As a fashion stylist, being invited to view the collections of different brands is a part of my work. Every season we look at the new collections to see what is going to be trending the next season.
Recently I went to a press event that showcased mixed brands. As I looked through the collections from different designers, I caught myself quickly falling into a numbing mode.
Fashion trends tend to repeat themselves, with each brand having their own distinctive flair, where details are added in or taken away each season to mimic change.
Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.
We have devoted so much time, effort, hard work, money and labour, we have abused a lot of lives and nature to endlessly produce fashion, which takes us nowhere but around and around in circles.
As human beings we have not really improved, become more intelligent, beautiful or successful with fashion. We have not evolved one single bit.
The quality that clothes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is. Fashion can be created for individualisation and competition, which is how clothing is mainly created presently in the world, and yet fashion can also be made with the intention that it is for all of us.
We all wear clothes every day, even a newborn baby is swaddled moments after it is born. But what is really going on if we are not aware of the energy of clothing, nor how we may be led by it all our lives?
On this day, as I went through the many different racks of clothing, I decided not to use my eyes to register their value, but instead connected with my heart and felt the quality in which they had been made and were then sending out to the world.
Whether loudly or subtly, some clothes imparted the feeling of female sexualisation, some presented rebellion and anger, others a cushiony numbing of allure, as well as supremacy and competition.
There were a lot of emotions to be felt: these expressions have all been made to be normal in fashion, even heralded as fashionable and (falsely) beautiful, so why were they making me feel uncomfortable?
Even though I felt uncomfortable and wanted to speak out against it, my habit of wanting to fit into this industry stopped me and my head still nodded in casual habit to earn the approval I was seeking.
We are all trapped in what we have told ourselves is a truth, a truth our bodies cannot lie about – and this lie about fashion is that it is all good.
As I stepped out of the showroom, I had a choice: to repeat this again or to make a different choice.
The next day I went to another press event for a brand that I personally like because of its simplicity, and this season their standard of design had not dropped. Without a deeper awareness, I would have said the designs were beautiful. Yet, when I chose to feel into it more, this was not the truth.
Within the simplicity of design there lurked a subtle but undeniable desire to stand out in form and/or even fabric. The design, detail and production were all imbued with competition and comparison. In-truth, none of that is love, and neither is it beauty.
Visiting more events, I see how trends seem to be repeating themselves but in a more extreme form, as no one in fashion would ever want to be left behind.
There is more objectification of women where skirt lengths are now uber mini; checking out from life is rocketing beyond sky-high into space themes; glamorous gown designs are going high-tech and low-budget in material; power suits are now 3-D printed where cleaning can only be done by the atelier. Extreme hours and effort are being put into the intricacy of removing ourselves from real life; are we all lost and perhaps comfortable, hiding in beadwork embroidery?
But are we truly comfortable?
Fashion is an industry that claims authority to lead the way in trends, where we push our bodies to be one step ahead of even time itself. And yet when fashion is created in rush and disregard, and presented with emotions, what is fashion really trending?
When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.
The fact is everything is energy. Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy.
Without being aware of what this energy is we can be easily led and owned by it. If we are seeking acceptance or fitting in with this industry, we override what our bodies feel is disharmonious, for harmony would never dishonour the preciousness of our bodies. And yet rebelling against what we do not feel is true is not the answer either as, in energy, we are still being led, rather than leading the way.
With honesty, we need to ask ourselves how normal this all is, as inevitably truth will catch up with us and our bodies will reflect how we have chosen to live.
In choosing to fit into what is “fashionable,” as designers are we truly vital, joyful and with unending creative ideas that benefit everyone? And as customers, do we truly feel we are enough when we put on the latest piece of clothing? When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?
By Adele Leung, Hong Kong
Further Reading:
What is True Fashion About
Modelling sex in the fashion industry to being truly sexy
Who are you in the latest fashion stakes?
Words on Serge Benhayon 
I have a completely different relationship to clothing now, with garments being more about what will serve me each day to express myself and hold the beautiful quality I feel within myself as a woman, I still feel some days that pull back into wearing clothes for recognition or for the acceptance of others. I have also explored different items in my wardrobe that were purchased before the changes I’ve made with approaching clothing, and I can feel some items were purchased in an energy that was not loving for me and they hold that imprint. When I removed some of these clothes from my wardrobe it also cleared that energy out of my body. It’s an interesting process.
As I’ve changed over the years so has how I dress. I can tell when something doesn’t feel right to be worn or I get a sense in advance of what to wear for the day. Also when it comes to shopping if I go out with a picture I come back empty handed and frustrated. If I enjoy being out I’m more likely to find something that didn’t fit any picture I had but feels great to wear.
Adele this is a great conversation to be having as when we go shopping the shops seem over stocked with more or less the same clothes and I wonder where do all the un sold clothes go? Are they recycled or do they go into a land fill and if so isn’t this a waste of resources? I feel as a society we are very wasteful full stop.
It’s a great expose of fashion and how what we wear could be having an effect on our mood, health and wellbeing in the same way music or food does. The detail expressed about the energies clothes were made in really opened my eyes to what I am wearing and how it has been made.
“inevitably truth will catch up with us and our bodies will reflect how we have chosen to live.”
And even though it may be ouch at the time, always the healing offered is profound.
When you love what you wear there is a spring in your step and your expression through the day is supported. Conversely wearing what you think you should wear to fit in sets the bar for every other expression as well.
‘But what is really going on if we are not aware of the energy of clothing, nor how we may be led by it all our lives?’ Important to acknowledge the energetic imprints that we leave behind in all things and to remember that we are either healing or harming – our responsibility therefore to be energetically aware and understand which we are aligning to.
We are moved by and in cycles, and just like the four seasons, some things become more heightened, more relatable and applicable at specific times, and then something else takes its turn, it is a perpetuation of absolute equalness of the All. With the word ‘trend’ as currently is, what I feel is the complete bastardisation of this magnificent design we are part of, it is moved by a hand tainted with desire to manipulate, to individuate, and our emptiness, which is simply a disconnection from that which we truly belong to, is more than happy to dance to its rhythm.
This jumped off the page as I read your blog Adele
“We are all trapped in what we have told ourselves is a truth, a truth our bodies cannot lie about”
We have lied to ourselves and continue to do so, we cannot blame anyone else for this lack of responsibility towards ourselves and others because we have allowed this to happen. If we were meant to live this way then why do our bodies scream at us that something is wrong? Why do we have such high rates of illness and disease in our bodies if the life we are living is correct? And how much longer can we go on fooling ourselves that everything in life is rosy when everything is pointing to the fact that it isn’t?
Yes Mary – the train has already crashed and at what point will we start to get honest about it? I fear that it is going to take a whole lot more devastation before we are collectively willing to admit the truth.
Thank you Adele, as you have eluded to dressing for our Livingness, takes on a whole new meaning as the energy that we are aligned to brings a deeper focus to the loving way we wear our clothes and how they are made.
If our natural state of being is to be full of vitality and joy, why seek to prove it through fashion or other means? Our natural vibrancy does not need to be covered up with a false one – so, what if we learned to use fashion to enhance and show this natural vitality, joy and beauty within us all – how would this transform fashion? I can see it taking a huge pressure off many in the industry and the need to prove things or compete would fall away.
Thank you Adele, for a great sharing around fashion and all the competition and emotional drama that is tied in with it all too often. And though I am not a fashion expert by any means, I get the strong sense that what you have shared in the fashion industry is a microcosm of the macrocosm happening in the world. So where we can see this in one area of life, we can feel how the dynamics and energy has an impact on a far wider scale. And herein lies the importance of our willingness to see things for what they are.
Yes I would agree, there is a great reflection for us if we are willing to see that it begs the question, what are we willing to overlook for the sake of having the right look? Would it matter if people were under paid for example, or if their work environment was unsafe?
The best way for me to go for shopping is with a friend and a lot of joy. I love to use my feeling to chose what I want to buy as if I am not feeling wonderful and delicate in what I am wearing I would not buy it.
The fashion industry is responsible for 10 per cent of the carbon footprint of the world and being the second greatest polluter of local fresh water. All of this from our obsession with must-have wear and throw-away fashion.
Interesting facts Steve, and is it possible when we are seeing each other as energy first would we not want this to end? And as we would all have our hands in the air with our feet planted firmly on the ground say no to this false energy that tries to make us feel good about ourselves by the use of a false energy that takes us away from our connection to our essences.
Today I went shopping with a girlfriend and we had the best day connecting with each other and with all the shopkeepers. Shopping/fashion can be great fun when we don’t take it too seriously.
Wise words that apply to all areas in life Elizabeth – I will take that one with me today as I get on with work, whilst connecting with people and having fun – thank you!
Does fashion accommodate to our movements or our movements to fashion?
Bringing multi-dimensionality to fashion, that is very much needed, Adele. About time it went beyond image. We are much more than what the eyes can see.
Reading this makes me think of what we as consumers are calling for and how we ‘lead’ the fashion industry in a way by what we accept or even are seeking in clothes and so highlights the worth of our personal relationship with our expression through clothes…
This is a great one to consider and feel when we are wearing clothes. I know I have gone through my wardrobe and culled what didn’t feel true. But also it has been a reclaiming of myself and how I feel in my body and choosing to wear my clothes that confirm this. This is very much a working progress and I love what you have presented here Adele. Very much needed.
Yes, and a totally different way to de-clutter the wardrobe.
‘details are added in or taken away each season to mimic change.’ I’ve noticed this too and it would explain why we can have a simple classic piece and wear it for years and years with just a slight twist or change now and again in what we pair it with – but what might be why this works more so, is the fun of expressing ourselves through what we wear, and not really anything much to do with the latest fashion accessory.
Does my body reflect joy in my clothing? This is a great question and one worth asking as we dress for the day – actually I can feel another wardrobe cleanse coming on.
When looking back at history one can see repeating patterns – rise and fall of nations, of morals and movements, etc. – not unlike to the repetition in the fashion industry you describe Adele. And as with the fashion industry we need to get honest about our purpose.
As fashion is dictated to us by the fashion designers, wouldn’t it be lovely if we truly inspired them through our livingness, and designers put quality and love into their designs first, rather than in some cases the shock factor or sexualising clothes that actually devalue women?
“On this day, as I went through the many different racks of clothing, I decided not to use my eyes to register their value, but instead connected with my heart and felt the quality in which they had been made and were then sending out to the world.” A beautiful reminder of the value of what we feel over what we see, and the integrity of quality.
This is a great and refreshing way to evaluate – after all it is our visual sense that is fed and that we can all too easily give precedence to, over and above the actual integrity of the piece – from its conception to its production.
Getting honest about everything in life allows us to live a true life.
We can inspire the designers of fashion by only buying and wearing clothes that honour how we feel when wearing them.
I love reading this and it’s a wonderful place to go back to my wardrobe and feel what I’ve chosen and why.
These days I have learned to not only look with my eyes at what I like but to feel the quality of the clothing and whether it will support me or at least not wear me down. As with everything in life it is a learning of making everything about energy first and foremost.
I love clothes and the feel of a good quality piece of clothing or handbag or shoe. I feel the difference in investing in shoes that truly support my feet. But recently I am becoming more and more discerning about what is behind a brand and where people are at in the designs they create. Yes there is always an element of wanting to look good, but in some brands it also comes back to the practicality and comfort and the simplicity, which is there for me to discern.
This is how to approach everything in life….”On this day, as I went through the many different racks of clothing, I decided not to use my eyes to register their value, but instead connected with my heart and felt the quality in which they had been made and were then sending out to the world.” No more over thinking or straining our eyes, feel from our heart, it knows.
You can really feel it when clothes are made with the intention of quality with styles and colors that love and complement our body.
We are always ‘in fashion’ when we live from our essence, because when we are true to ourselves we are sexy, sensual, strong and oh such much more.
It is so true, it can not and does not go out of style, It is a classic. A classical beauty is a person who holds their true quality and shines it out and does not get ruffled and swayed by fads and fickle behaviours and ideas. I love the depth of observation in this article and how we can all feel and see more than skin and fashion deep, we are sensitive beings of energy.
That is very revealing expose of what different energies are at play, what the fashion industry is providing us from its perspective. My feeling is the reason this stays stuck, repeating the same patterns, feeding the same energy, is that is what is being demanded. Humanity is stuck in the same, or perhaps more abusive patterns, and fashion is picking up on that energy and then imbuing their designs with the same.
What a wonderful and obviously eye-opening experience it must have been going through the clothes racks while feeling from your heart. If we all did this I get a feeling that our unique sense of fashion where it is all about the clothes, no matter what, will be replaced by using clothes to enhance our inner beauty and our essence; this is true fashion.
I have been updating my wardrobe but this time it is from a place where I want it to represent the essence of me rather than me fit into some image I have decided ought to be me. This new way of shopping and trying on clothes is fun and playful.
It is great to keep refining ones wardrobe. I am letting go of more clothes that don’t feel right for me anymore, not only because of their texture or colour or association but because of all of this, how they feel energetically. Some of them are in very good condition and would more than likely be deemed fashionable. I shall give them to the Children’s Hospice charity shop for I have met several people who have benefitted enormously from the work that is done under it’s umbrella.
A women dressed naturally sexy, classy and in appreciation of herself will always beat the latest fashion what ever it may be.
I love the feeling of putting clothes on that feel completely right for me, it feels so supportive and a great way to bring more of me to the world.
A great article Adele to read as I am about to buy an outfit for a wedding, reading the above comments I feel I pay too much attention to how it looks and not enough to how does it feel, I know the fabrics that I like the feel of on my body, but what suits my body is another thing.
We are attempting to bring the words ‘fashion’ and ‘being who you are’ together, and clothing lines are becoming more and more ‘out there’, eclectic, unusual and genderless in order to ‘achieve’ this, but in all honesty underneath this is the same designers and brands who need to make money from what they produce, and are pushing a particular ‘look’ that people should subscribe to which has it’s own personality. It is also providing an image of what ‘being who you are’ supposedly looks like, which defeats the objective!
I agree Susie, fashion and being who you are do not go together well. It is amazing to see how we love one thing in the 80’s then hate it in the 90’s and then love it again in the 2010’s. We think we are making the choices but if we look at our choices we can see that we are obviously led by something other than only how we feel to express for ourselves.
An expression and reflection of who we are, the way we dress and colours we chose, supports and inspires not only ourselves but everyone around us..
I was admiring the outfit of a colleague today. It was the first really warm day of the year and she was wearing a delicate blue dress – I was indeed inspired by it and felt opened up as a result.
There is a lot of surface change in fashion which we I think we can seek when we want to be distracted from other things in our life that we find uncomfortable or just don’t want to look at… Not that we can’t change our clothes or try out new styles but being more aware of what it is that we’re seeking I think would support us all…
More and more I am noticing how clothes feel when I wear them. The quality and intention behind their design and manufacture can make the most feminine of clothing feel very masculine.
This is an interesting point you raise. Sometimes I find we can spend all this money on new trends that do not actually celebrate our bodies. We hide them in clothes that are trying to be overly fashionable. So this blog is very exposing of what it is to be in fashion and the energy we put on when we dress ourselves.
Its so true – I will stand in front of my wardrobe and then choose the clothes to ‘suit’ how I’m feeling. And depending on the quality of how I am feeling… well you get the logic. So fashions job is to simply mirror what the general feeling is, and its a poor inditement of our current state judging by the kind of clothes that are coming out these days.
Feeling what lurks beneath the threads Adele. Awesome!
Recently I have been getting some clothes made and it is beautiful to design clothes according to what works for my body rather than subscribing to an image of what I think works. The fashion world sells us images rather than truths.
I like to think that fashion can bring out our inner beauty with its different designs, colours and textures.
Fashion to me seems to be a façade and something very superficial – it is a surface layer thing. But we are so much more than what lies on the surface. What if we were to dress from how we felt deep within and not based on what fashion offers – often something that is about being trendy, fitting in or even standing out. Fashion doesn’t offer us to dress and express the truth of ourselves. If we follow someone else’s lead, that’s just not possible.
I am currently learning to dress in a way that feels super supportive for my body and how I feel in my body, rather than how I imagine I should dress.
Sometimes I look at the fashion run ways and go ‘what are they thinking?’
What I find more hilarious is the people sitting on the side applauding- that is the really interesting part, its like why doesn’t someone just get up and say it looks crazy, what is the purpose of this, but its all an act people play.
When we all learn to feel first and stand by our feelings when purchasing our garments the whole fashion industry will change as there will be a market for integrity and honour rather than glamour, status, and protection.
Awesome questions Adele. I’ve always thought I lived independent of fashion trends, but it’s a huge lie. I have absolutely been influenced by magazines, television, catalogues etc. To think I am unaffected by the dictation of fashion would be a gross untruth. The more attention I bring to it however, allows me to be more open to the possibility that I am being influenced all of the time, which then allows me to consider how often I actually dress for me, and how often I dress for others. I’m working on the former, as I gradually accept and let go of the latter.
This is beautiful. In the comfort that we dwell on much is there to be questioned. It is only when we allow our honesty to speak out we can then have a moment to re-evaluate the state we are in, and appreciate what is pure in true essence.
When life becomes disconnected from meaning and truth, it’s parts, drift aimelessly as if on the sea without a purpose to anchor. Yet when we bring love to what we choose to wear it can accentuate and communicate the true beauty that’s there. Our clothes when chosen truly are there to confirm and celebrate how amazing we are, not hide, confuse or confront the way so much modern fashion does. Thank you Adele for what you share here.
It’s amazing when we can feel the subtle and not subtle energy behind all things. This is such an amazing tool to read life with.
Great call out Adele and awesome you are working in this industry so you can bring truth to it. I feel this as well in that there is zero love in the fashion industry but instead comparison, competition and abuse. And my betting is most designers are stressed out working all hours of the day not looking after themselves so then what is the energetic quality being produced. Also when I have looked in magazines or at pictures of women on catwalks to the me clothes seem completely ridiculous and I think who on earth is seriously going to wear that anyway. In some cases it is the more ‘extreme’ they are the designer thinks the ‘better’ they are.
