I Love Fashion, Dammit!

If you read all the fashion magazines, as I do, you know that two of the major trends this Fall are bold colors and menswear. When I noticed them I thought, The two can't be any further apart! However, after thinking about it more, I realized that they sum up the early 21st Century woman very well.

Although there are many out there who believe otherwise, the days during which woman (or anyone else, for that matter) are forced to conform to society's idea of what they should look like and act like are dwindling. Take the two pictures here, for instance. The feminine woman wearing Dior on the left could be a trained mountaineer who's just completed a 35-day NOLS expedition. She might have a solid head for business and be in the middle of negotiations for a huge acquisition or merger. The other woman, clad a menswear look from Marc Jacobs, could very well spend all of her free time on a yacht having a pedicure while her shoulders are being massaged. Running a business might be the furthest thing from her mind and she wouldn't be caught dead on a hiking trail.

As a woman who hikes and loves the outdoors, I cling tightly to this belief, especially when I'm coming home from a long day hike, wearing dirty clothes and muddy hiking boots. On those days, when I ride the subway home and see people's reaction to my appearance, I want to scream out, "I LOVE FASHION, DAMMIT!" But I just hold my tongue and wonder what fashion magazine might be waiting in my mailbox for me when I arrive home.

Buzzing off for now...