I can has inspiration?

I'm realizing that inspiration for my personal style doesn't have to hail from fashion-specific media like magazines and blogs, or even from other clothing-conscious humanoids that I encounter at Provo's most renegade coffee shop, which really isn't that renegade. Because I think I'm entitled to the occasional cliche as long as the majority of my content is somewhat original, I'm utilizing the following: INSPIRATION IS EVERYWHERE.

Writing that made me feel really uncomfortable.

No, but really. An example: this picture I took at Zion could translate into a bangin' outfit d'mixed genres. The silvery shmear glinting in the sunlight poses an interesting contrast to the more muted, rustic color scheme of the rocks; made me wanna pair some gunmetal bling with a granola sweater. Ergo, the composition you see below.

Sweater by Love Stitch; bag by George, Gina & Lucy; skirt from White House Black Market; spoon cuff and ring are vintage

Thumbs up to innovation. 

Disclaimer: Don't get too excited, I don't do the selfie thing. Often. 

Closet VIP: The Frye Carson Ballet

This shoe is so soft, it starts to look like your foot after a while. 

Whether that's fugly and gross or not, I'll leave to y'all's personal speculation. As for me, I fetishize this flat. Its obvious virtues like versatility, comfort, and craftsmanship aside, the Carson ballet deserves Marin-proclaimed VIP status because, after a few months of wear, it becomes irreversibly yours, as your one-in-seven-billion set of toe marks become imprinted in what Frye calls its "buttery" leather forever.

The pliability of the shoe bugged me at first. I was like, "what, so you think now that I threw the receipt away you can just go'n morph on me?!" I almost stopped wearing them. The severely stretched out heels and swollen toes, however, (not to mention the two other pairs that I subsequently bought) attest to the fact that they continued to function as a tri-weekly staple despite their misshapenness. 

I think we're often afraid to wear our clothes. Like, I've had a fit before over a stain on my T-shirt. But while it's true that many clothes and shoes look best in mint-condish, I've come to love the toe bulges in my flats, the scuffs on my wellies, the creases in my docs, provided they're not too pronounced or indicative of decay. To me, actually, they're signs of life, signs of human inhabitation. I think fashion is about where form and function meet, and what I love about this flat is that the wear from its functionality becomes an integral, unapologetic part of its form. This flat is a lovely testament to the very organic purpose of the shoe.

Lucky for you (me), they come in just about every color known to man, and in patent leather, too. Order down half a size to allow for warpage. 

I exacerbated my black pair's toe bulges by attempting to wear them with winter socks.

The comment I always get when wearing my coral pair: "Whoa! For a second, I thought you were barefoot!" And then me: "Ha, NOPE."

The sage Carson is surprisingly versatile, assuming you like sage. 

Black pair: Nordstrom, $148
Sage/Coral pairs: 6pm, $45-$70

By Way of Introduction

the mannequin theory: the idea that fashion is about the people under the clothes

In an attempt to argue that fashion = humanity, it may seem naive to equate mannequins and people; the mannequin has no identity other than that thrust upon it by indifferent stylists and bears only superficial resemblance to the breathing body after which it was modeled. Intrinsically, however, a mannequin can become anything. Like us, who, in the words of Miuccia Prada, "compose ourselves every day" through how we dress, the mannequin is a canvas of infinite possibilities. Instead of uniformity, then, I think mannequins manifest the opportunity for creativity, change, and self-actualization that fashion provides to people; that they approximate real clothes-wearers in their inexhaustible metamorphic potential.

I also know, though, that humans don't have the whole "blank slate" thing going on that allows a mannequin to adopt myriad identities. People tote around preexisting memories, values, and cultural expectations that consistently influence their personal style, and that's worth looking at, too.

This blog will endeavor to appreciate all this; to pay tribute not only to clothing, but to how it informs and reflects human experience. This blog is for the fashionista that refuses to believe that his or her obsession with people watching and outfit composition is shallow; that admires outfits for how they transform a person; that admires people for how they transform an outfit.

This blog is for anyone that looks at, and then beyond, clothing.

Welcome to Mannequin.

<3 Marin