GIRLBOSS and I attended Singapore Fashion Week 2016 recently. I am always perpetually tense when I know we have an upcoming event that requires me to look passably fashionable.
I am admittedly not a very stylish person. I find it very challenging to get myself ready and “look the part” for events or fashion shows.
While I feel like I’ve come quite a way since I first started working at FashionValet, I still feel quite underdressed and sloppy sometimes.
However, I have learnt to overcome this with my secret weapon — access to a whole office-full of insanely stylish people who are always willing to overlook my dressing disability and help me out!
Never underestimate the power of a well-dressed and kind-hearted fashion buyer. Her ability to look chic will rub off on you.
After hitting the send button on my “Yes, we will be attending SFW” email, I went over to N’s desk and begged her to help me.
“You know how I don’t dress very nicely, right?”
“Yeah,” she answered. “But you can rock anything you put your mind to!”
“Okay, so can you help me look good for Singapore Fashion Week?” I asked.
Within an hour, N had planned out seven outfits for me to take to Singapore. I only wear one outfit a day, but you always need backups.
She walked me through each look, from which colour dUCk to wear, and the type of black pants (skinny, slacks or culottes) to the versatility of the shoes that I’d be bringing (always wise to make sure the shoes match at least three outfits). After a 45-minute tutorial, I felt armed and ready. I was going to be the most fashionable personal assistant at the event.
I showed up bright and early at the airport and girlboss said, “Wow, you look nice”.
“Thanks, I know”. *Insert manicure emoticon here*. I wore my black pleated culottes, white shirt and off-shoulder black crop top as if I was the coolest girl in the airport. I was doing the layering thing, I was so “fashion”.
DRESSED TO IMPRESS
We made it to the event and my anxiety set in when I saw beautiful people with carefully-contoured and highlighted faces wearing some of the nicest clothes I’d ever seen. Singaporeans really dress to impress. I’m talking Hollywood red-carpet standards, with the flashing paparazzi cameras replaced with tiny individual selfie flashes.
There were women floating by me in silver suits, gorgeous fringed shirts in sky-high heels, velvet dresses and jewels. Jewels! I was wearing a RM15 bracelet from Aldo and wanted to die.
I was sitting next to girlboss who was doing her rounds of “hellos” and “nice to see you”. I was trying to distract myself by going through the gift bag and hoping that no one would notice me. Then after 10 minutes of reading the entire show booklet (ads and all), I looked up and saw a young man in front of me. He was chatting with a few well-dressed women, one of whom wore a glorious turban and bedazzled grey robe. The women listened so intently to him, and he had such an aura of confidence.
And he was wearing a Lego T-shirt.
The most confident person in the room was wearing a Lego T-shirt?
What happened to the universe while I was reading the show booklet?
How could a guy in a simple white Lego T-shirt be the most poised person in a roomful of fashionistas?
More people came up and exchanged handshakes and air kisses with him. They all acknowledged him and he looked as though he was in his element.
I stealthily stared at him for the next five minutes until the lights went down, and the show started. Amidst all the pounding music and Amazonian models walking in front of me, I had a nice, long think.
LOOK UP TO YOURSELF
Why am I so affected by what I wear? Why do I let my appearance control how I feel in front of people I don’t even know? Here was an average-looking man, who is completely underdressed for a fashion show featuring some of the region’s best designers, but had the confidence of someone who just swooped in wearing one of Tom Ford’s best suits.
Could it be possible that appearances should never impact how you feel on the inside? Revolutionary idea, Iman!
I always try to be genuine and self-assured, but it does not always turn out that way.
It is tough being around good-looking individuals who dress extremely well and always look polished and put-together. It is intimidating to be at events with high profile celebrities, fashion designers and well-styled socialites. It can hit you hard in the self-confidence meter.
But I have to learn to put that aside and be secure in who I am, the way I speak and the way I treat others. I should know better than to sell myself short based on how I look. My mama taught me better than that!
It’s an ongoing process and I doubt that this journey of developing self-confidence will ever end.
It now almost seems silly to measure myself based on the clothing choices of other people. But here I am, wanting to tell all the women and little girls that we should never put ourselves down just because we don’t look like other people or are dressed like them.
Wear what you want, look how you want to look, but never beat yourself up for looking different. It took me a trip to Singapore and a Lego T-shirt to give me that wake-up call. I now make my own fashion choices (even though I still go to N and the fashion buyers for occasional guidance), I proudly wear my confidence on my FV Basics bell-sleeved top.
If there is one thing that I have learnt in the one year that I’ve been in the fashion industry, no one should ever have the power to look down on you, not even yourself.
As assistant to fashion icon Vivy Yusof, journalism graduate Iman Azman finds herself thrown deep into the fashion world, a universe once foreign to her. Here, she muses about her work, finding balance in life and shares what it’s like having a front row seat in the fashion industry. Follow her journey on Instagram @iman_azman