Fashion Snob: (pronounce: Fash-ion Snob). Noun. An individual who partakes in the judgement of others based solely on what they are wearing. Concerned only with brand, status and trend. Most often female.
Fashion. It's a funny old world. Even as a fashion features writer, I sometimes find myself sucked into that world. I walk down the street, analysing and watching; my eyes darting about desperate for a glimpse of the anyone who looks hot. I unashamedly turn around and stare, zooming in like a camera on their bag, their shoes, their hair. My boyfriend knows all too well that I do it: on the tube, in Tesco, or out for a bike ride I hear the refrain of 'Ally, stop it.' And that's when I know I've got to be careful; before I too turn into a Fashion Snob.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that women dress for other women. I'm sure I'm not alone in the elation I get when a friend (or even a complete stranger- bonus points) asks 'wow, where are your shorts from?' As young women, we grew through those awkward adolescent years amidst a background of Sex and the City projecting an idealised yet fictional world of cocktails, Manolos, amazing sex and perfection. Multiply this with the size 0 Zoe-bots plastered through the pages of women's magazines, and the result is a whole lot of teenage angst for the new generation of young women. Women were now expected to have it all. It is, in essence, as though women have turned against each other since the Millennium: the quest for perfection and competition with each other has reached crazy heights. It's been a funny decade for Feminism to say the least. Some say the Fashion Snob has emerged from a male demand for female perfection as a result of the ready availability of internet porn, however, I disagree. The Fashion Snob has emerged from within the female race itself.
Whilst the Fashion Snob is readily available in the dizzy heights of Hollywood, I can guarantee we all know one a lot close to home, too. You would think that in a world of student loans, baked beans and overdrafts fashion snobbery didn't have a place, but it is one that I've definitely felt, even as a writer. I will openly admit that I was by no means the most stylish girl on campus, and nor did I try to be. One too many orange tans, see-through leggings and grey marl t-shirts meant I was nowhere near being crowned a style queen. But, do I really care? In a word- no.
Fashion is what you make it. We live in a world where a new fashion blog pops up more frequently than toast in a greasy spoon café. People are becoming their own personal stylists. Quite frankly, the icy reign of the Fashion Snob is coming to an end.
However, I have a feeling that the new decade (the 'teenies' if you like) will see a move forward from the fashion snobbery I so loathe. In fact, it already has: girl power has come to the forefront of our agendas with the huge success of the London 2012 Olympics. For heaven's sake, even the Spice Girls were there at the closing ceremony.
2013 has had something of a slower start- but surely this can only be expected after the event-rammed 2012. All I can hope is that the democratic lady love we saw last year doesn't fade for much longer...
I'm having an extra large slice of girl power right now.