I love how you offer us the expansion in feeling into how clothes feel like in regard of the production. The obvious is for me in actual fashion ( not high fashion catwalk), that a womans body is not honoured in its shape and grace. Most of the clothes are oversize so that you can´t see any curve or any movement from the female body. But we have to be honest here- women are buying this and demanding this, otherwise the fashion industry would not be able to produce and sell it. So actually it comes back to us, what do we demand , that gets supplied by the fashion industry ?
Like all facets of life fashion and how we dress is a very interesting part to look at! It reflects everything- I love fashion in a sense, that I am very aware of what I am wearing and what colours match, how I feel today, I have a good feel of what clothes suit me and which not etc. Years ago I was wearing clothes just for me, to stand out, to be complimented, as a way of protection. Now, I tune in, what do I need today/ what supports me to be in my full power for me and in effect for others. It is a total different way to get dressed in the morning and the talent to be dressed beautiful is shared for everyone.
Now that I am more aware of the quality in which we live is a marker in how we choose to dress the ideas have slipped away on what is currently fashionable to wear and what truly serves another to feel the quality I am living. Clothing is no longer a statement but a walking example of how we are living in each moment.
What beautiful awareness to bring to the fashion industry. And what a great way to shop – connecting to the clothing and feeling what it is imparting. Then we can make a choice if we want to wear that and walk around effectively being an advertisement for that brand of clothing.
As we begin to remember the fact of energy and become aware that everything is energy first and foremost we begin to feel the multitude of forces that abound in our world. When this comes to clothes, are we fully aware of the impact this has in how we feel about ourselves and does the energy the clothes wear make an on impact us?
The fashion industry is a reflection of our society, whose repetitive fashions stem way beyond clothes…
This is a great article Adele, although I feel I have my own style and have always worn what I like which may or may not be the fashion of the day, I have not really felt into the energy of the clothes I buy, I have avoided cheap clothes that were obviously made in sweat shops, but apart from that if I liked the look of it and it kind of fitted well, that was all I went by. From now on though I won’t be so quick to wear something without feeling how it feels.
A great article Adele, giving me much to ponder on especially since I have recently gone through my wardrobe and discarded a lot of clothes, now I am going back to look at what is left and rather than use my eyes as first and foremost I will feel much more the energy that is in the clothing.
Fashion is a cycle, a moving loop that repeats itself. We constantly think we are breaking new ground, setting trends, but as the article exposes, we are not. People that are affected by this world think they are missing out if they don’t have this or that, so if the current concept of Fashion is leading the way, what are they leading us? To breed a society that constantly consuming? People that are never satisfied, in an industry that solidifies the objectification of women around the world? Anyway, all of the above may be true but if it is, then it is even more important to put ourselves smack bang in the middle of it, if we feel we are able to hold a sparkle and a light amongst the darkness that is. There is no point in reacting and staying out of it, if we do this, the industry will not change. Bringing all of us is all that’s needed. From the outside, it may appear you are just another part of the industry but if you hold your quality and keep bringing it to all your relationships, you are already exposing the industry itself, without lifting a finger so to speak.
You have inspired me Adele to bring more awareness when I go clothes shopping, to not be hooked by what my eyes are seeing but to feel the energy and to buy what is true and more supportive and honouring of me.
Letting our heart lead the way and wearing the colours and styles that we are naturally impulsed to is empowering and honouring our expression.
“In choosing to fit into what is “fashionable,” as designers are we truly vital, joyful and with unending creative ideas that benefit everyone?” – what about choosing fashion to be what inspires, supports not only the person wearing it but also everyone else.
It was fascinating to read your blog on fashion Adele and understand how there is always an energy behind everything, and how important it is to be discerning when we purchase anything.
To stop and feel the quality, (or not) that clothes are manufactured in, is a stop moment. ‘Imparting the feeling of female sexualisation, rebellion, anger, a cushiony numbing of allure, as well as supremacy and competition.’ To know that we are wearing this when we wear the clothes, is a second stop moment. If everything is energy, then taking into consideration the energy something is made in is important.
We can get drawn in by how something appears on the surface to our eye but our whole body registers all that comes with the ‘pretty picture’ so to speak. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with something looking good to us but that if we get caught just on surface looks we can be ignoring other aspects that the rest of our body is picking up on…
I can imagine as a fashion stylist, you would be flicking through collections thinking same, same, same then finding something different and feeling the buzz of excitement. This is like the hook of buying the new clothes, car, holiday, treat but finding that it doesn’t last. Fashion is part of the roller coaster we get on in life when we don’t have a steady appreciation and valuing of who we are inside, before anything outside ourselves.
When we connect and live from our essence we dress accordingly not to what we want to look like to impress another but to offer a reflection of what everyone is capable of living when in connection to soul.
It is deeply revealing to bring honesty assessment to our lives for we can so easily assume progression in a society of feats of materialism when all the while, we have the same issues present of old, and have too readily accepted a much lowered standard within society which guarantees we will not truly evolve.
We are each pure and divine love deep down to the core of us, so with anything we produce such as the garments we use to clothe ourselves, if they do not match this essence and naturally showcase it, we are left with a garment that disguises it. This is how we have come to walk around with seemingly attractive ‘suits of lead’ and confirming each others chosen protection based on how attractive we deem the ‘outer’ layer and the degree to which we have chosen to hide and thus want all others to hide so our true beauty is not exposed. In other words, we have sought comfort in our own creations that keep us expressing far less that the stupendousness we all are and all come from. This is not to say we have to all dress in ‘over the top’ clothes but more so dress in a way that enhances our inner light and does not hide it.
This sharing shows that there is a possibility to look at fashion in a much more honest way. We are not ‘fashion victims’ unless we choose to be – and clothes can be very confirming of where we are at. Sure trends come and go, but it is also being discerning about the trends and choosing clothes that are truly us rather than a picture.
Hem lines can go up and down and colours can be ‘in’ or ‘out’ but who you are within yourself is your choice to know who you are and to move in a way that confirms this truth.
I often wonder when I see the latest fashion if the clothes are really designed with the beauty of a woman’s body in mind or that it is all about making the strangest looking, most outstanding patterns and most shiny coloured clothes – in other words is it to be known in the fashion world or to truly fit well and feel beautiful when we wear the clothes, knowing that to be able to do this the whole fabrication process matters and has to be loving and caring too.
I have found a really cool way to shop is to feel with my body which stores to go in and let my body lead rather than my eyes and what they see first. Our eyes and senses can be overwhelmed with noises, smells and such as shopping centres can be using many means to entice shoppers in to buy and yet when we take a moment to consider our bodies we have a different gauge as to what feels supportive and what doesn’t. We can observe and learn a lot more about energy and the way in which we shop and the production of clothes just by allowing our bodies to connect in a more honest exploration of an industry we all are a part of in some way.
I agree kellyzarb, I find clothes shopping overwhelming at times and there are many I avoid going into because they feel way too chaotic. These days I enjoy the fact that I have the option to shop online.
When I wear clothes that feel true for me to wear in that moment nothing can get in. I may feel another’s jealousy or judgement with what I am wearing but the feeling of knowing that the clothes are true for me gives me the confidence to brush off what is coming my way.
Although getting honest is not really fashionable these days, each movement in this direction is a feast for all of us!
For me one has only to see and watch most of the models who show off the clothes to know the condition of the fashion industry, it is not pleasant.
Movements give away the quality that one lives within and how sold in and out we may be to the populace rule of the day.
“When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?” A great question Adele. Having never been one for fashion because of the constant changes in lengths of skirts etc. which i found frivolous. I just wear what I like and what i feel comfortable in, none more so than with shoes. But to be a supplier of fashion there has to be a demand.
When we are lost and feeling stranded we look out for things to instruct and guide us. What to wear? How to dress? How to understand our place in the Universe? We tend to look around at what others do and copy what they are up to. And so we get prizes and are awarded for being the best copier there is. But none of this addressses or changes the fact that we are lost in the first place. The fashion in this world is to run away from this fact. If we stopped and connected to who we truly are we would know exactly what shirt to wear, what colour shoes, what way to walk and what to choose – it all flows from the greatest stylist there is – God. Thank you Adele for highlighting the crazy way we are in this world.
Lately I have been having a bit of a “wardrobe crisis” in that most things that I put on do not feel quite right. I feel this is because I have changed and so my clothes need to keep up with me.
This has just happened to me also! What I have noticed is that when going through my wardrobe and deciding what stays and what goes, there seems to be a real battle with what my eyes see and what my body feels. That is – I look at it on me and think that looks fine, but beneath that something in me is squirming because although the garment may fit physically and look pleasing to the eye, it does not fit energetically and is causing a tension and a discomfort at that level. Perhaps I need to put the garment on, turn towards the mirror and close my eyes so I can deeply tune in to how it actually feels on my body! Perhaps my ‘mirror’ is not the glass I stand before but something deep within.
Thank you. I have been doubting keeping some of the clothes that I have bought and your comment along with this article is confirming to me that it is how these garments feel that matters and that I do know when something really doesn’t belong….and of course this goes for more than just clothes.
Fashion seems like a pretty easy topic to give our power away to – by that I mean – we can often look to magazines and brands to tell us how to dress. So no matter where fashion goes, we follow it. But what I love here Adele is how you bring in the energy behind fashion – as everything is energy – and when we actually feel into what supports us and what does not, the brands we choose may be totally different to what is on trend.
There is a deep feeling of–it has to be like this in the fashion world. We know many things are not right but because we need acceptance and approval in the industry, this is the only way. But is this really love? And if there is no love in this industry will we ever truly step up and evolve? This is not only a question for the fashion industry but to all industries and the whole world, if we do not live love and reflect this in all the areas we want to be accepted in, will there ever be love in our lives?
Clothes and accessories worn with true elegance and grace are not at all dependent on the cost we spent on them.
Powerful, true and wise statement Adele, thank you;
“With honesty, we need to ask ourselves how normal this all is, as inevitably truth will catch up with us and our bodies will reflect how we have chosen to live”.
I use to struggle every time I go shopping for clothes. I don’t enjoy it very much and now I realise that this struggle is in fact taking place behind every piece of clothing I try on. Now that I know that everything is energy, I understand what is being played through fashion and how this can affect me when I want to buy a piece of clothing if I’m not aware enough.
We can choose to dress up in the way we like. Obviously, the way we choose has an impact on how we see ourselves and other people perceive us (that is why fashion is always a booming industry). It is, unsurprisingly, all about following and producing an image. That notwithstanding, fashion cannot change how we feel about ourselves. It can only help to dress it up.
It’s true Adele, fashion is an industry that claims itself an authority in leading trends. It is very refreshing to hear such an honest account and accountability for the industry that in truth dictates nothing but an image, loaded with any number of ideals and beliefs about how we should be, look, behave etc. There is no true authority in that as each woman is her own authority in what it is that is a true expression of her beauty and value.
Fashion seems ridiculous to me – don’t get me wrong – I love clothes – but as you say how can a multi-billion pound business be truly successful when the clothing produced does not support people in a) their growth b) their empowerment c) feeling joyful. Our clothes need to support us in every single way – after all they are with us with every step we make.
‘The fact is everything is energy. Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy. Without being aware of what this energy is we can be easily led and owned by it.’ The feeling of something is so essential to consider. We can be easily fooled by the look and design of fashion trends.
“Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.” This is an interesting statement as trends relating to fashion do go around and around, so the energy that surrounds it is very cyclical.
People can dress to the 9s with the most expensive clothes but yet still feel empty and incomplete, like it is a facade, (models walking down a catwalk comes to mind right now) – whereas another can be dressed in inexpensive clothes and accessories and feel vibrant, inspiring and look a million bucks.
When we divorce one part of life, from the rest, it drifts like a rudderless ship away from the truth. Like a photo you take and distort in a computer, things get very ugly when we attempt to play God. When we focus on the surface of things as the fashion industry does, without accounting for the energetic facts, our days become very ill fitting indeed. Your words here Adele remind me to live life knowing it is all one and not separate in any way.
I loved the point you made here Adele ‘Fashion trends tend to repeat themselves, with each brand having their own distinctive flair, where details are added in or taken away each season to mimic change.’ Fashion does go around and around in cycles, and its aim is to make money by supply and demand, we all demand it and they supply it, but what exactly are they supplying us with, because it is not our need for clothes it’s our need to be disconnected from the world, or distracted from what really matters.
The best fashion trend is when we wear clothes for what others need to feel and see, it is a reflection of who we are expressed in our fullness offering an inspiration to others to be more and move in a way that also reflects their beauty within.
The clothes we wear, like the food we eat are a great barometer for the way we live. We currently praise the look, the changing shape, and are very keen to get everything discounted cheap. But what your words remind me Adele is that as long as we ignore the energy and quality with which clothes are made, we will end up paying a very high price indeed. While we walk around sporting heaviness, greed, sleaziness and self-loathing on our sleeve, what chance has our true quality got to be expressed?
Adele I loved your line here ‘When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.’ Because something may look wonderful on a hanger or in a magazine, from my own experience the items that I have bought that really have a quality feel to them I have loved and the ones I purchased because I thought they looked good, ended up just hanging in my wardrobe, it proves we feel more than we see.
The more we live true to ourselves the more we can feel what clothing supports us or not. Our clothing needs to reflect who we are and not be something that imposes on us.
I was shocked the other day when a sales assistant started telling me how trending the shoes that I was trying on were, as if that was what was the cause of my hesitation in buying them. Shocked because in that moment I got a picture of myself in a certain situation where I was fitting in yet standing out at the same time, I was trending. It felt like being in another world for a split second, a world where the superficial is what counts, who is wearing what and if it is up to par or not etc,. The shoes were very comfortable but a very pale colour so I was concerned as to how I would keep them clean. I bought them because they felt good on my feet and let miss practical take a second seat. I actually love the way they support me to walk as a woman.
I can feel how if we are choosing what we wear based on wanting to fit in or be wearing the latest trends or be different, unique in some way, or following the crowd we will be owned by the energy and quality in which the clothes were designed and created. By if we choose what to wear from feeling what will support us to express our beautiful, divine selves – from connection to our bodies, from the inside out, the energy that comes with the clothes cannot touch us, in fact it is instantly cleared and replaced with our own quality and energy. Then our clothes will truly support us and not bring us down.
It is good to get your view on where fashion is going Adele. If there is a trend even a small move towards a loving sensitive fashion industry that is a start.
There is much more going on than meets the eye, and what you present is that anything we create, or even anything we do will carry the quality of how we are when we were doing it, for example frustrated, as well as the intention in the product, for example being better than others.
For a while now I have felt that how a person cooks affects the quality of the meal and coming back to this article I am reminded of what am I choosing to wear? it’s not just the colour, fabric, style etc but also the energy and emotions of the producer and the collective energy of that brand that will also be on my body. We wouldn’t put on a suit that was soaked in chemicals that could possibly burn or seep into our skin but what if we do just that by wearing certain energies that come with clothes?
This article is so very exposing of the energy behind the fashion industry, this is not just about the end result, being the clothes, but a telling insight into how they are designed and produced. As each of us openly begins to feel how the garments we buy feel and with the knowing we then have, live in them with the depth of quality we hold within, we begin to ask the world for clothing with integrity and quality that matches what we live.
Adele, I can really feel that the more awareness you choose to live in, you are just by being in these fashion events, bringing a new level of truth and love that the fashion industry needs.
‘Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.’ Yes indeed – and we could say the same of pretty much everything man comes up with. We are not operating in co-creation with the divine, we are creating for our own purposes, usually driven by greed or desire for recognition and identification.
Adele you are a blessing in that industry… exposing it for all it attempts to manipulate and corrupt us with. The more you speak up and out and bring awareness to the illusion, the more that people are able to see and become free to choose wisely.
It’s really calling us to be more aware of what we’re choosing. But this awareness isn’t something you can simply tap into without the practice of living everyday for you and not for others. We can only feel what’s going on when we are connected to ourselves…and here lies the challenge. Why don’t we choose to remain connected to ourselves in every moment? For me, I know I avoid this connection often, simply because I don’t want to feel my responsibility in the world.
Thank you Adele for the interesting and informative insight into the fashion industry, as it is today, and the way in which you bring honesty, truth and love into the industry; an inspiration for us all.
This is a brilliant article on energy and how it can be felt in the clothing that we produce and wear. Fashion labels respond to the supply and demand that humanity is calling for and unfortunately the current demand from humanity is to stand out from the crowd by wear something “special” that will fill the emptiness that is inside, wearing a designer label that leads us to believe we will be truly happy in our lives if we wear it, wearing provocative clothes that tells us we are guaranteed to get the man/woman if we wear it etc. It is all of our responsibility to deal with our hurts so that we do not allow fashion or anything else to take us away from feeling how truly beautiful we really are.
The garment we hold in our hands or wear upon our body is the end product of a series of movements that all have their source in only one of two energies – either it is of the love that we are, or it is all that opposes it. Therefore, we choose our attire to either showcase all that we are or, all that we are not. The former is transparency, the latter is a great hiding.
We are so easily stimulated by the new and different, but as you say Adele is the energy really new by which a product or service is offered in? Does the product support us in living authentically and expressing who we truly are? This is a whole different way of feeling and looking at life.
This shows that there is more to our clothes than just cloth and clothing ourselves, or having something nice to wear. Reading the energy of the manufacture and the energy they were created in, clearly shows that the clothes have the ability to keep us stuck where we are at or assist us to move forward. It proves that there is more to buying an item of clothing than how it looks on, and that we can be affected by clothes if we do not discern first the energy it comes with.
It’s funny how we have created this industry where clothes not only change with the seasons, which is understandable, but they change just because a certain style, cut, fit or colour is now the ‘trend’ or said to be ‘in’ for no discernible reason other than someone has said so!
Adele you are a blessing to the fashion industry. Truly. How many people within this industry are discerning to even give themselves a moment to stop and feel the truth and energy about a item of clothing other than it ‘looks’ good. We can do this with anything not just fashion, food, a workplace, a room the list goes on. And also what about all the abuse around the world of people making the clothes, some in really poor conditions with a really low wage. We certainly have a lot to heal when it comes to fashion and image.
It is fascinating how fast paced and busy the fashion industry is. As I read this I was thinking back to when my Nana would knit us jumpers or make us clothes- there was such a simplicity to this but you could also feel the great deal of love and care she took when she did this. From the colours she would choose for each grandchild to the effort she put into knitting. They were some of my favourite jumpers. A very different feel to the fashion industry vibe. What I did like was the simplicity of the life that also came with that.
