Yes, it’s fashion week

It’s fashion week in Stockholm, and I have yet to utter a word about it. I used to work in fashion, and it was my job to stay on top of all the happenings in the industry and on this particular week especially, I would be running around in my high heels to all the fashion shows. But not this year. I’ve recieved invites, but chosen not to RSVP.

I know some would cut off an arm to get to go to a fashion show. You want to know the truth? It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve spent countless hours subjecting myself to situations that only make me feel bad. It’s not glamorous, it’s not friendly and it’s not all that much fun either.

A long time ago I came to realize that I don’t want to work in fashion for the rest of my life, it can be my hobby but it shouldn’t be something I devote my entire life to. I want to feel worthwhile and I want to make a difference in my lifetime. We only live once and I don’t want to waste my time here on earth telling people what to wear and what not to wear. I want to feel like I am helping people feel better about themselves, which I don’t believe the fashion industry does.

I can hardly stand some of the big fashion personalities these days, their way of describing their world and what is important to them. It honestly makes me sick the way they rage about things. It’s beyond me how materialism can be more important to these people than actually making a difference in the world. I’m not suggesting everyone needs to make it their mission to cure world hunger, but to me, devoting all my time and energy to things makes me feel completely worthless. I can’t find meaning in that.

Sure, I like pretty things too, and sometimes I’ll say I “love” something and post it in the blog as something I’d like to own, but I’m also completely aware of the fact that the best things in life aren’t things. And I know that spending my money on going to visit a close friend abroad, or spontaneously buying flowers for a friend who’s down, offering to buy a cup of coffee or a drink for someone when they’re low on cash, or buying the perfect gift for someone for their birthday, is going to make me feel a hundred times better than the impact something new for myself will have on me.

I’ve spent my time working in the fashion industry, and now I’m going to let it be my hobby – something I write about for fun occassionally, but not something that has overall importance in my life. I’m devoting my life and career to something else, something more worthwhile. So that I can come home from work in the evening and know that I helped someone take a step towards making their life a little bit better.