F A S H I O N – L I F E S T Y L E
Sultanul Arefeen
Googling the internet on a sunny afternoon, or strolling past a beautiful shoe store, your eyes might have caught a glance of an enticing pair of sneakers. Now you want to impulse buy it. You will be lucky if the same day happens to be your payday, and disheartened if it is not. But life goes on, you start saving up for it, and eventually end up purchasing it. Bottom line is, we love to buy a good pair of shoes every now and then, don’t we? Based on the theme of our wardrobes, we choose the best one there is.
While taking account of the footgear in fashion, there are also certain aspects to be looked upon. The aesthetics of fashion is subjective to individuals. Some may look good in converses with an oversized jacket and pants, while some even pull off a pair of boots with a cardigan and a trouser.
What you wear makes an impression of you to other people. Not a newsflash, but your sense of fashion is interpreted by the people you choose to interact with, starting with what sort of footgear you’re in. Thus, it is important to make a good decision combining the shoes with the apparel. Wearing a ‘nice’ pair of shoes helps create an even better impression of you in a social event than wearing ties of decent shades.
This brings us to the next topic.
Socks. A perfect and precise approach for conveying a non-verbal message to other people, whether you’re on a date, or in a business meeting, the pair of socks you’re wearing can tell a lot about you. You see, the vitals in fashion are found in the smallest of details. For instance, you’re wearing a pair of mismatched socks on a date and the person whom you’re dating gives you a compliment as both your sense of fashion match.
You don’t need to look at charts and statistics to classify the stereotypes of footgear fashion based on subcultures. Try and see if you can identify the following categories:
The Kurta Nomadics
Besides wedding ceremonies and Fridays, this group of minority has grown a liking to punjabis and kurtas and finds pleasure in wearing them regularly. Generally, they prefer wearing sandals (often), and loafers with their kurtas.
The Institutional Casuals
Chances are, you’re a part of an institution yourself. So you have a better understanding of who these people are. The group of people tend to go full casual. Joggers for pants with sandals/keds are good examples.
The Old Schools/Classics
People associating with this category find themselves obsessed with the 70s or 80s fashion classics. They are connoisseurs at identifying classics whenever they visit clothing or shoe retail. They can even be seen on the streets wearing classic (Vans skateboard shoes) or converses with broad denim. In addition, their collection of socks is worth a look.
The ‘Saree’ Libertarians
Intellectual, sophisticated, and open-minded women, who believe in their freedom of speech belong to this particular category. Not only on cultural festivities (Ekushey Gronthomela and Pohela Boishakh) but also casually, these artistic women like to enjoy wearing their mother’s decades-old saree and hang out with their friends or colleagues. Wedge sandals or cone heels are usually their preferred type of footwear.
The Feisty Formals
Not to mention, the people here brainstorm unstoppably. They usually possess the characteristics of an entrepreneur and the formal attire on them only accentuates this fact. Their peaceful and reassuring demeanours make others feel relaxed. The ground is mostly filled with graduates with a bit significant proportion of undergraduates. They go for leather shoes usually, but loafers work too.
The Bohos
Bohos or Bohemians are socially unconventional individuals. These well-spirited, optimistic people of artistic values highly believe in freedom, love, and truth, and tend to make a statement with their minimalism. They aren’t constantly huge on the money. But they are one of a kind. Also, they like being open to interpretations. From sandals to boots, humans from this segment make up for all the eerie corners of fashion.
Whether it’s about making a statement or freestyling, the aesthetics of your fashion will always help you build up your self-confidence.
The genesis of Bangladeshi fashion intertwined with cultural and traditional aspects for footgear reaches far beyond the boundaries of trends and cliches. And the dynamism in fashion will repetitively result in spin-offs. Don’t you think?
Sultanul Arefeen is a poet by nature. He writes poetry and never publishes any. Suggest him to publish them via [email protected]