I am not opposed to fashion- I enjoy lovely clothes but can feel how you can lose yourself in this if you do it for the look and not in honouring and connection to yourself.
I love how you said that you decided to use not just your eyes to register the value of the clothes but instead also tuned into and felt the energetic quality that they came with. It’s easy to be taken in by something visually but there is often so much more than meets the eye going on!
Thank you Adele for a great article offering us a deeper way of connecting to our clothing, there are some clothing shops that I just don’t shop at because of the disregarding energy and standard of clothing. I am understanding to feel more deeply into how I feel in the garments instead of only choosing how they look.
What a beautiful way to connect to our clothing – “feel the quality in which they have been made and then send out to the world”. Are we wearing our clothes for image or for the quality we feel when we wear them? Does the clothing match the quality we are and does it support us in expressing ourselves? Or are we looking to fashion for it to be a certain something?
Fascinating Adele, I love your last line… “When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?” No amount of ‘fashion’ makes up for not living the joy and fullness of who we are from within. I know I have tried to do this for many years and while I thought I loved the clothes and dressing beautifully, I never felt like I matched it. Today I feel it on the inside, and usually no matter what I am wearing, I feel beautiful. I spend far less than I used to, and I need new clothes less often than I used to.
Thank you Adele for offering us the opportunity to consider if the energy or quality in which we choose what to wear, is to confirm who we are and the love we hold for ourselves, or are we in separation, in resistance to our love holding a lack of self-worth through which judgement, competition, comparison, needing attention or seeking to hide ourselves is the driving force behind what we choose to wear.
It is true that everything is reflecting everything all of the time.
The clothes we choose to wear and how we wear them is reflecting the love and value we place on ourselves and whether we are prepared to showcase this for all to see.
It is true fashion just goes around in circles, and many years ago I had a conversation with my mother who made a comment that the trousers that were popular at the time were around in the 50’s, and at the time I did not believe her, but now that I have had many cycles of fashion observations, she was a 100% correct.
It does seem that even reading the history books fashion was popular and you have those who could afford the latest trend and those who could not – not a lot has changed.
We cannot make everyone work/design with Love, but we can be aware of what we are choosing to buy and to wear. We can acknowledge that what we pay for and put on, frequently does not reflect love. We can also choose to accept this is the way our world is because of the choices we have collectively made. And we can also choose then to change our ways if we so wish. We can only choose Love one moment at a time, from one person’s choice reflecting to another person. This is the short answer to Love in fashion and in every other industry in the world.
Throughout human history the cut of our garments may have dramatically changed. But the nature of our relationships still appears to be much the same. We can show off our latest star spangled top, but if the conversation we just had with our Dad was loaded with frustration, anger and rage, have we really changed? For so long we have said ‘I’m ok’ ‘I’m doing well’ or ‘I am great, thank you’ – but is this the truth? Or is it like a pretty coat something we drape on top to cover up what we feel underneath? Today I am feeling what a different world it would be if the latest trend became to honour and cherish our sensitivity. I feel like then our whole life would have so much more colour, texture and flair. Thank you Adele for what you share here.
The fashion industry is waking up to what is deeper than superficial beauty and glamour, this has taken us a long time and we still have a long way to go, but we are waking up back to what is Love. What is true love might not be marketable nor does it sell like hot cakes, but it is what truly sustains and expresses true beauty in design and expression, as it is simply who we are.
I love feeling what I want to buy. Some things feels flat even though they might be looking great. When I do buy something that feels great it feels great on me as well.
We dress to either celebrate the beauty we are or we dress to mask it. Therefore it makes sense that we choose garments that support the choice we have thus made as to whether we will show the world the love we are, or not.
There is so much that is written about the fashion industry, so what you are sharing here Adele is that it is all of our responsibility to look beyond the glossy pics, the colourful catwalks and feel more into what is right for us around fashion.
This is by far the most beautiful and authentic article i’ve ever read about fashion.
I’m curious. What do you think it would take to change the sort of energy you currently see in the fashion industry? What sorts of things do you think clothing should speak, or feel like, and what could that look like in design?
The simplicity to that Alissa is true love. This love begins with caring for ourselves. How we live our every day, the choices we make in our lives. Do we allow ourselves to override the body’s natural needs such as rest and true nutrition, how are we conducting our relationships in general? How we are with ourselves and how we choose to live and therefore be with each other, would 100% impact on how we create, design, style, mode etc. It is the quality that we can all feel that truly matters, and the fashion industry is waking up to it. Have you heard about True Tees? http://www.adeleleung.hk/copy-of-true-tees-1
Reading this article it confirms to me that there is more to life than meets the eye.
I totally adore your article here and I get it completely. The fashion industry is just as deceiving as the music/entertainment industry it leans toward peer pressure to dress a certain way. I started out studying to be a fashion designer but now am doing fashion consulting. I said all that to say I totally agree with your outlook its all about energy. My business also is about creating outfits for women with little time but also have a desire to look good within their budget. Sustainability is important also in the world as it should have been in the recent past but we are catching up. I appreciate that someone has your opinion in this day and age, I know I totally dated myself. BRAVO for sharing !!
Fashion is absolutely nuts, no one would wear 90% of what is shown on the catwalk. Nothing about these wild and extravagant pieces of clothing compliments our natural grace and beauty and supports us to feel at ease in our own skin. They hide and cloak us rather than supporting us to be amazing, warm and loving and open human beings.
I totally agree on that too!
Imagine clothes that were actually made and designed to help us feel amazing – that would be so ridiculously cool…
This post is so powerful. I realized behind fashion garments was truly energy when I graduated from fashion design and worked in a CMT environment. Being exposed to the production process everyday and the lives of the people making the clothing opened my eyes in a different way
Absolutely brilliant to hear you share that.
Well said Doug – it has all been done and produced in one form or another over time. We see this clearly with the cycles of fashion, likewise the cycles of life returning to the same point repeatedly.
Whether we live our truth or not is expressed and felt in all that we do – the fashion that is created and promoted forth, our choice to wear particular clothing styles and labels and how we choose to dress will express our lived quality and expression.
‘…rebelling against what we do not feel is true is not the answer either as, in energy, we are still being led, rather than leading the way’- this line so beautifully encompasses the daily choices we have the opportunity to choose. Recently I noticed how I was in reaction a lot of my day. But rather than my usual belief that I had to work it out, had to spend time resolving it adequately, what if it was as simple as coming back to me, re-connecting and being given whatever insights that were necessary for me to let go of the reaction. The choice to connect to the quality of energy that nourishes me rather than poisons me being enough.
Trends and particular looks come and go but as you have shared Adele they are definitely are based on the same patterns of the past.
Honesty is the quality that brings the reality to light and untainted by our desires, what you share here in true honesty is the state of fashion, and our need to escape reality in this. It is our choice to play ball or be honest and real, speaking up showing us all the way.
Very insightful post on fashion. Rather than focus on trends and what is considered to be fashionable, you dug deeper into fashion's true meaning. Its time to make expectations of fashion less shallow and more relatable. I discuss these issues on my blog http://www.ourconversationpieces.com
love love love it
Great question to ask: are we truly comfortable? On the one hand we can go for the usual preferred choice and feel comfortable with that, but are we truly comfortable in clothes whose very creation came from competition, comparison, needing to be better, more stylish, and more unique?
There are so many beliefs about fashion that I carried, when it came to matching colours. There was an idea that I fed myself that if my outfit did not match I couldn’t wear it, even though I wanted to wear a combination of those colours at once. This often left me feeling not so great in the choices I made each day. This blog is a timely reminder of how fashion trending or beliefs are just that a single moment that has been captured as the be and end all when it is far from everyone’s individual expression.
Brilliant point Adele… ‘Fashion is an industry that claims authority to lead the way in trends, where we push our bodies to be one step ahead of even time itself. And yet when fashion is created in rush and disregard, and presented with emotions, what is fashion really trending?’
I am not quite sure if I would say that as a humanity we have not evolved one single little bit, but I get your point, and perhaps such a grand statement is required in order to shake us out of our apathy. For in many areas the truth is we have not evolved at all, especially if you look at life in terms of relationships.
In a recent fashion show of a high fashion brand, I saw the models smiling–yes, on the runway.
Often even the more expensive clothes are still manufactured in more or less the same way off the same factories in China. There are few clothes these days you buy otherwise. And if you find these they are often either too expensive or not quite the style that suits you. I find it is very very very important to claim the clothes for you and wear them your way that suits what honours you and your body. It reimprints the feel of the clothes and it often amazes me how even simple clothes can look so damn good when you claim them from you.
On point like this X
Well said Brendan!
It’s something ironic that in areas like fashion and art that promote the idea that what they are about is self-expression, colour and character the whole thing is actually a method for us to hide and conform. For while we pursue these surface entertainments without considering energy it allows us to wear a mask and to camouflage our true quality. Imagine if walking down the road flaunting the real you, no-holds-barred became the new ‘in’ thing to do? Well, the way Universal Medicine and it’s students are going it will be very soon. Thank you Adele, for this clarifying blog and choosing to dress in the Love that is you.
The fashion industry is based on telling you how they think you should look, with constant change to keep you coming back for the latest ‘in’ thing. True beauty is when you connect to your own inner beauty so that you reflect who you are before anyone notices what you are wearing.
I would really love some fashion advice. I have written my plea in my latest blog! hah! 22 year old who never knows what to wear! HELP
The best fashion advice is to know who you truly are. When I teach fashion in community college, I always remind my class that first and foremost, we are “Born Awesome” and from there we re-discover this truth about ourselves and the expression of fashion comes from there. When we know who we are, we will always know what to wear.
That’s lovely thank you
It’s more than what we wear and presents to the world as fashion styles do go around and around. But when fashion is used to explore our own unique expression instead of the opposite then that would be stylish.
Undertaking such a simple process of wearing what WE feel like wearing as opposed to how we want to BE seen is very revealing.
“The quality that clothes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is.” The quality we choose to be in is paramount in absolutely everything we do from the moment we wake up until the moment we lay ourselves down to sleep.
the revelation that we have not evolved at all would be shocking to many, and probably reviled by the rest… But this inescapable truth must be faced and felt and understood if humanity is going to move and involve at all.
For me, I wear what ever I want, I don’t really care what’s fashionable or so I might think, as much as I feel as if I am making my own choices, my taste does change with the seasons and I do find myself wanting things that I see on Pinterest and in Magazines. I still do it my way but its interesting how affected we actually are when we look into it.
The decision on what to wear can be an expression of self-love or an end product of media manipulation…. amazingly simple … thank you
I believe that these days the power of media manipulation is slowly decreasing the general ability of expressing one’s creativity.
I agree with you Adele, it is very easy to get ‘caught’ up in the sub-messages that pervade mainstream fashion. Knowing ourselves, our bodies and what we like is an essential start to navigating this territory and being able to pick and choose with clear discernment what it is we would like to wear.
I would agree Adele that fashion has not evolved energetically. To dress ourselves purely for fashion alone makes for a very empty and competitive experience. Looking at photos in magazines of the young and beautiful plus often wealthy who can be considered fore runners in the fashion stakes, are they really comfortable in these outfits? How lovely to wear are clothes that fit and feel comfortable on our bodies and are a joy to wear, I agree also that it is how we feel within and our connection to self that is more important.
This line really stood out for me: ‘As human beings we have not really improved, become more intelligent, beautiful or successful with fashion. We have not evolved one single bit.’ What’s the point in looking amazing, if you still have the same old behaviours and the same old patterns playing out, or you’re still getting angry regularly, or you don’t enjoy your job, or you have a bad relationship? Sometimes I feel we have our priorities all wrong.
Thank you Adele, you raise some really great points about fashion and how we can be ‘owned’ by the energy if we do not discern the true quality of anything we are wearing. Fashion to me is not the latest designer or latest trend but walking and claiming how amazing we are – lets make that the new fashion as it supports a women’s self-worth in greater ways.
Great reminder Adele, to feel into and discern the energetic quality of our clothing and the responsibility of how we choose what we wear not for ourselves but for the reflection to others.
Fashion does go in cycles, in circles and does repeat itself. And it does act as a distraction for us from feeling deeply what is going on for us and around us. And it is all about having fun with this without losing ourselves nor getting caught in it all. Perhaps the fashion statement we could make is one of truth. Why not make truth fashionable? Though my feeling is that only a minority would be game to flaunt it 😉
Interesting that you describe that you went into a numbing mode when looking at the racks of clothes; endless racks of clothes all vying for attention, screaming out some details that are supposed to set them apart from and above the others. Where is the love in that, I wonder?
You have raised some great points Adele, we sometimes can just blindly go to shops and buy clothes, not really feeling into what it is they feel like, where they have come from and what they represent. As everything is energy and everything is because of energy (Serge Benhayon), clothes carry an energy also. This can be felt if we allow ourselves to feel it or not, that choice is ours.
There is much to consider when choosing what to wear. Literally layers of it to peel back so the real essence of us isn’t coated in the ideals, beliefs and emotions of all the stages that go into the end product. That’s a lot to carry that as you say is unnecessary and is even draining on our true loveliness. While if we are unaware we may want to think clothing is enhancing our appearance, but it seems we may be worshipping a false god.
If we follow fashion trends where do we lie within it all? Where is our own sense of expression? Do we want to express ourselves or are we prepared to take on the industry led expression?
‘The quality that clothes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is’ – Fashion is an industry based completely on look and exterior image, so to say that the QUALITY of how the clothes are designed and worn in makes all the difference to fashion is revolutionary and very exposing of how little this is practiced within the industry as it stands.
Adele, a fascinating insight into the fashion world and that there is much more to life than meets the eye. That we feel much more than what gets presented, say, on a catwalk. You shared with us that we have a greater responsibility than taking something at face value.
‘With honesty, we need to ask ourselves how normal this all is, as inevitably truth will catch up with us and our bodies will reflect how we have chosen to live.’ Great point. We could ask what is ‘normal’ anyway? Who or what defines this? The fashion industry has never seemed real to me, especially designer clothes and catwalks. Most of the times the women look really sick and some of the designs are horrendous I mean seriously who would actually wear the outfits anyway! Its just for show. Currently the industry is really abusive, with some of the adverts designers have actually promoted abuse to women and objectification of them. How on earth they are actually allowed to use these baffles me but in the end it is up to all of us and what we either ignore, deny or let through as ‘acceptable’. The fashion industry is about recognition and glamour and not about love which we need to truly make it about as everything else in the world.
The feeling of being enough is still quite foreign to me. It doesn’t feel familiar. And it is not fostered by our way of living. What a gift it is to be around people who live “being enough” – an inspiration beyond time and 3-dimensional life.
Adele, thank you for raising my awareness of the energy that is held in our clothes and how we are so easily led by how they look on the outside rather than how they feel on the inside. Many fashion garments have become quite complex in appearance and creation but I can often feel the joy in creativity in the more simple fashion garments. Are we choosing clothes to cover up our inner light or to enhance our reflection?
It is so true Adele that what we wear needs to reflect the joy, love and light in our bodies; if we choose this then we have chosen true fashion.
What we wear is yet another area where we need to consider what we are doing to our bodies and what quality are we clothing them in. I was once an op shopper, only buying clothes from second hand outlets saying that it was more sustainable or that I felt comfortable in them. Then I realised that I was only choosing these clothes because I didn’t value myself enough to buy anything new for myself. It took a while to feel all this and now I love feeling the quality of what I wear and know that when I feel what I wear and choose accordingly then its something that supports me in feeling my true inner beauty.
Adele, this is a very revealing blog on fashion and you have explored it from many angles. This allows us the opportunity to break down what we currently know fashion to be (a leading and exciting and wondrous thing!) – and helps us realise that our current trends in fashion are certainly not what we think they are. And yet as you mentioned, all is not lost – for it is about the energy or root cause of things – if we change the energy then the whole thing can change. And so there in lies a huge potential in all that we can express through fashion. The question is how soon will people cotton onto this and actually hold the intent to support and harmonise rather than compete and disconnect through fashion? And we each play a role with this – either playing the same game, or indeed breaking the mould and going against the fashion by bringing true fashion to the fore.
Maybe fashion repeats itself exactly because it comes from the same energy. Recently I have been pondering on the energy of the clothes I buy, and I can feel how miserable employees are in shops, and how that definitely comes through the clothes we buy… I have always gotten such a negative feeling from clothes, and now that I am allowing myself to feel into it I am starting to realise why! I am really questioning if there are in fact brands out there that are designed and made with love…
Check out True Tees 🙂 http://www.adeleleung.hk/copy-of-true-tees-1
You are so right, currently the fashion industry is very abusive as you have shared ‘extreme hours and effort are being put into the intricacy of removing ourselves from real life’. This is exactly what it is with very little true love and care being in the work or clothes.
Wow, I learnt a lot through reading your blog Adele. I have always felt the energy of clothing and particularly in the stores themselves but have never fully allowed myself to be aware of it. I have always found myself heading towards more expensive and so-called better quality clothing but under a false belief that they were somehow made with more intention, detail and true purpose for the wearer. Not so! I note too that the sizing of clothing comes with its own energy and lack of support to the wearer, differing from brand to brand and feeding lack of self-worth or championing energy for many. Imagine if true numerology was considered when designing, choosing and wearing fashion, there is a whole lot more responsibility to be looked at and considered on this topic.
Choosing the clothes we wear is similar to choosing the type of food we eat. With food we need to feel what to eat, not eat what we feel, with clothes we need to feel what to wear not wear what we feel others want us to wear or wear clothes to impress others. Both come back to listening to our bodies and honoring what we feel.
Clothes feel completely different when we don’t just use our eyes to assess some clothing, but instead do as you did Adele, I ‘connected with my heart and felt the quality in which they had been made and were then sending out to the world.’
Another example of us going round and round the sun thinking we are advancing when really it is only the scenery that is changing.
It is an interesting point you raise Adele how little things are tweaked in fashion trends to mimic change. We have put way too much focus and identification on coming up with something new when really all we are doing is recreating the past in some way.
