style. To top it off, a sash was hung across my shoulders for dramatic effect, but I was too concerned that it would slip off to be able to wear it with aplomb. I felt that I had to become the clothes, rather than the clothes work for me.

Anna Tsang had this valuable guiding principle for dressing right, which she repeatedly impressed upon the participants of this workshop: God has created each of us special. He has given us the body we have and it is for us to discover and enhance the way we look with the right use of colour and design to suit our style personality. Our style personality may be classified as Classic, Feminine, Dramatic, Natural, Creative or Elegant. To determine this, we had all done a short, personal quiz which ran us through our preferences in different aspects of dressing.

It is a difficult task dressing up someone whom you do not know and I walked away with the conviction that we are the best persons to dress ourselves. The real ‘problem’ then is in accepting the body we have and work to bring out the best of our features. Now, that sounds very much like a soul-searching, spiritual exercise. It sounds quite complicated and even lofty, but the advice actually has a practical side to it.

According to Jo Clary, the ‘scary’ facts were that each year, most of us spend an exhorbitant amount of time and money on clothing which we do not wear or wear only once in our lifetime. The amount of money wasted can go up to as much as five figures, which she pointed out could have gone to doing something more useful like helping the needy. It is thus very important that we know what to choose for ourselves when shopping so that every piece of clothing or even accessory is used well through the year. Now, that was valuable advice if you’re on a limited budget and thought dressing fashionably belonged only to the wealthy. Another fact was that our appearance speaks much louder than what we say when it comes to making an impression on others. The Asian designer’s mother must be right in reproaching her son for his casual attitude when it came dressing for his grandfather’s birthday, since the Chinese hold the celebration of longetivity in high regard. Style and personality may be one factor for dressing right, but the other factor in the fashion is the social occasion, which is not to be confused with social pressure.

The afternoon at the Fashion Q workshop was truly satisfying. Regardless of whether you are a young, working professional, housewife or grandmother, I went home convinced that fashion is not about models parading on stage, but real people, individuals who should be proud of the body God has given us and clothe it in the best possible way. Not to do so, would be a disrespect to ourselves and to other people.