Yolanda Mkhize

Yolanda Mkhize

"I've nothing to wear" is almost as common as "does this makes me look fat?" Of course you do, if you have to ask, you are and it does.

Why is it that some people always manage to look well put together while getting well dressed is a mini crisis for others? We can go as far as to say some were born with it; the others, we fear, may never "get it". Is there hope?

The trendy versus the stylish. One of the two knows who they are. There my friend is the trick. The other will look it up, look around and wait for approval.

The stylish decide how the world sees them while the trendy are dictated to, their strings pulled by the puppeteers that are the fashion world.

How one dresses is about how they want the world to see them and how they feel about themselves. Like an artist would on a canvas on any given day, an expression. Hence the crisis.

The stylish might colour outside the lines while the trendy paint by numbers, want to see who is doing what, then follow like sheep. Being a follower takes time and effort and can be right-down expensive.

The trendy have lots of stuff, for the sake of having stuff. They are the "pushers" of brands. Someone sticks their famous name on an uninspired item and overnight it's a sensation, a must have. The decision is taken out of their hands, so: confusion.

Of course, not everybody can be stylish or should be for that matter. That would be like the tree that falls in the forest; if nobody heard it, did it make a sound?

This is not to say that the stylish do not look at trends. They are very much up to date, they just don't fall for everything.

They look with the notion of picking what works and doing what they want with it. They are not dictated to.

They are running the show. Yes, they do enjoy an applauding audience to validate their sensibilities and taste. After all, every day is a presentation. The stylish have an issue with blending in, looking like everybody.

The trendy want their audience to know who they are wearing and how much it cost. They do not wear their clothes, the clothes wear them. They wear someone else's personality, with a name to go with it.

Trends are nothing more than a short cut to looking good, more like a cheat sheet for those who cannot dress themselves. Stylish people enjoy dressing up. To them it's an art form and an enjoyable challenge.

Fashion trends cater to those who have not figured out who they are yet and those who simply never will. So something as simple as getting ready to go out is statement to the world.

Good taste or bad taste, you are sticking it to the world, hopefully portraying the image that you really want to project.

This of course is more burdensome for women because there is so much to choose from. Men always have pants. Unfortunately, as simplified as things are for them, some still manage to get it wrong.

Is style something one can learn? Hell yes. The first step, like with any problem, is to acknowledge the problem.

Some soul searching into who you are inside. Look at your body realistically and understand what suits, fits and flatters it. Make the word "simple" your best friend.

You might want to research what the word elegance means. The word "classy" has been overused and inappropriately, so don't be conned. Lil' Kim says she is classy. The easiest way to get style if it does not come naturally is to look at people who are worth looking up to.