‘Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.’ Yes I totally agree with this. Whenever I happen to see on the TV catwalks with the big designers, I rarely ever go “wow” because it feels like it is all there to make a statement rather than to lovingly support women with their natural delicate expression.
My wardrobe and the process of shopping, choosing what to wear and getting dressed used to be a torture chamber for me; a place that I would stand in abject self loathing and crippling disgust with my body shape and try and find a way to cover it all up whilst still obeying whatever fashion laws applied at the time. Not so anymore, with building acceptance, self care, respect and appreciation of myself my wardrobe is becoming a playground. A place where I have found what suits me, can honour who I am and express my self freely, even joyfully.
It is true that Fashion is never new and it repeats itself but with a twist.
It is interesting to consider, it reminded me of when I was a child seeing models walking down the cat walk on TV and how when I catch a glimpse of that now they are still walking in the same way with similar clothes, so how the energy of it expresses itself is the same: “Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.” Being caught in following fashion is like being led by a master, and expressing ourselves through what we wear is freedom.
Nothing is ever new, yet in fact even the oldest, dearest or vintage piece when put together with something in the impulse of a moment, can feel fresh as a daisy! It’s our expression in it that makes great fashion sense.
‘…fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed…’ I always remember a friend saying to me she loves coming home with new clothes because she can reinvent herself. I was stunned at why she felt she needed this when I could see her natural grace and beauty that she wasn’t. What she described was a dissatisfaction with herself that she wanted to discard by putting on a new persona. What struck me was how futile this cycle was as it would repeat itself when the novelty of the clothes wore off and a new outfit was needed because that dissatisfaction was still there. And now I understand that when we choose love we know the energy that is not love which we have taken on board and identify as part of us, we do not need to hide beneath new outfits but simply let it go.
“Fashion can be created for individualisation and competition, which is how clothing is mainly created presently in the world, and yet fashion can also be made with the intention that it is for all of us.” I love this phrase. This can be applied to pretty much every aspect of life and calls for a greater level of responsibility. Are we creating greater divide, individualisation and competition between people, or are we creating a foundation that honours and fosters love, connection and brotherhood.
The fashion industry doesn’t know what hits them when you are shining in your light Adele. They cannot help but feel the difference you bring.
I love how having a deeper awareness for everything can uncover another layer of how we can bring more honesty to our lives. It’s great that we can stop and choose what clothing to wear and what makes us feel great but is there another level we can go to? If we take it to another level and feel the energy around the clothing and how it was manufactured. I love what you have shared Adele as it offers us all an expansion and a deeper understanding of fashion and the industry in which we are all a part of. Thank you.
“As human beings we have not really improved, become more intelligent, beautiful or successful with fashion. We have not evolved one single bit.” We could say the same thing about how we are in life too!
There is so much to truly see and it can only be seen by feeling.
This experience illustrates how we cannot see outside of a consciousness and can only see what this consciousness allows us to see if we agree to it, but there is no evolution in choosing to remain in any consciousness. Evolution does not happen outside of ourselves, we cannot force evolution upon ourselves or others, evolution is natural when we begin to deeply care for our bodies, it happens first within us.
‘Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.’ We like to believe that we have changed, based on what we wear or how we look, often without considering whether there has been a deeper shift in energy; or are simply putting a different outfit on the same state of being.
The whole fashion industry is fuelled by women who are feeling empty inside and needing to dress the outside of themselves to hide the loss of their inner selves. The more sophisticated we become in western civilisation, the less our connection to our innate knowing and true feeling. When I have travelled to other poorer countries, I see that some people yearn for western ideals, money and culture but we also have a lot to understand from them about returning to our inner heart. This is a great environment Adele, for you to shine and be all of you for the women to feel and reconnect to what they know is within.
What I’m wondering is why does so many of the models look so serious and sad, sometimes angry and hard? It would be much more pleasant to see a natural smile.
It is easy to be affected by fashion when we are not with ourselves and therefore not taking a moment to feel the energy. I am not the ‘born to shop’ type person and lately have been carrying a couple of extra kgs so my inclination to shop has been seriously diminished, but recently I was having a beautiful day with a friend and from the corner of my eye I saw a dress that I just knew would work with my body. just as it is. Emboldened by my companion I allowed myself to try it on and it was lovely. It allowed my body to just be. The images and ideals we have in our heads are created and fortified by the energy in which clothes are made and presented, and most importantly, what we are looking for when we seek and wear clothes. They cannot substitute our own feelings of value.
The fashion industry appears to be all on the ‘outside’, all about what we look like, images, impressions, moods and attraction. The emptiness in this approach is seen and felt because it is only when we live and move from our innermost that we do not ‘sell out’ and to what we wear and depend on it to make us look good. True beauty is never on the outside.
Great Blog!
To me this brings out an inequality in the fashion industry; there is not much money in it, a new designer pops up all the time, there is slave labour involved in a lot of large companies, when it comes to dressing the stars they are gifted clothes or loaned them, and this paints to me a very competitive and stagnant industry – as you share here. There is very little support when it comes to the industry, and I agree that the energy of the industry has never changed. What a whole new way to look at this and consider our relationship with fashion; are we sucked in by it or are we able to observe it and not be part of what it is?
It is important to, and amazing when we ‘feel into’ fashion style and fads . . it brings an awareness that is so much more than the face value it shows.
Sometimes working more actually gives us more energy rather than tiring us out! Of course this has more to do with our attitude and the way we are at work and through our day than the work we necessarily do!
Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.’ You could have been talking about a relationship with ourselves or with another person Adele instead of clothing! Unless we learn to discern what energy we choose we are creating/designing a way of being that is true or not.
It’s interesting what you’ve shared Adele about how although a design can look beautiful, simplistic and of a high standard, the energy of the design – the objective and intention behind it – can be completely the opposite. This highlights both the importance of reading past what we see on the surface but also how influential our intentions can be when we design or make anything.
There are many activities in our current society that have either a more obvious or more subtle level of comparison and competition. Fashion is only one of them and some of the other ones that come to mind include schools, sports and art. But what is shared here Adele, is the fact that disguised to look great on the outside, these things essentially are not always that fantastic on the inside as the intent behind the fashion/sport/art/schooling is more to set people up against each other rather than focusing on bringing them together. We don’t need more habits or behaviours that drive us apart – the world is calling out for unity through it’s mayhem and discord that abounds. When are we going to change our perspective and see things for what they are, and begin to bring what is truly needed to ourselves and all those around us?
Accepting the fact that it is all about the true quality and not just about the looks is a giant pill of truth for the fashion industry to swallow.
Great questions to ask about fashion and clothes. In fact it can be applied to every aspect of society. Is it bringing joy, vitality and oneness, or is it encouraging us to be more individualized, compete, doubt ourself, seek recognition to feel ok, and override what we feel in our bodies?
Your experiences expose exactly what is happening in the fashion industry Adele, and the falseness of it all. It can be felt already but you confirm it very clearly. Fashion assumes we need it, because we are not feeling enough ourselves, and we choose this route. Time to make some changes.
“When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.” Adele a great behind the scenes view of the fashion industry showing what is behind the products we buy, certainly more than meets the eye.
There is something about fashion that I just realised. Fashion asks you to join, to adhere, to align to something that is not you but you want to also be. It is about participating in an image.
We are always asked to join something—love or not love, and it is our choice, if we don’t choose, it will be chosen for us.
You raise a very different way of viewing fashion and life Adele, by looking deeper than the visuals and feeling into the quality in which items are made and produced. This introduces another whole level of responsibility in what we make, sell or service we provide for others.
I have over the last few years become much more interested in clothes and have only found enjoyment in shopping in a place where there is no branding and there is no placement of styles or what’s ‘hot’ it’s where I can pick clothes without the pressure of ideals from fashion but simply because I like the colour and for style to express myself.
When we feel enough and already feel beautiful, sexy and cherished we choose differently we don’t choose clothes to make us something in a desperate need to fill the emptiness we instead choose clothes to honour and celebrate what we already have – and the outcome of the two choices is totally different – one confirms, the other diminishes and gives our power further away.
The trends of fashion can and do definitely repeat and change but regardless of what is considered ‘in’ at the time there is still an elegance and style that both men and women can emanate irrespective to what clothes they are wearing.
A very insightful blog Adele on the fashion industry and its relentless push for novelty in which we get swallowed up. Clothing, like everything in life can be such a fantastic medium of expression.
A person who is connected to their essence is naturally very beautiful, regardless of how they look and what they are wearing.
We can use fashion to keep people out or let them in. It is just another medium we can use to communicate and express.
Fashion can be the big pit it is all to easy to be sucked into – being fashionable and subscribing to an idea of what fashion is and how we should fit into that, rather than just being ourselves. I am inspired every day by people who wear beautiful clothes not because the clothes are designer or height of fashion or make them look good, but because they express something about the person and the beauty that was already there before the killer outfit was put on.
What we see is only the very end result of what we have chosen time and time again.
Being aware of energy is important, then we can be more discerning ‘Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy.’
Great questions you ask here Adele – is fashion truly successful and just what is it projecting out? Also fashion is of course shaped by us as the consumer (if there were no customers it would go bust..) and so is a reflection of how the majority of us relate to ourselves and the world.
It feels amazing when you choose exactly what’s right for you to wear and express in everyday. In choosing to be fashionable we are losing out on such an awesome part of the way we express ourselves.
Do I want to pay money for a story and an image or for a garment loving made – thank you Adele a great article making me question again do I really dress just for me?
Over the years I have worn expensive clothes and I have also worn cheaper clothing, whatever I wear doesn’t change the quality of me. Fashion can be a distraction and a way to buy your self-esteem and a way to feel better about yourself and stand out – but when we are truly being our amazing selves we could be wearing something as simple as a sheet and it wouldn’t matter because of the love and joy pouring out from us is deeply felt by all.
So many times we look at life solely through our eyes instead of feeling from our bodies 1st and then seeing with our eyes. It becomes a completely different feeling when we are connected to our bodies. If this was the case it would be easy to discern fashion along with everything else for what it truly represents.
A great sharing about the truth of fashion and the loveless money making identification business disclosure it is totally leaving out the expressing of our true quality and essence. Having come to realise this is what life is all really about the fashion industry comes with a different awareness and discernment and time to change and bring true energetic appreciation and love with it all. Now this would really change the feeling of clothes and fashion and bring a lightness and joy to it all.
A really interesting article, Adele – thanks for shedding some light on your industry. It made me think about the story of the king’s clothes – he wanted what everyone else couldn’t have and, as the story goes, was fooled into wearing nothing. And such is the fashion industry as we compete, compete, compete to the point where we’re fooled into buying things that don’t serve us. It also shows, as you point out, how much we have a responsibility to discern what we’re choosing to wear.
Adele this observation is true; that fashion trends tend to repeat themselves, with each brand having their own distinctive flair, where details are added in or taken away each season to mimic change. I find that I can have staples in my wardrobe that I can add my own expression to and bring something different to the outfit each time I wear it – I don’t need to follow fashion or bring a change, I have my own expression which I love to play with, and it changes all the time!
You rightly expose fashion as highly competitive and the worship of individualism that it has morphed itself into and all that at the expense of common sense, decency and love.
The word fashion comes with two definition meanings:
1. A popular or latest style of clothing
2. A manner of doing something
To combine what is true to the individual in both is what we show the world – the style of clothing we feel to wear on the day and the manner is which we do it!
‘The quality that clothes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is. Fashion can be created for individualisation and competition, which is how clothing is mainly created presently in the world, and yet fashion can also be made with the intention that it is for all of us.’ Great point Adele.
So many things in life can look so good and yet fail to deliver what we are really seeking, one unified truth and true love.
“When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.” Thank you Adele for calling out what the fashion industry is all about – profit, competition, objectification of woman, child labour etc. And therefore when we wear a piece of clothing what are we saying yes to? Great to reflect on.
The fact that so many see fashion as a farce, yet partake in it and at least accept it, is a statement of what and where our society is at. Perhaps as Adele mentions, if we begin to understand that there is abuse at play here in very real and tangible ways, such as the way a woman is objectified, the sheer ugliness of it will bring change. It strikes me as important that the contrasting reflection of people truly expressing lovingly through how they dress and look after themselves will be an essential factor in this change.
Getting honest about fashion – I love it. I always loved it but had given my power and inner beauty over to it. Then I rejected it as a material focus and bad and went around looking shabby for a while. The difference now I am not owned by it and I am flaunting my style unapologetically as am I equally flaunting my inner love and light.
It is intersting what fashion can make with us women and how it can manipulate us, how we feel, when we allow this.
Getting honest about fashion is the same as being more honest about life. It is but one area, but through that area we can see so much about ourselves, the global industry of fashion is global for a reason, because there must be a common thread that links us all together in ways of thinking about ourselves and our bodies and how we would wish to be perceived. Maybe one day fashion will link us all over the world in a different way, in a way the unites us rather than further feeding self loathing and making us competitive with eachother.
There is so much more than meets the eye – this in itself is an interesting phrase our senses are always working overtime. It is great to point this out in fashion I have also seen it in restaurant kitchens the quality of the meal is greatly affected but the harmony in the kitchen.
So true Nicole – it is also prevalent in TV shows e.g. Masterchef- where contestants are pressured to cook a 3 course meal in a short time span, forcing them to multitask and rush, leading to nervous energy, stress and exhaustion. But what quality is the food then cooked in?
It is a great reflection and understanding you can give within your industry to everyone to expose the false imagery of bringing fashion to women. What an amazing industry it will be when it’s turned around so all the women who wear the new clothes walk down the catwalk knowing who they are and walk from their essence. That will spread the word that connection to ourselves is the true beauty.
Seeing models walk on the catwalk at fashion shows is quite a horrible sight, they look and feel terrible, why does the fashion industry want women to appear so? Whereas a woman who is connected to her essence is very beautiful irrespective of how she looks and what she wears.
Great points here Adele, very few designs can be found that are not attached to any image, that consider comfort and body support as well as style and look in a way that is not competitive yet still shines.
But we could of course say the same of all of us people in some ways too – we are all different in the particular quality that we bring, yet we are all the same in our profound makeup. Some of us choose to let this out and shine the quality – either in parts or in full. And some of us react to this shining and label it as showing off, whilst others get inspired by it. The true test is to feel what is being put on offer – is this a true shining or is this just a front? Just like with style, there can be a lacing of the look with an energy that is not supportive. But the beauty lies in being able to see through the front, to be able to see the person and their true quality and to not get affected by the front itself.
It feels like the fashion industry has the self-perception that it going somewhere, leading the way in how we dress but it is just setting a picture on which desire can be focused.
“The quality that clothes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is.” The fashion industry would have a very different face if this quality came from a place of truth and integrity, which it currently does not.
‘Fashion trends tend to repeat themselves, with each brand having their own distinctive flair, where details are added in or taken away each season to mimic change.’ We buy the mimicked change and wear it, yet deep down know that we want true change in life and not a quick fix.
I remember searching through the rails in clothing stores, trying to find the person I wanted to be, because basically I hated being myself and I thought that if I changed the way I looked, controlled the way I looked then I could put an end to the constant feeling of dread and anxiety that ran throughout my body. This basic form of self-loathing drives the fashion industry so steadily and with no end in sight. Except that is, for when powerful people like Adele Leung stand up and make changes to it from the inside, so that all the thousands of girls who look to fashion to find who they are will begin to instead have a reflection of themselves given back to them, because Adele will be standing there confirming the true light in us all – therefore no need for fashion to do anything for us other than to be an expression of how we feel that day.
Fashion, along with all of what is happening around at the moment, is set up to elicit some sort of emotional response.
Having just seen a presentation on what it is like in the modelling world and how badly the models are treated I can see that this industry as a whole has a lot of work to be done before it can be harmonious and inspirational! In fact I saw a head line that said the fashion industry was second to the oil industry for damage to the environment.
Great exposure Adele and I totally agree, especially after hearing a model talk honestly about how the more ill you look the more work you get… My question would be, as we have to wear clothes, are there any brands not laced with this gross energy? If not how do we not get affected by the energy of the clothes we do wear?
How many of us truly dress out of a sense of true self, and not out of needing to be seen to be projecting a certain image to the world.
“When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?” Is a great question. Do I choose my clothes to make me great or do I choose my clothes to confirm and express that I am already great?
It is also a great observation that quality is missing – this is true of life in general. We can come up with the latest ‘fashion’ be that recycled from cycles past with a new flavour or face but it is done in the same emptiness, drive and competition of outdoing another, striving to stand out and be identified for that label or brand. It has become a rarity to find well made clothes these days, that aren’t throwaways each season.
I have often reflected on this – the energy of clothing and the energy of those that fashion it and we model ourselves upon. This can be seen very clearly with sexualised children’s clothing.
There is so much more going on in life when we bring attention to what we can feel. And what if by bringing our feelings into the equation and situations in life we gained another perspective on life? This isnt a theory for myself as since listening to the presentations of Serge Benhayon and questioning my life on the basis of such teachings – we start to read the world that is not spoken and start to join the dots. Like from experience most bargain clothes stores feel cheap, as if the intention behind the clothing is not to support the wearer but solely for money. And why is it that most models in the high end fashion look so miserable or moody rather than light and joyful? Is the cost of losing ourselves in fashion there in the models faces for all to see?
Holding in or reserving what we truly feel, to comply with what is there on the outside deeply hurts us. Expressing our true power comes when there are no attachments!
When choosing clothes to wear and styles I am careful of going for certain ‘looks’ and images. I’m amazed at how simple it is to dress when this’s is the case, and I don’t feel heavy or weighed down by what I’m wearing all day!
What we wear is a true reflection of how we feel inside. Fashionable clothes have come about to disguise the disregard on the inside and thus we feel the need to look great on the outside. We have been sucked in yet again!!
So much of life is set up so we can be ‘sucked in’.
Over time I have come to see beauty in a whole new light. It has nothing to do with what we wear or how we look but everything to do with how well we connect with our essence and from there express it. A person who is connected to their essence is very beautiful irrespective of how they look and what they wear.
Hello Adele and maybe time to start your own fashion label, ‘by Adele”.
Awesome suggestion Ray.
‘Fashion is an industry that claims authority to lead the way in trends’… we need to ask, which way is it leading us?
