Jasmine ChangFashion is an essential part of my life. Without fashion, Jas wouldn’t be the Jas you know.
I breathe fashion, literally.
With a mom who dared and loved to wear tight mini skirts with leather boots at her young age (even when the society was still very conservative at that time), it is no surprise where I got my passion for fashion from.
Ever since I had memories, I never failed to be one of the best-dressed girls in school, thanks to my mom.
I was raised to dress pretty, with styles.
My mom was my personal stylist, the best one I’ve ever had.
Coming to the States to study was a life-changing event for me in many ways.
Not only did I learn to be independent and more mature, I also became more style-conscious.
My values were changed. From Giordano to Forever 21 to Abercrombie & Fitch, Von Dutch, Ed Hardy, Diesel, Miss Sixty, Seven, Paige Premium Denim to Coach, YSL, and Dior.
My fashion sense and knowledge were also polished. From having my mom as my stylist to being a stylist myself.
To me, fashion is no something superficial. Instead, it is something about human life.
It is something that reflects and represents people’s daily life.
It is part of the modern history.
Like any other type of arts,
fashion is about aesthetics.
Fashion is about human.
Fashion is very personal.
Fashion is about a person’s personality and the image he/she is trying to present.
It can be deceiving,
but it is still art.
Life imitates arts, arts imitates life.
Fashion is about life and arts.
Like what was said in one of Jolin Tsai’s songs,
“人不愛美, 天誅地滅.”
After all, what is so wrong about making yourself and others feel good?!
What is so wrong about being a pleasant “view”?!
What is so wrong about knowing your physical asset and flaunt it?!
A person who cares about his/her appearance can also be knowledgeable in other things too.
He/she can also be deep.
The old stereotype that blondes/beauties have no brain may not be applied to today’s case.
I am not trying to say how gorgeous I am,
But, I am confident that I am fashion-savvy and not too bad looking.
So, does that make me a stupid and shallow woman?
Received two Master’s Degree of completely different majors from the prestigious USC and studied for 1 ½ yrs in the PhD program of UT Austin,
I don’t think i’m stupid.
Why all these degrees? I guess one of the major reasons is I want to prove to people that beauty/fashion does not equal stupidness.
A professor can be a hottie too! (that is if I had insisted on continuing my phd study and received it…haha…)
A professor can be a hottie too! (that is if I had insisted on continuing my phd study and received it…haha…)
Anyways…
Besides my mom (who loves the color green), the people I encountered also shaped my sense of fashion.
Lu, my good friend back in the TESL program, introduced me to A&F, 7 for all mankind, and Citizens.
Brandon, probably the most fashion-savvy guy I know, influenced how I felt about the color brown.
Andrea, my best friend here, rite now, brought a whole new perspective towards the combination of “black” and “gold”.
Andrea, my best friend here, rite now, brought a whole new perspective towards the combination of “black” and “gold”.
…………………..to be continued……………………..
Jasmine Chang