On a historical note, do you think these dos and don’t lists are a spin-off from the “Why Don’t You….” lists that Diana Vreeland put together for Harper’s Bazaar? They were usually very positive if sometimes totally impractical but given her persona, would have been more about getting ideas flowing than ensuring conformity.

As to your question – do people appreciate the ability to not have to think for themselves? – yes, some people do. I have met plenty of people who are terribly insecure about anything that counts as “visual”. I personally think it’s fine and dandy that people who don’t want to think for themselves don’t have to. Just like everyone doesn’t enjoy cooking or whatever. However, I do think negativity isn’t helpful to anyone so this way of putting the “advice” is just bunch of crap.

I agree that I think the fear stems from early teen years for women, a time when girls are hitting puberty and bodies start to change and the pressure to not change ( or to ALL change – either way, to be uniform) really hits. People may not say, “oh, she has boobs, she’s a weirdo,” but if you’re the first girl to develop breasts in your class (or the last), you stand out – and it’s not an age where you want to stand out. So I think fashion becomes a way of asserting some control over that which you have no control – your appearance – and a way of “fitting in” even when you don’t feel like you do internally. Of course, this is also a time when teens are really starting to discover and assert their own identities, and there’s a lot of pressures about being (or merely appearing) too different.

I feel like the media has discovered that these fears can be turned to profitable advantage. Do we blame the artists who churn out new or recycled designs twice a year? Do we blame mags that try to create a digestible statement about them?

I don’t know. But here’s something I DO know about these pressures and this constantly changing list of fashion: I think it is designed to get us to spend money. I used to work in a women’s chain boutique, and we changed our clothing every month. I paid attention and I started noticing things. Not only did the chain change its base every month from a cool-tone to a warm-tone (ie: January might be black with red and tan accents, but then February would be navy/blue/purple, March was always chocolate brown with bright pinks and peaches), necessitating the purchase of new basic suiting separates in order to pair them with the pretty blouses and print dresses (month-to-month the colours kind of clashed), but there was actually an annual pattern to the colour scheme. Knowing this in advance, I used to hit thrift stores to stay ahead of the curve (since, if we didn’t actually wear “the brand,” we had to look like we were) without purchasing this expensive stuff. I always felt bad for women who bought navy suits in Feb only to find that in March, they couldn’t find very many options for constructing outfits unless they bought a new suit in the right shade of chocolate brown. Granted, the clients had the budget for it and didn’t blink an eye, but I kept wondering, if these clothes hold up for so many years, why do you have to buy so many new pieces every month?

this is why I couldn’t do retail, long-term. I hated being a part of an industry that played on insecurity like this, and that convinced people to buy things they didn’t need. I think DO and DON’T lists function the same way. I often wonder, is there a connection between what is on the DO list and who advertises in the magazine? Is there a kick-back?

As for me, my only DON’T’s are DON’T buy a colour that makes you look sick, DON’T buy a silhouette that you are uncomfortable with, and DON’T buy it just because it’s on sale unless you’re actually going to enjoy wearing it, too.