‘Good’ and ‘bad’ fashion are one and the same thing.
Neither are ‘it’; but simply a version of something much greater we have settled for.
We like to have the ‘latest’ trends and update and change our looks in fashion to feel as though we are getting somewhere, and are advancing in life…whilst the energetic state of being wearing them remains the same…
until such time that we decide to develop the being and make life about truly evolving; and then the clothing is merely confirming of the quality wearing it.
You mention the sexualisation of women in fashion, something you felt by going through the racks of clothes. It is also very obvious in advertising and the way models are portrayed and told to hold themselves, from the way they walk to the look they are there to represent. Only things is: why don’t women say no to this kind of abuse? After all, we are the consumers and thus hold the power in this equation.
Wow, Adele. Reading this again I realise there is so much going on in fashion that I have never really considered before. What we see with our eyes can be deceiving yet fashion is all about how it looks, colour, style and competition. To learn to trust what we feel and choose clothing that supports us in our true expression is so important, I am learning this myself. It can be a fun process but it takes dedication and trust.
Fashion like sports has to keep on reinventing itself so humanity does not get bored! When we feel the ‘preciousness and harmony’ we come from as our #Livingness, then there is no way we can get bored
Yes, Adele, I can feel the truth of what you are sharing, in terms of the lack of evolution of fashion. As you point out, when we make any creation from the motivation of self gain, there is never going to be anything new or expanding for humanity to be inspired by. There are very few clothing brands that I feel drawn to these days, as they generally seem to have lost touch with what people are looking for in terms of their style and expression.
I have often wondered what drives fashion, and why we so easily fall prey to what “is in.” The most ridiculous thing about the fashion world that betrays the ridiculousness of its culture is how something may be unfashionable today, but equally fashionable tomorrow. What lies underneath of course is our insatiable desire for constant change to mask the discomfort otherwise present in our lives.
Wow!!! Imagine if what Adele is writing about became…” Normal”… If everyone literally felt the energy behind what was being sold, created, modelled… What an extraordinary world we would live in… And yet it seems that some people are actually living in a world like this, where they can feel this… And perhaps these can be the real role models for our lives.
“The fact is everything is energy. Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy”.
What a great blog to expose the energies that infiltrate the fashion industry and the ways in which we are hooked in. To choose and feel with our inner heart, what we wear, is a beautiful message here Adele.
Fashion like sports have to keep on reinventing itself so humanity does not get bored! When we feel the ‘preciousness and harmony’ we come from as our #Livingness then their is no way we can get bored.
Absolutely revealing there is far more to fashion than meets the eye here Adele, if everything is energy then what quality do we make, buy and wear the clothes we choose.
I love what you share about rebelling against the false energy that is running so many sectors in this world, it isn’t the answer as we still are hooked in trying to change it. Still invested in this energy, while we can choose something different and live what we know in our bodies to be true.
For me, I have never had that much interest in fashion (something my wife will attest to) so I will always choose clothes that look good to me and what I feel would be comfortable. When we actually stop and feel ‘why’ we are choosing to wear what we wear, the answers can be quite surprising. Do I choose my clothes to hide my weight issue? Do I choose my clothes with safe colours because I don’t want to stand out? How much does the way I feel at that moment, affect what I choose to buy? Do I choose my clothes because someone says this is the latest trend? As you say Adele, everything is energy, so being connected to ourselves and actually feeling what to buy would ensure that what we buy, we would actually wear and also we would feel joyful when we do wear the clothes.
The problem with fashion is that true style can never be bought – it comes firstly from within.
Beautifully stated Kylie, showing when we love who we are it is this essence that is felt and seen in the world and our choice of clothing reflects that.
Exposing the fashion industry for what it is takes some courage, but you know the falsehood from within the industry and can feel the imbalance and incongruence within you when there is a lie being lived. Being able to feel this and make different choices Adele is a brave journey you are undertaking to change the industry to become more honest. When you live the harmony you are feeling, people will observe that this is the way to be and the fashion is secondary.
Thanks Adele, I like what you have presented about the energy of comparison in the fashion industry and also the loss of quality and done in a rush under stress at the expense of the bodies involved like a sports competition.
It’s amazing how clothes, which are fundamentally a necessity, have become such a statement over which we judge each other and compare. How refreshing it would be if we simply dressed to express how we feel instead of how we want to be perceived.
Great point Adele – ‘Fashion is an industry that claims authority to lead the way in trends, where we push our bodies to be one step ahead of even time itself. And yet when fashion is created in rush and disregard, and presented with emotions, what is fashion really trending?’
“Extreme hours and effort are being put into the intricacy of removing ourselves from real life; are we all lost and perhaps comfortable, hiding in beadwork embroidery?” – This is a great point, I would say also that the extremes that we see in the fashion industry are reflecting to us the call that is coming from the consumer who is dis-connected from themselves. Change in the fashion industry begins at home, so to speak, where we build true connection within ourselves and others and then that is the call we put out to the industries that we buy from.
This blog really makes me stop and re-consider all those times I bought the latest fashion trends, because now I want to ask myself – what was it I was actually buying into? And where was the self-care in all of those decisions?
An awesome angle on what not only lies behind the illusion of fashion but also the implications for what we’re choosing to buy to wear. You highlight the need for responsibility and discernment, to make sure we’re not looking for clothes to do the work for us and make us ‘feel better’ and also to ensure we’re buying clothes that aren’t doused in an energy that we wouldn’t want to be seen dead in, if we could see it. This is a must-read for any fashion designer and those working in the retail sector and a call to all consumers to exercise their own diligence in their purchases.
This is amazing Adele, ‘On this day, as I went through the many different racks of clothing, I decided not to use my eyes to register their value, but instead connected with my heart and felt the quality in which they had been made and were then sending out to the world.’ This reminds me of a time recently when I tried on a dress handed to me in the changing room by the shop assistant, the dress was not colours or a style I would normally have chosen, yet when I put it on it felt absolutely amazing. I went on to buy the dress, and received a really big compliment from someone’s opinion I truly value when I wore it.
Great to step out from wanting to fit in Adele . . this is new fashion!
‘When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get’ – A powerful statement Adele, and so true as there is so much manipulation and comparison going on within the fashion industry behind the scenes, yet fashion and the clothes are advertised as super ‘glamorous’.
When we are living in our essence, do we not make anything we wear, look good? What does this have to say about the fashion industry? The words industry and fashion together have such a hard feeling to them.
Fashion can divide us with the need to be unique, or different so that we stand out from the crowd. If we are buying clothes for our personal use it is lovely to buy or make an outfit that suits us and that we feel lovely and joyful wearing. This way we don’t put ourselves out there as being better than another or even different, even if our clothes are more individually and joyfully tailored for us. Thank you Adele for an interesting sharing on fashion.
In fashion, intention and quality come first.
Adele, I love reading your blogs about fashion. It gives me an insight into a world I have no contact with but have indirectly been affected by all my life. Through your eyes I have an insight into this industry and awareness of what needs to change. I also could feel as I read, how clothing could so easily be made to support our soulful way of life. To have colours, textures and styles that support the expression of our essence, wherever we are in the cycles of the moon, the seasons or menstrual cycle. How cool would that be!
Feeling the quality something like clothing is made in is our true sight. We get hooked by our eyes or the dollar value of what we see, and lose our most valuable sight, our clairsentience.
“Fashion has not evolved us one bit”. It feels really important to look at all the things we accept as normal part of life and ask this of them too. Has education, medicine, sport etc evolved us or kept us going round on the same merry go round. I suspect if the answer was yes, our societies would be a lot more harmonious and collaborative than the mess we seem to be in.
I can imagine that being around fashion after awhile (whilst holding a deeper understanding of life), would take away any illusions that there is anything new. You would start to see the same features and quirks repeated in a variety of ways. Sounds a lot like the human spirit – trying desperately to be individual yet it merely plays out variations on the same theme. In fashion it seems there are just enough changes to make the consumer feel they are missing out if they don’t have the latest styles.
Fashion is very much a part of the consciousness that keeps us chasing our tails, thinking we are going somewhere when in fact we are just going in circles. How lovely would it be if fashion confirmed that all the beauty we need is inside us and simply supported the changes of the seasons, using colours and fabrics to do that.
‘When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?’ Great question. Choosing fashion design, manufacturing, selling and buying based on reflecting joy would change everything. How much fun everyone would have expressing their innate joy, with no hiding or trying to conform to fit in with what is in vogue.
Energy is everything, it is what we feel, what makes up matter, Scientists know this, many people on the globe know it…”Without being aware of what this energy is we can be easily led and owned by it.” And yet without being honest about it, teaching it in our schools, talking about it and living with the knowing of it, as a truth we are owned by what ever energy we align with. We have a choice to observe and honour that life is energy, if we do not, we allow ourselves to fall in to a 3 dimensional version of life where the physical is dominant and we dishonour ourselves and others greatly by making this choice.
To sense with our heart and not just our eyes, an awesome way to encounter and read life.
Lovely awareness concerning the energetic origin of the forms, shapes, textures etc of the clothes and how and why they are designed. Being willing to feel the quality of what we wear and choose, allows us to feel more ourselves in what we wear.
Adele I wanted to say how deeply your blog has affected me since reading it a few days ago, I have twice been out shopping and even though I found something which I looked great in I could feel my body was saying otherwise, it fitted, looked great but did not feel great. Learning to trust what I feel over what I think is huge and essential to making choices based on truth.
The pictures that govern us—what looks good, what trends are now, how does sexy look like, they are all impacting on our self-worth. But what is true is not what we are told, but what we truly feel will express what is within.
What you have shared in this article, Adele, can release us from the grip of fashion and needing to comply with rules laid down by it. Which leaves us free to explore, from our own relationship with our bodies, how we express ourselves in the way we dress. Thank you.
Freedom is the true cool to any expression and it comes from dropping pre-conceived pictures of how life is supposed to be and just move.
This is a new level of responsibility that we have in choosing clothing, and a new way in which to assess and feel the clothing that it is true for us to wear. I feel that I need a whole new wardrobe at times when clothes no longer support me in the changes that I have made in my life. It makes sense that something that I bought 2 years ago would no longer feel true for me to wear, given that so much has changed in my life in the preceding 2 years.
Often when I have seen some of the clothes modelled on catwalks I have thought to myself, “who is actually going to wear that?” Fashion, as in the fashion industry/ haute couture, often seems to me to be such an insular and inwardly reflecting world which is far, far removed from the world the rest of us live in and actually wear clothes every day.
Very true and it is with understanding why we are choosing to be so removed that fashion will eventually have a chance to return to what is love.
‘The design, detail and production were all imbued with competition and comparison. In-truth, none of that is love, and neither is it beauty.’ – It’s incredible that you are able to see through this facade of fashion Adele, and what you’re exposing about the consciousness behind fashion designing is SO powerful.
Such an important point you raise Adele – that ‘everything is energy’ and even with fashion there is so much emotion that can be felt in the designing, producing and marketing of the clothes. We cannot escape from this. This raises the importance and responsibility of the quality the person is in, as the buyer is then going to buy and wear the fashion item.
If I don’t first check my connection to “my heart” it becomes easy for me to ‘quickly falling into a numbing mode’. Over the last 12 years with many numbing moments, I am slowly learning to discern true connection from the falseness that numbs me.
‘The fact is everything is energy. Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy.’ Absolutely Adele, from the person who drew the design, the people and place who make the fabric, the tailors who sew the clothes, the wages they are paid, or not paid. The way in which they are sold, and the energy we buy and wear them in. At each process another layer of energy is added, no wonder some clothes feel very heavy to wear.
I agree fashion can look beautiful, but when you feel the energy of it, it is far from beautiful. Until we actually start to purchase clothes based on energy first, fashion will take a long time to change.
There is no time to wait for fashion to change, we have to be the change in how fashion is worn.
I love getting new clothes that match a new me that I am feeling, it is a true joy. The point of whether they are fashionable or not is mute on me, for I feel it is whether the clothes express the person that is much more important.
Fashion is what we make of it, it comes from our self-worth and what we have made of that.
Thanks Adele for presenting it so simply. The energy of fashion has always been promoting comparison and switching to the energy of true expression means embracing that we all have our unique expression and that how we feel to dress need not at all be governed by what other people think, but can offer amazing connection through what we all feel.
False fashion – the contrived look – is a mental exercise and imprisons us in a fashion consciousness that keeps us away from our natural expression. Colour, texture and shape have a quality, just like everything else, and we can all have a unique, playful and purposeful way of expressing through what we wear.
“Extreme hours and effort are being put into the intricacy of removing ourselves from real life; are we all lost and perhaps comfortable” what are we trying to hide from? The world of fashion is yet another example highlighting just how lost and empty we are. There is so much love all around us if we just take the time to stop and connect with ourselves first and foremost we are free to open our hearts to the richness and simplicity of life.
‘As human beings we have not really improved, become more intelligent, beautiful or successful with fashion. We have not evolved one single bit’ – this is really interesting Adele, as upon reading this I initially thought that of course we couldn’t evolve from clothes as they’re just clothes! However, we do have the choice to dress ourselves in a way or design clothes that bring out or enhance people’s expressions, unique styles and joy, and this can be very evolutionary.
Everything is a part of everything—if fashion holds us back in evolution, everything is held back in consequence.
Some of the corsets also stop us from expanding!
I am enjoying exploring fashion all over again in a different way. The clothes and things that I was attracted to a few years back are now appearing not that attractive in style – I don’t think so much that they are outdated, but rather, it is that as I grow as a person, my style needs to reflect that change too! This could also be applied to hair, make up and loads more things. And it is great to feel the change and embrace the ‘new’ which is really just the ‘old’ or a returning to what we have always known. But in the end it is not so much about what we wear (thought this does matter to a degree), as it is more about how we feel and the quality that we wear the clothes, makeup and hairstyle that matters the most. So perhaps it is Quality that is the real STYLE and FASHION!?
It is not the piece of clothing, but in what quality the body is moving in when such clothing is worn that catches the eye (in truth felt first by our hearts) of others.
When we feel from our hearts and not just look with our eyes we get to understand the underlining intention in an action or object, thank you Adele for exposing the evil that can lie just beneath the surface.
The importance and identity of fashion is such a big industry and part of all our lives in many ways but the quality and intent behind it has very little love in it truly and this really can be felt. If we live the love we really are in connection and appreciation of ourselves first this would be seen in what we wear and bring a refection that would allow true fashion to be inspired felt and seen.
Thanks Adele, knowing and expressing who we are from the inside is the most enduring fashion statement any woman can make…
When we lead fashion from our inside out, rather than being led by fashion from the outside in, then we are talking real fashion forward.
Yes I like the term ‘real fashion forward’… and what I see increasingly so amongst women who have done this, is they have their own very distinct and complimentary style. Being at the mercy of a style that doesn’t flatter or suit becomes a thing of the past and there is an approach that sees a woman feel into how she would like to express herself with clothes, rather than how she can be identified by them because she is fitting in with the current trend. A very stark difference and the way forward as you say Adele.
This experience revealed to me that people’s expectations or standards of ‘good’ are very low. And as people get older, they can be subjected to a level disregard that would be un-acceptable to a younger age group.
“Extreme hours and effort are being put into the intricacy of removing ourselves from real life…” What is it that we are so desperate to escape from? There is so much beauty, wisdom and magic to explore within ourselves, qualities that once re-connected to bring us back to the simple richness of real life. It is bizarre that we spend so much time attempting to remove ourselves from the very thing we are all searching for. The world of fashion is merely highlighting just how lost and empty humanity is. Re-connecting to our inner beauty brings a quality to the clothes we wear, because what we feel on the inside imbues everything we wear with that feel good factor and makes the simplest of outfits look like a million dollars.
Thank you for sharing Adele, as you say ‘everything is energy’ and there is so much more to what we wear than purely what meets the eye. For me I tend to ask myself what will support me going forward and those around me. If the clothes do then I buy them if not I now tend to put them back otherwise they just sit in my wardrobe never getting worn!
Yes, life becomes much simpler when we simply feel each day what to wear. Sometimes it is surprising what I then choose.
That is the best part of dressing up, feeling each moment and no one moment is the same. That is already the “forever new” in fashion.
What you say about fashion can be applied to any industry or activity. The quality of the service depends entirely on the quality of energy it’s given in. I supported an older person in a aqua-cise class recently for that age group and noticed how dis-connected the instructor was, from themselves and participants. It was an ’empty’ class, led as if by remote control, without any care or love. It hurt to witness the level of dis-engagement between instructor and participants. As this was the norm and attendees used to receiving, they judged the session as being ‘good’ when in fact I knew they could have been offered so much more.
It will be amazing to feel our own unique loveliness and bringing that to the fore with how we choose to dress and accessorise that makes people stop and take notice. Not because it ticks a certain look or is innovative but because we glow with our own essence and beauty.
Dressing in freedom is the future of fashion, when love is the movement chosen.
“The design, detail and production were all imbued with competition and comparison. In-truth, none of that is love, and neither is it beauty.” I wonder how many products are imbued this way and we can be seduced by false glamour of a product without feeling the energy behind it?
What a great blog Adele. I wonder what fashion designers would create if they felt into their art from the perspective you present. I am imagining only the softest, most comfortable, lightest, coolest, warmest and truly beautifully patterned fabrics and shapes that defy the confines of imposing trends and support people to express themselves naturally.
The hooks in fashion are as anything else . . .are we stuck in trends or feeling inspired to express in the joy of who we are? I realised that when I have dressed down or to ”fit in’, my body, my movements . . . in fact my whole being contracts.
Everything is energy and movement magnifies this energy, so if we begin in the movement of contraction when we get dressed in the morning, then it follows that what follows is contraction too.
The incessant drive to come up with the ‘new’ thing or the new trend shows how caught up we can become in having something novel or new and needing something outside of ourselves to feel good or stimulated.
Fashion like many things can separate us from people or can be used to reflect the beautiful essence that is within us all. What you describe here Adele is feeling life and fashion and whether it is a good ‘fit’ for us based on our felt sense not just our eyes or touch.
You raise a very salient point Adele in terms of how do we measure success? By coming up with the new design for the season or owning the latest trend or brand of clothing. Perhaps true success is measured by how we are able to live who we truly are.
