'Adele is a lioness. She has poise, humour and soul'.
Barbara Tfank
Dear Readers,
If you don't like Adele, then you might as well leave immediately. I'm about to idolise her extensively throughout this post and I don't want to make you feel uneasy.
If you're still reading, then you're a true Adele fan and we should meet up for coffee and rave about how wonderful her voice is. But I warn you, I might digress during our conversation and end up mentioning how Adele has recently become one of the most inspirational style icons out there. As if all her musical achievements weren't enough to prove her awesomeness, Adele bagged two September covers AND *suspense* British Vogue's October cover! Oh, and just in case you're still not convinced, all I need to add to rest my case is that even Anna Wintour recognized Adele's style potential. You can't argue with Anna.
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What I love about Adele is that everything she does seems to be done effortlessly, whether it's music or whether it's fashion. I can't imagine her fretting about her nailpolish or her dresses, and I believe she's declared that she's more concerned with her music than with her appearance. Bless her for that! As Barbara Tfank, immaculate designer who has also designed for Michelle Obama, said, Adele has got that poise, that class and very, very good taste.
As I looked up some Adele images online, I noted that she nearly always opts for black. Instead of experimenting with colour, Adele and her stylists play with different textures, illuminations and structures. Take a look at the pictures below. Adele is always wearing black, but there's always something different in every single outfit.
As much as I'd love to leave the weight issue unmentioned, I can't omit it from the discussion. Adele is not the skinniest girl on the planet, she's fine with that, and that's great. But, can you possibly say that Adele's clothing doesn't match her body shape? NO! We all know that black is the slimming colour, and there's nothing wrong with exploiting that fact. As I've shown you already, opting for the same colour doesn't necessary imply boredom and/or lack of originality. I admire Adele for accepting her appearance and embracing who she is, without making herself look ridiculous. I hate saying this, but sometimes we tend to think that 'accepting your extra pounds' means that we can wear anything we want. That's not the way it works. Stripes, for instance, aren't flattering for someone who's overweight, so why insist on wearing that striped t-shirt? Acceptance of self in closely linked to acceptance of your own body's limitations, remember that.
Thank you God for giving us Adele. I mean it.
-B
"I hate saying this, but sometimes we tend to think that 'accepting your extra pounds' means that we can wear anything we want."
ReplyDeleteI loved this post but can't agree with you on this one. Self-love means knowing you dress up for yourself and nobody else. Which means that you stop wearing FLATTERING things and start wearing things that make you happy. Obviously black dresses make Adele feel good, and it shows in her posture and her face (Although I would LOVE to see her in some navy blue and peacock green).
I'm curvy and I wear striped tops and skinny jeans AND I get compliments on them. I wear shorts too! http://daviniahamilton.com/2011/01/13/please-step-away-from-the-jeans/ Why? They make me feel good, therefore I look good. I wouldn't feel good in hot pants, so I don't wear them. Likewise, I wouldn't feel good simply sticking to black because some people might be offended by the way my belly looks in stripes.
I've very much jumped on board the 'Fuck Flattering' train: http://whatgiselawore.tumblr.com/post/9354921134/giselaramirez-gisela-ramirez-runway-show-2011
Hi Davinia,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment and I apologise if I sounded like I wanted to offend people with 'extra pounds'. I didn't mean to, because I have extra pounds too.
After re-reading that paragraph, I realised I could have explained myself better. I wasn't addressing people who have confidence like you. I was speaking to those who want to wear anything they want but expect people not to react negatively.
I think this issue is very subjective though. I'm all for wearing things that make you happy, because I wear a lot of stuff others would consider 'quirky' or 'weird', but at the same time I think I have to adapt to my body type and age.
Oh and I don't expect all 'overweight' people to wear solely black because I do sound like I'm implying that.