...the words did not flow.
It has been a while since I have written anything for both my blogs. Preparing for my OZNZ 2013 adventure was one reason. The trip itself was another. Right after, the pages remained blank because I was just not inspired.
I have always maintained that one should not say or write anything if one has nothing significant to offer.
And so while the fashion world kept on turning, I just found myself in an unusual spot: voxless by choice.
They say that what you need the most will come when the time is right for you to receive it.
And today, it did.
I chanced upon a new DVD release of a fashion themed movie. It was a documentary of sorts of the late and great Diana Vreeland, the uber editor in chief of Vogue. The unique aspect of this movie was that it was largely narrated by Mrs Vreeland herself, recorded by her biographer before her death.
It was like oral fashion history at its best.
As I watched the stories unfold, about her life in the roaring 20's, her passion for the 60's, and her Hollywood connection of the 70's, I realized that she lived.
She LIVED.
It was clear that she was not one to dwell on disasters, and by her own admission, she never really saw much in her life.
But that is a matter of perspective.
She had a mother that made it clear she was the ugly duckling of the family, one who flirted with her boyfriends.
She earned a paltry $14,000 a year as editor of Harpers Bazaar only to be given a $1,000 raise after years of service.
She lost the love of her life, her husband of 46 years to cancer.
She was fired from Vogue.
And yet this woman had a fullness of life that not many would choose to pursue.
She was once in the same building as Hitler. She had her night gowns fitted by Coco Chanel. She claimed that Charles Lindberg flew over her estate. She identified and celebrated the cultural significance of the morally shocking bikini.
Certainly her accomplishments are many. She was the precursor of Anna Wintour and unlike popular belief, she was the first fashion editor in chief to recognize the importance of celebrity.
And so, in spite of the challenges in her life, her roll call of achievements seem to overwhelm.
We must have all shared on some level the experiences she went through. And yet, her attitude towards those life events didn't make her falter. Instead of bending to negativity, she used it to her advantage. She was resilient and a survivor, and yet she never credited herself as those things. She was always about what was ahead, never about the rocks and barbs in the path behind her.
When one truly lives, definitions and descriptions have no meaning.
Mrs Vreeland's stand was also 'never be boring'.
And that alone seems to capture the essence of her spirit. It is the joie de vivre that is palpable that even after her death, and through the screen, it just resonates.
And inspires.
It is more often than not that the world forces its own perceptions and definitions upon you, claiming that the opposite would mean you were worth less.
Not worthless. Just less.
People can't handle originals as well as they can the status quo. They find it hard to embrace change and differences. Individuality, especially in a highly evolving society where one's identity is marked by a bar code, is a commodity used for the masses.
Yet, it is the originals and the individuals that push for change and the acceptance of differences. They force the world to be better, to dream bigger, to learn newness that have never been imagined before.
You see these qualities in people like Steve Jobs, Gandhi, and yes Diana Vreeland.
These people lived their lives with passion. They marched to the beat of their own drum. They had their own style.
And commonly, they were also much maligned.
Being an original isn't something you just write about. It is something you live. Something you are, without apologies. And when it is time for you to depart, you do so with no regrets.
And so the epiphany learned from a fashion icon is this.
I realized that I have apologized for who I am, how I thought, what I chose to be for too long, to appease too many people who, in the final analysis, would have very few lines (if any) in my autobiography if it ever gets written. It then becomes a slow climb upwards. It is unlearning what I have learned, and regaining what I have always known. But most of all, it is living the life that has been destined to be mine from the time of birth.
As Mrs Vreeland says: "There's only one very good life and that's the life you know you want and you make it yourself".
So years after Mrs Vreeland's passing, she is still the lady who challenges people with the simple question "Why Don't You...".
My simple answer is: I shall.
Quotations from Diana Vreeland
“There’s nothing more boring than narcissism - the tragedy of being totally… me. We’re all capable of it. And we all know examples of it - these beautiful tragedies…. I loathe narcissism, but I approve of vanity.”
"You know the greatest thing is passion, without it what have you got? I mean if you love someone you can love them as much as you can love them but if it isn't a passion, it isn't burning, it isn't on fire, you haven't lived."
"Style-- all who have it share one thing: originality."
“Style was a standard. Didn’t hurt anyone… But you gotta have style. It helps you get down the stairs. It helps you get up in the morning. It’s a way of life. Without it, you’re nobody. I’m not talking about lots of clothes.”
"I believe you see, in the dream. I think we only live through our dreams and our imagination. That's the only reality we really ever know.”
all pictures are properties of their respective owners
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