It is important to feel into the energy of what we wear. It is something we cover ourselves in and as everything is energy, it is something that can affect us. We know the fashion industry is about competition and glamour, it sets one against the other. In our city of Melbourne, there has been a fierce rivalry between the 2 big department stores, about who has which designers, with no regard to how this feels on people’s bodies once they wear the clothes. It is very interesting to consider this refining of how we feel into the things in our lives that may affect us.
‘Fashion is an industry that claims authority to lead the way in trends, where we push our bodies to be one step ahead of even time itself’ – This is so true Adele, and it’s so clear when you look at the models walking in fashion shows and the clothes they are wearing that fashion designers are constantly trying to create and impose new trends or designs that look physically very uncomfortable to wear, in order to be ‘ahead’ of other lines.
“Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.” This is applicable to all life as it is today. If we allowed ourselves to really be aware of the energy in our societies we would realize that there is no true evolution.
Absolutely Felix, corruption, competition, country identification and corporate greed in many walks of life in our so called modern ‘societies’ are all about making humanity lesser instead of creating space for expansion for all equally. Imagine co-creating a line of clothes that were comfortable, different, colour-full, relevant for climatic situations, practical, simple and cost effective for all concerned. Maybe ‘the energy that fashion’ is in, needs to change, to a workable model and not necessarily as I suggested above for ‘evolution’ to happen?
It is amazing how we all get affected by image and fashion. Even the person who purposely avoids fashionable clothing a statement of rebellion is still in their own way affected by fashion, and selling their own form of image. There is in truth nothing wrong with fashion on its own – the problem is the imposition that comes with it, telling us we are less without the latest trends, or not part of the club.
Just as clothing is energy; and the end result of the energy producing it; so too is our choice to buy it based on energy, and the end result of each and every other choice leading up to that point.
The simplicity of this can be found in trying on the ‘same item’ in different brands. For example – recently I was looking for a pair of black ponte pants. A classic style, most brands carry a variation of this. Trying on a few different pairs, the cut may have varied slightly; but the way they felt on my body, and the way they impacted on my walk or allowed a freedom in my movement varied enormously. Needless to say I found a pair that almost felt as though I was wearing nothing at all, with no restriction or imposition whatsoever on my body.
Being fashionable doesn’t have to mean having the latest trends or colours. It is about dressing for you rather than pleasing another. Then you will feel truly comfortable in what is worn. As they say ‘you wear the clothes rather than the clothes wear you’.
Most of us l want to be ‘fashionable’ and accepted, seen as a little bit different to another sometimes in the way we dress or in our hair or makeup or in what we own, our hobbies – even how we write. It is all about the individual. Yet it is not just the ‘how’ but the ‘why’ that is important to assess. Are we really being ourselves or are we doing things to be different and stand out? In truth, everyone is unique and will naturally shine their own expression in what they do without trying.
Fashion tricks us into believing that with certain things we will be accepted, this is bullying. If there is no self-acceptance, nothing on the outside will make us feel accepted, no matter how much money we spend and how much material goods we possess. And so the first class to True Fashion 101 is “Acceptance”.
Shopping these days is often not that much fun as most cloths reek of an energy, like you say Adele, whether that be ‘sexy’ (not in a good way), maternal, girly, show off, rebellious, etc. From what I observe clothes are not designed and made with people in mind, it is for money, therefore the clothing holds the original impulse.
I have been hypnotised by fashion in the past and grew up in an area where expensive labels defined who you were. The reason I got my first job in the 1980’s is because my mother refused to pay for a designer label rugby jumper that I desperately wanted so I could fit in. Clothes were not so much a part of who I was but rather used to define where i might be accepted. My dressing at that point was from a deep insecurity and I often felt uncomfortable in what i was wearing. Healing this and choosing to dress in a way that honours me first has totally changed what i wear, and the energy that I wear it in.
As I look into my wardrobe, I can see how I’ve allowed myself to be ‘conned’ by bad buys, wasting money when I’ve bought something that I thought was ‘with it’ but really was not to my taste or liking. When we are connected to ourselves, there is no need to get caught up in the fashion propaganda agenda, we are all beautiful inside as we are.
I’ve never heard anyone look at fashion this way and the energy behind it, but what you say really does make sense Adele.
This is why it can feel like we are a slave to the fashion industry, as I was. I was completely owned by it. I would travel anywhere in the country to get that item advertised in the latest fashion magazine, so that I could feel OK about myself and be in what I saw as the ‘in club’ and be socially accepted. I certainly did not want to be ‘left behind’. There was an energy at play that I was beholden to and I could not stop. Things only stopped when I received a wake up call with my finances and saw how much I was actually spending on magazines and clothes at a time when I really needed to reduce my expenditure. Only then did I question what I was doing and why. This was over ten years ago. NOW my relationship with clothes is very different. I used to use clothes to define me. Now whilst I dress smart and look after my clothes it’s more about how I feel about me that’s important and the energy that I am emanating from how I live. Do I feel glowing and beautiful or emotional? I no longer have to have clothes from certain shops and even take well cared for items from friends as the love, care and appreciation for self is much more important and is the energy I choose to align to rather than what someone says I should wear and with that I am definitely spunky with my style of dress. Ask anyone that knows me.
“Fashion is an industry that claims authority to lead the way in trends, where we push our bodies to be one step ahead of even time itself. And yet when fashion is created in rush and disregard, and presented with emotions, what is fashion really trending?” Could the same be said with every business and every industry the same ‘quality’ of rush, push, drive, disregard and emotion is all encompassing? What if we reversed this trend what would commerce, industry and business look like?
‘When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.’ We often follow what we see and not what we feel. It is like we put seeing before our feelings, it is like seeing would be more valuable than feeling, but as such we deprive ourselves from a part of us, which is truthful and honest.
The fashion world is something, like a lot of things in this world that needs to be turned on its head. Does wearing the latest fashion benefit mankind in anyway, or yourself if squeezing your poor foot into a four inch heal.How much blame should fashion take from all those with eating disorders? I’m all for quality clothes that are affordable and have a bit of flare but we really do have to feel into the energy behind what we wear.
Fashion beguiles us in the hope that we will feel beautiful and noticed. Yet it only has the abilities that we give to it – to confirm, expose, detract from or veil what we feel on the inside.
I wonder why so many get caught up in fashion, rather than feel what feels right for them. Is it something that we have been so led to believe and be a part of that we have forgotten that we actually have a choice?
How much will be added to the world when fashion becomes something to support us in our expression and leave us free to choose and evolve.
‘…some clothes imparted the feeling of female sexualisation, some presented rebellion and anger, others a cushiony numbing of allure, as well as supremacy and competition’ This is fascinating Adele and so true, when you visit clothes shops it is evident that different items have been designed to represent a certain ‘look’ or theme, rather than support or show off a woman’s natural beauty.
I have noticed the quality of fashion in general has significantly declined over the past 10 years. There used to be brands I could rely on for quality and now they are hit and miss. I have purchased clothing that has lost its shape after just a couple of washes but still with the ‘brand’ price tag. This makes shops like kmart and Big W etc much more appealing because of their price – only these clothes are mass produced and can support unfair trading conditions in other countries. So I agree this industry is in quite a pickle. Looking at the nature of the supply and demand chain we really need to ask ourselves as consumers why have we created this demand?
So there’s a depth in shopping I realise. Which means, that there’s a depth in everything. Where as many of us use shopping as time to relax and ‘have a good time’. Which we can still have, but we’re still responsible for buying clothes and the impact we have with buying that specific clothes. As we’re actually supporting companies and in that certain choices the company makes. Whether they’re taking care of their staff, appreciate them, reward them or do the opposite. Do we support separateness, businesses based on outcome and profit making as the goal or companies that actually take responsibility and understand that they’re offering people a way to earn an income and with that have a lovely life?
How incredible it would be to have this article featured in fashion magazines everywhere! This is so educational Adele and gives power to our choice of what we wear and what we endorse as fashion and style. It is no longer just down to colour and fabrics, but brands and designers and manufactures that our choice of clothing can be made from.
‘Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.’
Wow Adele – that is so true, yet it had never crossed my mind before.
In the preciousness of space in Hong Kong, apparently it is very popular to rent spaces just to store stuff. So we continue to buy and because good money has been spent, we rent storage spaces to keep many things we do not need or use anymore, we think we feel “safe” with the stuff we own, clothing as well as handbags and shoes often get stored in these rented spaces. Recently, one of these storages had a big fire, and the fire lasted for many days and 2 firemen were killed, so this fact raised a lot of discomfort in people. When we clutter our lives with stuff we do not use anymore but cannot let go, we are filling up the spaciousness within ourselves to not feel the truth.
In fashion, spending and cluttering are encouraged, the more we buy, the more we have is considered better. But better…on what? Could what we consider is better is a feeling of comfort and protection that does not challenge us to be more aware, to feel the energy of what we cannot see? For if we do, the way we spend, on what and how much would be very different.
There are so many clothes that are high-end fashion that even if I was given them for free I wouldn’t put them on my body for anyone or anything. And that’s not coming from justifying because I wouldn’t buy something for thousands of dollars either, it’s because of the fabrics, style, why it was made, or the intent of what it’s meant to give you if you wear it, that I would stay away from. I can remember before fashion became a thing or issue growing up, that I loved outfits because of how they felt and the colours I picked out and feeling lovely in them. When comparison reared its ugly head at school especially with free dress days, even if I was wearing the latest fashion, I felt awkward and fake because I was walking around as the fashion and how that is expected to be portrayed instead of as myself.
I have never really taken much notice of high fashion, apart from reading those glossy, fashion magazines when I was a teenager, choosing instead to go my own way and creating my own style. Don’t get me wrong, I love to dress up and I like clothes to be of a nice quality, but by not succumbing to the whims of fashion allows me to just be me, and honour what my body wants to wear, and not what is in vogue at the moment.
Thank you for reminding us Adele, through the subject of fashion, that everything is energy.
Adele walking through the fashion department of Selfridges in London made me realise just how much our lives revolve around fashion, some of the items made no sense at all, they are purely to make a statement. Yet then you find an item, something that feels supportive and its great to wear it. It makes me realise that whilst fashion is done for competition, we can select items in a different way. Yet how incredible would a store like Selfridges be if it was all designed with products that honoured and cared for the person?
In choosing to fit into what is “fashionable,” as designers are we truly vital, joyful and with unending creative ideas that benefit everyone? And as customers, do we truly feel we are enough when we put on the latest piece of clothing? When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way? I love the questions we are left with to ponder on in your last paragraph Adele. When we choose clothes knowing we are already enough, it is a different feeling all together – we do choose clothes that reflect our joy rather those that fit into that tight box we call the fashion of that moment.
I find it fascinating how design in what ever form it takes, interior, fashion, packaging, furniture, fine art etc, all provide such opportunity. – They are in everyone’s lives, everywhere and everyday, what far reaching potential there is then to express truth in the design industry.
They say in the design industry that the brand is the face of the product. When designing the brand identity it must tell the story and convey the personality in just one mark, so you can feel the exact same ‘backstory’ you identified Adel going in the identity and the other products that come within a particular brand.
Thank you Adele for your sharing on fashion. I have to giggle here and share that though I have not officially studied fashion, it is something I see around me and I see it going around in circles. What was fashionable yesterday will not be fashionable tomorrow, but if you wait a few more days it will become the ‘in’ thing again. And just recently I pulled out a favourite sweater from my cupboard and laughed about how old it was and baggy and 80’s style, and my husband remarked that it actually has all come back into fashion again!
So if you hang onto your clothes long enough they will be IN STYLE again! Ha Ha (just don’t let the moths get to them!).
“On this day, as I went through the many different racks of clothing, I decided not to use my eyes to register their value, but instead connected with my heart and felt the quality in which they had been made and were then sending out to the world.” When we stop and take a moment to connect it is very clear what products have been made with love and integrity and which have not. It is utterly shocking how very little integrity there is out there so it is really important that we all as individuals, rather than going into reaction, take stock and check in with ourselves to make sure we are not adding to it, but offer the love and connection we are seeking to ourselves first so that then others may feel it and be inspired by.
Yes let’s get honest about fashion but more than that let’s just get honest!
“The quality that clothes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is.” What a striking statement and one that is very true. If this was widely understood the world of fashion might be quite different.
Reading this and writing about clothing and fashion is uncovering a relationship that’s been neglected. Clothing and fashion I’ve so linked to self-esteem, self acceptance, self-celebration, hiding from jealousy/ being seen, seeking comfort, that I’ve felt exhausted by these conflicts and the effort involved in just getting dressed in the morning! The calculated balance of looking lovely but not too lovely so that I feel gorgeous- always leaving something not quite OK so I can put myself down!
Or wanting comfort in wearing certain clothes but needing to wash them regularly forcing constant change. And having to let go of items because they’ve seen better days. It’s asking me to increase my awareness and live what’s true for the day. Letting go of stagnation and being open to refinement, wearing clothes that reflect where I’m at.
This is a much needed conversation. I’ve avoided fashion. I have reacted to what I’ve felt as an imposition – the you’re only OK if you’re wearing a certain label or on the pulse. I’ve reacted to it leading the way but have never taken the responsibility to lead the way. But wearing clothes is as much part of everyday life as me driving. I wear loads of layers in the UK and love warmer climates because I don’t have to consider what to wear as much. Like I love sandals because they go with everything. Shoes that don’t go with certain trousers and the ones that do aren’t for walking far, this I find annoying. Yes, it’s clear I have work to do with acceptance and expression through what I wear.
It is true with most things, that we get more than what we superficially see and you describe this very well as far as fashion is concerned; there are so many undercurrents and emotions, ambitions and ulterior motives that it is a wonder anybody actually has a stitch to put on.
Great article Adele, Thanks for sharing this, ‘Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy.’ since reading your article for the first time I went shopping with this awareness a couple of days ago, it was very interesting to feel the energy of the clothes rather than just look at them, i could feel how some shops had a given up energy – the clothes felt like they were less than other designs and shops and some shops felt like they were very glamorous but not real and natural, it has been really interesting reading the different energy with different brands and interesting to see which ones I buy into and align to.
It is very revealing what you say, Adele, about fashion trends repeating themselves or being recycled. There is a distinct feeling that very few if any designers are connecting to/ in tune with people and how they are needing to express through their clothing, or allowing space for their inherent creativity and originality to emerge.
You have clearly shown that fashion has lost its way from expressing who we truly are under the clothes we wear.
‘The fact is everything is energy. Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy.’
To know this deliberates us of the illusion that we can find the right dress. Energywise the suitable dress or clothing comes to us. Every piece of clothing comes with an energy., so it is more about the quality how we wear our clothes than solely how they look.
Thank you Adele! You really increased my awareness to not just choose clothes according to what they look like but what they feel like. I guess I have been doing that all along, but reading your blog made this process a more conscious one for me.
I love how you showed Adele that we have a choice – just take things at face value, see them only with our eyes or connect with what our whole body feels and is receiving and be honest about that. We can be sucked in by outer appearances but our body lets us know the truth of the matter.
This is fascinating – to FEEL the energy with which clothes are made, the desire to stand out, the intention to beat the competition – ‘Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.’ Energy is shifting all the time, if we do not keep up with the changes, we get ill. Fashion now needs to be more caring of the people who wear the clothes, so that no needy energy is woven into the fabric. This means designers, manufacturers, advertisers and shops – all along the chain – need to be responsible for their energy when handling the clothes.
“The fact is everything is energy. Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy.” And the energy has an effect on the way we feel in relation to the clothes and ourselves. I am much more aware of this these days, and buy clothes based on how they feel and how I feel when I wear them and not so much on the way they look. I find that when the clothes feel good, they will also look good.
There is no picture to follow in true fashion. Being sexy does not mean one thing, such as a picture of a woman with curves in a body hugging dress, we have got to let go of images to truly move free in fashion expression or simply expression. A woman can be sexy in a myriad of different expressions, and it is awesome to clock ourselves whether we judge another simply by their outward appearance, which is a picture that we carry.
Wha is fashion but an ephemeral trend, an endless thread of creation that once undone, must fully unravel if one is to understand what truly lays underneath.
“Whether loudly or subtly, some clothes imparted the feeling of female sexualisation, some presented rebellion and anger, others a cushiony numbing of allure, as well as supremacy and competition.” What you’ve summed up here of what you could feel from the clothes, are exactly the reasons an item of clothing is bought…. to be ‘more sexy’, look ‘different’, to ‘disappear’ or to shout ‘look at me’. All however dismiss the truth of oneself and instead rely on the clothing to project something else – a desired image or statement… using fashion in this way is a way to hide from our own beautiful truth.
“The fact is everything is energy. Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy.” This is a massive realisation and through your example of the fashion industry its easy to see how the intention of the designers carries through to the garments we wear and how we are affected. The fact that everything is energy applies to every other areas of our lives and to let ourselves recognise the energy behind every intention and action takes some relearning. By beginning to let myself see and feel this with greater clarity it becomes easier not to get caught in the emotional spin of life.
“Fashion trends tend to repeat themselves, with each brand having their own distinctive flair, where details are added in or taken away each season to mimic change.” It is interesting how we kid ourselves we are inventing something new, rather than being honest enough to say that we have just fiddled around with an idea that has been doing the rounds for quite a few years. It really brings into question what are we attempting to do by being ‘fashionable’? Are we in some way wanting to feel united through what we wear? And so I wonder, are we using fashion as a substitute for true Brotherhood, it is a transient way to feel connected and in tune with one another.
I do find it disturbing how the modern fashion industry has moved towards clothes that are so cheap to produce and buy that they are almost one wear disposable items. This is in contrast to the well made clothes of the past which perhaps were more expensive but would last a lifetime or beyond. This ‘disposable fashion’ is both a reflection of our insatiable need for distraction, competition and stimulation and also encourages it.
The fashion industry is a very clear reflection or mirror of how separated we are living from ourselves and each other but are we willing to see the signs and the ridiculous ruse?
One day it will be fasionable to dress in a way that both expresses who we are and supports/unites humanity rather than seeking attention and one upmanship.
Reading this has me pondering on what the designers have in mind when they bring out a line of clothing, and what energy the clothes come laced with depending on the whole manufacturing process, and not forgetting the working conditions and pay given to the employees – it seems we are getting more than we bargained for when buying clothes.
