Everyone wears a uniform… be it salesmen with their shirts and scooter keys attached to the hip with their heavy-duty bag packs, or a middle manager wearing shirts with ties and corduroy pants in muted colours, or be it a girl having a fancy cocktail at the new viral bar wearing the glass strapped heels with white toe nails and a polyester blend chiffon midi dress with floral print. We all want to be like each other. We all want to be included. That’s not to say that standing out is not cool anymore- we want to be cool- coolest even- in our own social groups. This ties in with our social standing and status which we take great pride in. To be not like them but us, but better.
Individuality is dead? Not quite? But we are encouraged to be individualistic in our own cliques and circles, making micro changes to ourselves, our hairstyles, our makeup, our accessories, even just the colour of our dress; that makes us think we are different. But we are just like the others for the onlookers. Like a platoon of soldiers that all look and talk and walk and kill alike. But yet there are differences in their skill set, their height, their ability to follow commands to the T and their inner moral compass which might compel them to resign. And do we resign too? From this show of who we are and become who we want to be instead? Go boho, live off the grid, be eclectic… but guess what? There are people like that too. You will just be changing from one clique to the next. There’s not much you can do. Our society is turning towards homogeneity. So, what can you do to stand out?
But why do you even want to stand out? Be the centre of shame and ridicule? fit in, be like us. Be a girls’ girl. The not-like-other-girls is a whole subset in and of itself. You come across as try-hard and a pick me- and no one wants to be that! What is a girl supposed to do then? You can be authentic. You can find niches that coincide with you and some other far-off niche that interests you as well. You don’t have to be a painter, a graphic designer, a writer, a fashion designer in order to be appreciative of the arts and by the artists- you can just be someone who likes to paint but is very good at accounting, for example. You don’t have to be a fashion stylist to create and authenticate your Pinterest boards, you can just have a good eye for design. Being the best at everything- or a pro even- takes the authenticity and rusticity out of what shapes you to be you. It makes you like everybody else. And who wants to be like them?
Well, it’s debatable. There are leaders and then there are followers. The leaders are pioneers of our society who lead people into new trends, inventions, innovations and technological improvements. Followers are not mimickers- well maybe in a technical way, but that’s okay, they bring their own twist to the mix. As is an age-old adage- fashion is not innovative, it is recycled and repackaged for the newer generation; and history is the witness for it. Y2K crop tops and mini skirts, 2000s capri pants, 2010s boho prints, 1980s animal prints are all repackaged in a nice bow and planted back to the zillennials to make it their own. And that’s how we are made to think that what we do is unique, is spearheaded and sky rocketing- but, is it? I don’t want to leave you thinking that you are not unique, for you are, when you quit following trends, trying to fit in or even compete with people. You have one life, live for yourself. Forget the trends and keeping up with the Sharmas.