In this world we are lied to from all angles, even the clothes, we put around our temples (bodies) lie.
I love what you are presenting here and asking me to revisit and question. I often consider the people who have made clothing and how that reflects on the clothes…such as cheaper brands and how they take care of the orders in the factories where clothes are made. I realised I had a responsibility to not buy clothes that endorsed abusive work practices regardless of how tempting the saving was. I can’t do anything about what I have done but I can make a choice moving forward.
Wanting to be different and better is never true.
Fashion cannot change us, we can only come to an understanding within ourselves and experience change first within us, and that would naturally come to a different expression on the outside. We cannot make ourselves look sexy if sexiness is not first felt, we cannot make ourselves look powerful if power is not what we feel we are, we cannot make ourselves look cool if coolness is not what we breathe. Clothes do not give us any power so to speak, there is no faking it till we make it as that would just be lying to ourselves. But clothes can be our natural expression of living what we already know to be true, and that is the true way to fashion.
Love what you are saying here Adele… That fashion or clothes can never truly make up for what we lack inside.
There is a responsibility in how we dress ourselves. It is far more healing to be honest than to pretend. But it is with going deeper into why we are dressing in such a way, and making different choices for ourselves, that would lead to truth.
Being different to everyone else is what we want to be expressing in fashion, with the connotation that we set ourselves apart with others, separation is our chosen way. A chosen way which is not natural to our bodies. When we do not honor the naturalness of our bodies, we are living in constant tension with ourselves, and therefore we couldn’t but live in conflict and disregard with others. We choose not to love in this industry, by the virtue that we have first chosen to not love our bodies. Without love for ourselves, it is the same way we will treat another, as well as be involved in every process of our work and life.
When we are young we want to fit in and be accepted by our peer group for safety, unless we have a really individual and perhaps rebellious attitude. Girls very often always dress in the same fashion, including hairstyles, and maybe it is part of bonding with the group. But they all look the same, like clones. Standing out from the crowd means separation and judgment coming your way, it takes a girl with a lot of trust in herself and her own validity to stand up against her friends. Even when someone is rebellious, as my son was at thirteen years old when he became a punk, they are following yet another trend in fashion, and joining yet another set of regulations and rules. Maybe still feeling it is important to be in fashion is that old teenage dependency on approval of the group and wanting to fit in, never mind if the clothes don’t “fit” your body. Wearing what we feel to, and feeling good about ourselves in the clothes we choose, is a sign of maturity.
‘Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed’ – I think this is such a true and important statement Adele. I absolutely agree that although the trends may seemingly change or differ, the underlying imposing energy of fashion does not change and the pressure to wear what is ‘fashionable’ at the time rather than what we truly feel to wear is the same.
How is it possible to say ‘no’ and stand up against the masses that say ‘yes’ and don’t stand up? How does one woman get to the strength to do this?
Answer: Reading the energy behind the ‘yes’ and observing that this is far less powerful than a single ‘no’ when the ‘no’ comes from love.
I find that if the clothes I am wearing don’t feel a part of me, almost like a second skin then I have dressed to be something, such as power dressing, to make myself look like I know what I am doing and to fit a picture or dressing down so as not to stand out, either of these and my awareness is drawn to how I look more than how I feel. I love clothes but they have to feel right on my body first and if they don’t I have learnt not to buy it.
‘The fact is everything is energy. Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy.’
We can never escape this fact, not ever.
What are designer labels anyway? A few years ago a friend shared a story about her children who only wanted designer-label-clothes to wear at school, so as to not stand out as being different from other children there. Being a single parent without an abundance of cash flow, she made up a beautiful logo on her sewing machine and added this to her children’s clothing. The other children at school noticed a new designer label and all wanted to know where they could get their parents to buy it for them! How easily we are fooled by wanting something apparently ‘different and better’ than before.
There is a big difference between fashion and style. The more I have re-connected to my expression as a woman the more I feel pulled to dress with style and let go of the need to be fashionable. To me fashion feels fleeting and shallow, whereas style enable me to reflect my inner qualities.
You have given us a lot to ponder here Adele, with no surprises really in the energy held within the fashion industry. Learning to shop, dress and express ourselves as women with freedom and clarity is super important.
“When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?” This sums it up beautifully Adele thank you… we can be slaves to fashion and therefore be influenced in ways we are not even aware, or we can find the joy in our own selves which we then express through our choice of fashion. The two look and feel very very different.
Before we choose our clothes in the morning, we have already read what clothes would satisfy the people we are meeting that day, to confirm the picture they hold of who us. We can easily then dress to meet their expectations, but we can also be true to ourselves and dress what our inner quality is expressing, and sometimes these are not the same. These clothing choices could be baffling to the mind, but if they come from a connection to ourselves, there is always healing and the opportunity of evolution for all parties. Clothing in awareness is that important.
What if when seeing ourselves there is some part of us that we do not like, some feature of ourselves that we do not accept? The responsibility for us is to go beyond what we see, but to feel the truth of who we are. If we allow ourselves to feel, the essence and quality of who we are is already absolutely amazing and the most amazing is this quality does not only belong to us, it belongs to every single person in this whole wide world.
Hi Adele, I love what you are addressing here as I used to design and make simple clothes that stood out from others only due to the love I put into them. Nowadays when I buy clothes I usually adjust them a little so as to I make them feel mine as this always changes the energy of the garment.
What would it mean for Designers to take responsibility for the energy in which they are designing? It is so unbelievably true that we are stuck in a world of competition and comparison. For what gain? We are actively choosing to be in constant separation with each other instead of harnessing and honouring everyone’s individual expression and allowing everyone the space to work in service of others and not in need of self recognition.
WOW Adele. What an eye opener. You’ve really highlighted how irresponsible we are and how much that affects absolutely everything. We all choose to clothe ourselves daily. I know for myself I am very rarely choosing to dress for me, and often considering who I will be seeing and how I think I should look for those people. Take work meetings for example. If I don’t have a meeting with clients on a particular day, I feel like I can ‘relax’ more, and not be as ‘professional’ looking. I see clothes as making a particular statement…but what is that statement? At what point am I actually dressing the person I am? So much to consider here.
This brings a sense of greater responsibility for me in considering how do I wear my clothes, what energy am I drawn too with what I wear, or do I choose clothes that support me in who I am not some idea of who I want to be..yes more and more I am daring to feel into what I choose to wear and does it meet my inner sense of me and express that – then I actually emanate in my clothes that quality of joy, beauty, whatever it is I’m feeling.
Does fashion lead by own self ideas completely disconnected from creatively supporting people to dress their expression to have a certain image, or is fashion in connection to the people it will dress, getting inspiration and it is felt what is needed to support us to wear clothes in a way where we can creatively express who we are?
We are led by fashion because we give our power away to be created by others, rather than daring to feel who we are and dress to support us and our expression rather than be dressed.
Well Adele, this is certainly a stop moment! As you have said, we all wear clothes! So how are we wearing clothes? We identify with our clothes to create who we think we are or who we want to be and how we want to be perceived by the world, and thus there is an array of choices as you described from emotive to sexualised clothing, each presenting a certain style and story of identity. It is the energy that gives the clothes their quality and it’s that energy we wear on our bodies and absorb into our bodies as it feeds our story line. It is a false sense of who we are. Awesome blog and very revealing.
Without being aware or choosing true choices in fashion and in life, we are repeatedly confirming ourselves to be who we are not, and thus how can we ever know who we truly are? We have to stop and be honest.
Just like any form of art, we as a society seem to praise people’s emotional and energetic state by confirming how great their art is. As you have shared Adele, it is not just our eyes that see the art it’s our bodies that feel what state the designer was in. If we were to become more confirmed in our bodies truth we would be picking our art/clothing by way of feeling the energetic state of the artist.
Emotion is not a natural part of us, we do not need emotions to feel alive. In fact, emotions are the cause to all sickness and diseases in the world, it takes away our life force.
Adele what you bring to the world is a beautiful exposure of how everything thing is effected by our livingness and the quality that we choose to move in. Bringing this awareness to fashion for me exposes how our imprints are in all we do, and that nobody escapes feeling the energetic imprints from another.
Why is the world of fashion this way? Perhaps as a society we need to look at why we choose this. My feeling is lack of self worth which is rampant, feeds this industry and in turn is fed by it, creating a cycle of yuck. The energetic quality behind clothing and fashion is ignored and the superficial layer has been given the most important place even though it is the energetic quality that affects us on the deepest layer.
I love what you share Adele, it gives us much to ponder on. I have always viewed fashion as the world knows it as something quite fickle. From one season to the next things change. Keeping up with fashion means constantly changing your style. It does not support people in expressing their true style but tries to control and dictate what people should wear. This only happens because we allow it and when we choose this.
“I see how trends seem to be repeating themselves but in a more extreme form” I have been feeling that the fashion trend at the moment is very trashy for women, lots of oversized shirts, the torn jeans, very short tops etc. it is not just the look but as you say too, very much the feel of the clothes that is standing out.
Yes it is really interesting that trends are resurfacing every couple of years and even though there might be slight changes when the energy is not changed noting has truly changed. If the purpose of making clothes is not to support the body, keep it warm and to express the inner beauty that is in us all, then what ever the look is it is still not serving us truly. Imagine fashion where all the above is considered first and foremost that would be a world of a difference!
I have over the years become more and more aware that what pulls me to people is the beauty that radiates from within them and the external although it may attract me initially is never enough for long and at the end of the day it is that inner essence that makes the difference. I wonder how long it will take for us to start realising what you have shared here about clothes and about fashion, that what the items look like to our eyes is far outwayed by the impact of the love and care (or the lack of it) the items are made in which is picked up by all our senses
“Fashion trends tend to repeat themselves, with each brand having their own distinctive flair, where details are added in or taken away each season to mimic change”.
How applicable this is to the way we live in cycles, endlessly going around on the same circle, tweaking bits in our life to kid ourselves that we are making a difference in it. Until we addressing our love-less-ness within there can be no true change in our living way. Our choices of clothing certainly change as we ring-the-changes within and no following of trends is necessary any longer.
When the ‘norm’ is that as men and women we fully claim our inner beauty, fashion, by default will have to change as what may have been acceptable in the past will no longer be ok on any level.
Bringing responsibility to consumerism.. it is not all about getting what we want without considering the full impact our choices are having on the whole.
I have always felt that the fashion industry has a superiority complex and is elitist in its approach – super interesting to hear about it from the inside and to understand that the energy put into making the clothes is often anything but beautiful. This should be understood by all those who aspire to the ideals portrayed from within it.
Roll on the day when clothes are designed to complement and enhance all our innate and graceful qualities. I know that the more I have come to honour myself as a woman my whole taste in clothes has been transformed. When we dress our selves in appreciation and honour our delicacy and self worth we transform the world on fashion from the inside out.
When you start to talk about the subtle energy that clothes are imbued with it is so obvious. This brand makes you super cool, that one is sexy, or daring, or avant garde, or retro. Each one is asking you to fit into a pigeon hole, and feeds off the fact that others will recognise that (and therefore you). Where is the fashion that asks you to express yourself in full, even if that is with yellow socks on!
Men can typically leave clothing/fashion expression up to their partners and give less energy to this, but it is quite empowering to start taking the responsibility back and making the choice ourselves. It has uncovered much for me about my own level of self expression.
As we change and evolve, so too would the way we dress as this is an outer reflection of our innermost. I’ve noticed that if I can be quite practical in the choice of fashion, but this, even though very subtle, is a way of holding myself back from being seen in full.
We all feel, we feel everything, we do. In feeling it all, we cannot but live what is true. The world may not reflect truth and love, and therefore, it is imperative that we live and reflect unreservedly truth and love in the most mundane of every day experiences. We cannot avoid wearing clothes, can we? The world is not there yet to have all fashion designed with love and truth, but we can be that truth and love and then wear whatever clothes we choose to, we can all be the models that change the fashion world. It is us people, not the clothes that make fashion.
Fashion is just one part of the world that is in disunity. It is no different from education, medicine, politics etc. We have to look at fashion equally with everything else if we are to return to living our whole.
The fashion industry impacts the world—every person who puts clothes on, every person who looks at any fashion advertising billboard, every person who has ever flipped a fashion magazine or has children who do, every person who has ever looked at their body image and has questioned it, every person who has ever thought buying a clothing, hair and makeup product will change how they will feel about themselves, every person who has seen a model and has wished they could be them, so on and so forth. The fashion industry affects us more than we care to admit.
When it comes down to it how many ways can you wear a hat or a scarf. We can so many ways and many different colours and designs but it’s still a hat and a scarf. Fashion has it’s limitations but the person working, wearing or creating the fashion doesn’t. When it is material it’s limited, when it’s about people it’s limitless.
“When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.” This is so true. The more I have been conscious of the way I dress, the quality in which I put my clothes on and feel what to wear that matches how I feel that day or what it is I want to express, the more I realise that clothing or fashion is about energy, like everything else. I am paying more attention these days to how clothes feel rather than how they look. This adds a depth and quality to what I wear and how I prepare myself.
’When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.’ – How true, and that is just one of the many arenas in life where illusion flourishes.
Wow, Adele. Until reading this blog I hadn’t been consciously aware of the package that comes with an item of clothing – weighing the wearer down well beyond the grams that make up the physical garment.
It is interesting how many people would call themselves “fashionistas” and always look cool with the latest fashion trends but this is just a cover-up of the emptiness and disconnection from self from the lack of appreciation and acceptance of our beauty within.
“Fashionistas, it is not about clothes, it is about US.” AL
Thank you Adele, you have presented some great insights about fashion for us to ponder on and the importance of discernment of what we choose to wear and the intention behind it.
Adele its great that you are noticing the numbing effect of getting caught up in the illusion the fashion designers spin and truly feeling what energy the clothes are laced with, as this is already the start of change. It is up to us as consumers to also feels this and choose our clothes with discernment.
Being able to see through the illusions that surround us in this world is a great support when making decisions about what we see as true or false. So seeing through the fashion industry for being there to make us all feel good about ourselves as women, is an important message for us all. As we know Adele, that comes from our essence inside, not from anything outside of us. From our essence, we shine out, whatever we wear.
Adele what you are bringing to the fashion industry is the much needed truth. This blog is ground breaking in exposing the energy behind fashion. Until we choose to see the reasons as to why we get hooked into fashion and explore fashion in its truest sense as an expression of how we feel rather than using it to make us feel better, as you say, fashion will never evolve.
We can choose to evolve, and evolve fashion and other industries with us. That is the only way.
For me my clothes first and foremost have to be comfortable, not too tight, not too baggy, no zips or buttons in the wrong places, etc. The clothing has to support me to be me. Anything that is not does not get a look in no matter how good it may look on. I wonder why we lost this approach to our lives in general? Surely if we honoured ourselves and our bodies more we would not be looking out to others to guide us as to where and how to go, or even what to wear.
I have never been a dedicated follower of fashion, choosing instead my own style. And considering nowadays, it seems that anything goes, skinny jeans, bootleg cuts, baggy pants, short skirts, long skits, plain or patterns, which ever colour of the season suits… vintage, 60’s style etc etc, it makes me wonder what some fashion designers are trying to achieve, apart from selling clothes to make money and gain recognition, or to tempt people to buy the latest designer label at an extraordinary cost just to look and feel good, which we know is just momentarily fleeting if your designer clothes are not congruent with how extraordinarily gorgeous you feel on the inside.
“The quality that clothes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is.” True Adele, fashion is overdue a quality overhaul from conception to concession.
It’s fascinating to consider the energy and motivation behind fashion. Far from truly celebrating women and the joy of that you have exposed what is really going on behind the scenes. It’s also interesting to hear what is going on with high end fashion, “checking out from life is rocketing beyond sky-high into space themes; glamorous gown designs are going high-tech and low-budget in material; power suits are now 3-D printed where cleaning can only be done by the atelier.” This must be reflective of how we are generally living globally; more interested in our gadgets and video games as a way of dealing with the intensity of life.
I am so pleased you have brought this subject up, Adele, as in the past few years I have struggled to find clothes that I want to purchase. When I read this line – “some clothes imparted the feeling of female sexualisation, some presented rebellion and anger, others a cushiony numbing of allure, as well as supremacy and competition” – it made a lot of sense to me, that it was my increased awareness and sensitivity that had put me off the majority of clothing, because I could feel the lack of integrity or loving care in the way the items had been designed or made. A fashion designer with absolute love for people would be a big hit in my books!
Over time I often find that I have clothes in my wardrobe which I no longer want to wear, not because they are worn or do not fit but just that they no longer feel right. It feels like I may have moved on but the clothes have not and so they tend to sit there for a while until I either throw them out or take them to the charity shop.
Your article Adele brings a whole new awareness to the saying “Never mind the width, feel the quality”. There was a time in my life when I felt so empty and depressed I indulged in a lot of ‘retail therapy’ in a vain attempt to make me feel better. I went for width not quality. I can feel now however that the whole industry is caught in a cycle of emotions, a need and drive to fill a void that cannot ever be filled in this way. The designer, manufacturer and customer all seeking something from an external expression and product. I met a young lady once who was very honest about her addiction to buying clothes, very often the clothes never made it out of the bag after the purchase. It highlights the empty drive we have to fill this void, a void that can be healed when we are encouraged to seek inside ourselves for the Love we are missing. When we do our entire relationship with clothes and other material objects alters, as the more we connect to the love inside our selves, the more natural it becomes to choose clothes that complement the beauty and love inherent within us and so the rampage to fill the void ceases.
The fashion industry is constantly changing but like you say Adele, the energy behind it all is the same, nothing has changed, it is not about people, it is about money and greed and playing on people’s feelings of emptiness and lack of self worth. We are encouraged to buy clothes to look good and to make ourselves feel good in, but when this is done in an emptiness, without connecting to ourselves and why we are buying them, we are never satisfied and so the need to constantly buy something new and exciting is never ending. I know I used to shop to fill a void in my life hoping that the clothes would fulfil something that was lacking in me. I have noticed especially on a Saturday and Sunday how many people you will see just wandering around shops without a purpose hoping to find something that will make them feel complete for a few moments.
“The quality that clothes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is.” I love this line Adele as it to puts responsibility back into our own hands and how we in turn wear our own clothing and support our expression and ways in the world. I really enjoy wearing clothing that celebrates and supports my expression and it is a full sensory celebration. Clothing must feel lovely on the body, support movement and allow the body to be perfectly free.
Beautiful kellyzarb, and if the clothes we choose feel lovely on our bodies, support movement and allow the body to be perfectly free, we are also able to wear them with confidence and grace. Then we serve others by shining and inspiring them to be their own unique expressions. So much fashion is worn to fit into the mould because that feels comfortable; to break that mould and wear what we feel expresses our own particular beauty and grace would put a stop to everyone wearing the “look alike” clothes, and trying to fit their shapes into uncomfortable designs, and then the fashion industry would collapse in its present form.
When we truly know and live the true beauty and love we are anything we wear will truly look good.
Fascinating perspective from one deeply involved in the industry Adele, thank you, and although it may take time for changes to come about I feel with the deep truth that you bring to all that you do, and the understanding and insights you have, you will inspire many changes in the people around you and in time the industry itself.
The cost of our current fashion industry is far greater than what we pay for clothing.
‘In choosing to fit into what is “fashionable,” as designers are we truly vital, joyful and with unending creative ideas that benefit everyone?’
Fashion ‘benefiting everyone’ it is exactly the way it should be – however, is the complete opposite of the way the industry currently operates – based on comparison and competition.
The fashion industry have been leading us into believing we have to be up to date with the latest look but as Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet ” the clothes doth oft proclaim the man” meaning people form judgements about others based on what we wear. So this in not new and goes back a long way. So really it is an industry laced with all sorts of ideals and beliefs, corruption, exploitation, comparison and it’s up to us to be a different way in that industry but also not responding to the energy that is drawing us in but hold our own.
We have moved in a way before fashion even existed, of separation, that we choose to focus on the external and disregard our innermost, so that our outward appearance has become the entirety that we are judged upon. In-truth this is a choice, to not be in the responsibility of awareness.
I am no longer swayed by fashion, but love clothes and enjoy to see colour, innovation in design, feel the fabrics and feel the integrity of the garment. It’s up to me to be able to hold myself when I wear an outfit and not give my power away to an image or be imposed upon by the energy that the garment comes with… It’s my responsibility to hold myself and then reimprint the garment.
Your sharing Adele is, or at least has the potential, to be inspiring to all people to discern in their jobs the emotions that are involved in the end results of products. Whether it being any good in a store, the way the garden is been done, a house is built or a conversation is held. I feel that your words are asking me to be more honest and also more willing to let energies and people in. Thank you.
I too love Adele’s insights into the world of fashion, I love the understanding she brings and the love, as there is no judgement just the calling out what is there to be seen and felt quite easily should we want to. Clothes are so much fun when you feel the expression in them.
Fashion is an imposed expression, we buy into literally. With each range comes a theme or image which is the imposed energy. It’s up to us to be vigilant to not be imposed upon and walk us not just be a coat hanger for someone else’s energy.
Excellent point that everything is energy, including the quality clothes are made in. What I have discovered is one of the most amazing things about clothes is the energy we buy them in, and I find that lingers on clothes their whole life span – was it to truly evolve and grow and support you? Or was it a desire and something that just looked good. The difference in how you feel when you wear it is massive.
Adele, I love your insights into the fashion industry. I have read a number of your blogs related to fashion, clothing and the industry more broadly. They have been very supportive as I change my relationship with clothes and the way I dress myself.
You have a lot to bring to this industry Adele, one of them being Truth.
And love and honesty being two other qualities that you bring to the industry, amongst many others ….
’In choosing to fit into what is “fashionable,” as designers are we truly vital, joyful and with unending creative ideas that benefit everyone? And as customers, do we truly feel we are enough when we put on the latest piece of clothing? When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?’
Really, how often do we dress according to how we feel in that moment and how it is going to support us during the day? Not many people do, it is all based on how we look or the complete opposite, we could not care less how we feel or look.
Hoi An in Vietnam is a quaint town on the coast and by a river renowned for it’s tailors. I traveled there for the first time a few years ago and decided to get some work pants made. I selected some very good quality cashmere wool pinstripe fabric, was measured up and got them made. The pants felt sooo good in every way.. I got to feel what it is like to have something tailor made just for you, my clothes felt part of me, instead of something that sat on me… and these were work clothes!. I imagine there was once a time when all of our clothes were tailor made, with this level of care. So yeah.. it doesn’t appear the fashion industry has evolved. In fact it seems to be stuck in a repetitive cycle of repeating different flares of the same looks. From what I have heard it is a pretty cut throat industry too. What would the industry be like if the focused returned to support the people that wear the clothing before financial gain and appearances?
Another superb blog by you Adele. We do indeed need to be aware of what we wrap around ourselves and the energy behind its production and the intent behind the design.
“But what is really going on if we are not aware of the energy of clothing, nor how we may be led by it all our lives? I love this question because it shows how we override what we know to be true and opt for the outer things that will gain us recognition in some form. A big marker that says we have lost connection to the awesomeness that we are, and like sheep follow the flock but try to make ourselves stand out from it, rather than acknowledging our unique individual expression that is a part of the whole that is equal to us in every way.
A really thought provoking blog Adele. To bust the consciousness around what we have made fashion to be is huge! Thank you Adele for sharing your insights into the murk that is presented as “beauty”. Selling anything that is not based on love needs to be exposed and you have well and truly done that here!
Fashion is a man made creation that reflects the man that made it, so the question is, what does it reflect and do we want to wear that reflection?
I love the reflection that is offered here – clothes can represent the feelings of sexualisation, supremacy, control and emotions are on the outside and although we may choose to wear them and be seen as this they do not change that which we truly are within.
You must see a lot Adele, about what drives the fashion industry… To have access to what goes on at the ‘high end’ in particular, must be hugely eye-opening.
Yet, such awarenesses are there for us all to have, and readily so. I can sense threads in myself that may ‘hanker’ for a certain brand or garment, yet am I truly discerning the energy behind it? Or do I negate all that is there to BE energetically discerned as to its true quality, because it fits a picture of what I want, and/or how I would like to be or be seen by others?
It’s no different to the movie or music ‘star’ whose own life is filled with chaos, disharmony and self-abuse – we are the receivers of a ‘final product’, and your blog speaks here of the responsibility we can all take in truly discerning just what that product entails, no matter how alluring the ‘outer picture or image’ may be…
This is a fabulous subject to bust the bubble on Adele – your voice is stellar in this regard.
Do we truly want to see beyond the immediate image portrayed – to the intent of the design, the quality of care in its making, and so much more?
If my lunch were made by someone desperate to annihilate his or her rivalling food providers, if it were made by someone living a drug-fuelled lifestyle who only cared about notoriety… I wouldn’t want to eat it. I’d sense that the food wasn’t going to be truly supportive or made with care. It’s no different with the clothes we wear and/or may admire. Everything is energy – absolutely so.
“The design, detail and production were all imbued with competition and comparison. In-truth, none of that is love, and neither is it beauty.” I find this a powerful reminder of how underlying everything is energy and it is our responsibility to discern it.
For me what is important is the way we feel inside then whatever we wear is effectively a reflection of this. The same dress or shirt can look completely different on 2 different people – so are we really feeling the dress or shirt or the way the person is and the way the person wears it? Something I am learning is that there is far more to life than what purely meets the eye.
‘But are we truly comfortable?’ This is a great question concerning fashion, as especially with shoes there are so many styles and models which look great but are not comfortable for our feet. It is the question what do we allow in order to look fashionable?
Adele – to have a fashion stylist that looks at fashion the way you do is unheard of. We’ve made fashion about what draws us in or entices us, what is unique, stands out, demands emotion and reactions but for you to be aware of the energetic quality of clothes is awesome!
Where are the designers at and therefore what is expressed through their designs. No one ever looks or questions this. I love that you are looking at the quality of clothes in this sense – what an absolute healing for all the pieces you use in your next shoot.
“But what is really going on if we are not aware of the energy of clothing, nor how we may be led by it all our lives?” now this is a question that very few people dare to ask, to me fashion has been about creating an image that we want the world to see us as. However what about the quality, care and love for ourselves? What about clothes that naturally express our power? The fashion industry will be turned on its head as we step forward asking for clothing that is honouring of each person and not to designed to win competitive design awards.
If we really stop to consider the entire fashion industry, from slaughtering animals just for their skins, to the sweat shops filled with cheap child labour and poorly constructed factories that collapse without warning killing thousands of workers we have to ask ourselves the question is it really that important to have the latest fashion? Maybe our way forward for this intense and somewhat bizarre industry is to restore the importance of quality of production alongside quality of product. What does it say about us that we need to be constantly entertained by ‘new’ inventions that only serve to lessen our global health and well being. Choosing to feel the quality of our clothing does support us to raise our self worth and appreciation of what others do. It is possible to value ourselves, our clothes and everyone’s contribution in the long train of design and production so that all can benefit from the fashion industry.
Yes imagine if fashion had as its intent or purpose, unifying humanity with a common ‘thread’ but still allowing some individual style and expression of that common thread?
The way that fashion styles have to be continually changed to keep us entertained reminds me of other forms of entertainment like movies, computer games and TV. They all have a common theme of needing to be short attention span, fast moving and constantly changing lest we get bored with the one thing. But why do we get bored so fast and easily? Could there be a deeper disconnection from something that we all crave but are seeking a relief from rather than really looking for the answer to this disconentment?
The fact that the fashion industry changes its styles and fashion so frequently and frenetically is a give away of its real purpose – individualism in one form or another, which creates division, comparison and separation in humanity.
I have never really got fashion; surprise, surprise for anyone that knows me. Most of the clothes only fit or look good on really skinny people and not really designed for normal sized or different sized people and when you bring energy into the equation well the whole industry needs to seriously be looked at.
Thank you Adele for your excellent blog on fashion. It has reminded me of parallels to the art world in that we all see things that we think are pleasant or likeable on the eye but are really feeling the quality of energy that the piece of art was created in?
It’s amazing how fashion is such a huge industry.Our basic needs require us to wear clothes, and we have turned this into a multi-million dollar industry and based the whole thing on image. We are encouraged to see ourselves from without instead of simply feeling what is true for us to wear as an expression of ourselves. And we fall for it! – at least I do! A very refreshing and eye-opening blog Adele.
The true value of fashion and clothing and all that it is made out to be comes down to our own awareness of the love we are. Whatever we wear it comes from how we carry ourselves, our energy and natural beauty and grace inside us and the loving care we take for ourselves. The true purpose of this is to inspire others who they really are and our natural divine beauty. The quality and care of clothing is currently based on our outside appearance, individualism, competition and greed and so the true intent of fashion is not loving and honouring of who we really are. A great blog bringing true beauty to the fashion industry and us all.
Adele, this is very interesting to read, I can feel how I rebelled against fashion, I could feel how shallow and untrue going along with what the fashion of a particular season was and so I gave up on wearing anything fashionable and would just wear very plain clothes that actually didn’t feel great either, more recently I am enjoying choosing clothes that reflect how I am feeling, I feel more feminine and lovely nowadays and so my clothes express this, I still choose not to follow a certain ‘fashions’ but I don’t rebel like I used to, I simply choose clothes that feel lovely to wear and express my innate tenderness, delicateness and beauty.
When we feel into the human cost of the production of clothes, does it justify fashion?
Adele I felt really inspired when reading the following sentences: “On this day, as I went through the many different racks of clothing, I decided not to use my eyes to register their value, but instead connected with my heart and felt the quality in which they had been made and were then sending out to the world.” So I am wondering how much would our world change if we all only feel the quality in which things had been made . . .
Everything we do without love for people is done for self – quite a simple formula to check one´s own intention and quality of expression/work/product; we undeniably share what we live.
Good to be reminded how the eye can be fooled by images but our sense of clearly feeling the energy behind everything can ‘see’ through the image.
What is the purpose of the fashion industry? To support people feeling and expressing who they are or selling them a dream of what they imagine to be, ie. appealing to truth or denial? But the customer has a say in it, they can choose and use a product and imprint it with their own intention and quality.
Great point Alex that the clothes we wear can either support us to be more of who we are in the world or can hinder us from this. We the customers have a say in how we use the products produced by the fashion industry and as long as we are prepared to read the energy behind them in full, we can re-imprint much of it and use these tools with our own intention and quality of being more of who we are in the world.
Super interesting to consider the energy that is in clothes – the intention behind them, the quality in which they are made, the exploitation or suffering of others, greed, glamour, so much more that we are choosing. Also do the clothes support us or limit us. What we wear says a lot about our intention as well. Are we trying to hide, fit in with the boys, send out a ‘power’ signal, show our status, coolness, the list goes on. Taking it back to energy we can feel what feels true to wear, and if we choose to be true to ourselves, what is needed for us to wear comes naturally with that flow.
It is also interesting to notice how the same item of clothing can look very different on different bodies, depending on how they wear it or how they feel within themselves at that moment. Certainly confirms how everything is energy, that is, the energy the clothes are made in and the energy it is worn in.
Through observation, I ask myself.. Is the person (or am I) doing the walking or are the clothes walking the body? It could be one or the other depending on the importance of the relationship we either have with our selves or define ourselves by the clothes. Do we confirm ourselves and then see this expressed by the way we wear the clothes, or do we use the clothes to confirm who we are.
How different would it be if textures and fabrics and the styles that are manufactured from those products, were made with a much simpler and supportive outcome. So of course the obvious, is made for warmth or to keep you cooler, but what about to reflect all the amazing and gorgeous facets of every one of us, and never about, whether it’s in fashion or the latest colour for the season. If we made it all about reflecting our amazingness, the fashion world would be turned on its head and everyone would start to enjoy what they are wearing because they would be wearing something that highlighted their true value and not something that had no life or true reflection.
When we’re inspired to create something for everyone, equally, following this call from our soul, there is so much ‘universal’ support for us to succeed …. however, it’s the initial impulse that is important, whether we’re coming from a desire for our own success and recognition, or to serve and support humanity.
Fashion certainly challenges and disrupts that saying ‘you get what you pay for’ …. mostly, it seems you’re paying for the ‘label’ and the image …..
When a change is felt within, I would like to express this honesty in the way I dress. It is a deepening that could be expressed through a refinement in how fashion/image elements are put together, a slight darkening of a hair color, the intention always begin within and then expressed out.
There is so much to feel and so much to consider in the fashion industry, where do we begin? We know what is not true in this industry, for example, how making up the industry, people are considered the least important, and it is in being honest with what does not feel true, and making changes with ourselves, that we will slowly head back towards truth. There is a long way to go, but this change has begun. We do not need a movement, as no one can make the change for another, we can only choose to change ourselves and allow this reflection to shine, so that another can make the changes for themselves.
Only when we feel the confirmation of our own beauty and love in our bodies will any piece of clothing truly look good on us. Otherwise, it is all a put on. No piece of clothing, no fashion designer or stylist can ever change this for us, and it is our irresponsibility to think that with money, we can give this responsibility to another and expect them to take care of a need which we don’t want to deal with.
‘On this day, as I went through the many different racks of clothing, I decided not to use my eyes to register their value, but instead connected with my heart and felt the quality in which they had been made and were then sending out to the world.’ What a beautiful thing to do Adele and made me question why would I not naturally choose to do this. The answer is simple – that I too have bought into the energy of fashion, forgetting that because everything is energy we have to take it back to its roots, of in what energy it was designed and manufactured.
I have been noticing recently how often babies are dressed in t shirts emblazoned with slogans such as ‘I love football, or ‘I am a little farmer’ before they can sit up or speak. It would be so much lovelier if they just said “I am me”
That’s the thing about the so called creative industries Adele, it is all about identification – in whatever flavour or style it is conjured up in. Even those that like to disguise the competitive edge, it is still there, wanting to be different from the crowd; “Within the simplicity of design there lurked a subtle but undeniable desire to stand out in form and/or even fabric.”
I know that the quality I choose to be with myself and even get ready in, put make up on in, prepare my clothes, eat in etc is exactly the energy and quality others feel in and from me. Now if we take this further than making clothes it’s quite a responsibility as is producing anything – as others will then literally be wearing your energy. So how we are with ourselves is paramount.
Another ripper blog Adele. Awesome exposure of what we sell out for in fashion. It’s fabulous that you are in that industry bringing awareness and discernment to the way clothes have been made and with the understanding that that is what is being sent out or not.
When you say, ‘fashion can also be made with the intention that it is for all of us’ it has such a beautiful feeling of love and care, young and old. who ever we are. It feels so inclusive rather than delighting in exclusivity and the competition that this creates to be one of the few who attains the prestige of being the lucky few fashionable people.
What we currently call ‘fashion’ is like picking only 5 words in a language and using only them. True, you could become extremely good at arranging these special phrases, but what a limited range! True style is free from playing games to be liked. It understands there is a wide gamut of colours textures, fabrics for us to play and communicate to the world we are here to have fun and commemorate ourselves. There is no room to dress to beat others down or to look the greatest or the best, but to stand out and to sparkle for the precious and unique jewel we are. How sad that what we call fashion is no better actually than a military uniform of everyday emptiness when it can be a huge celebration of you and me and what we bring. For sure, dressing to fill ourselves up is so last season to me. Thank you Adele.
Great analogy.
Obviously there is energy in everything we do, starting with the intention or attitude we approach life with and thus the end product of our efforts reflects that exact energy or quality. Therein lays the enormous but simple responsibility and that is to be and live in a quality that does no harm and allows everyone to be left unimposed from anything that is not of their true making.
I agree Adele, we have not evolved one bit, but rather we have involved. Anyone who thinks this is harsh have a look at the internet and the abuse and brutal attacks that trolls inflict whipping themselves into a frenzy and tell us we have evolved because we have the internet – crazy we are just like spectators at a gladiators lion match.
There is a saying if you hold onto something long enough it comes back into fashion. So much energy and money goes into showing why it is the latest and greatest must have selections of the season. The big fashion houses pride themselves on exclusivity. What goes into making these garments, are they really honouring of people?
“As human beings we have not really improved, become more intelligent, beautiful or successful with fashion. We have not evolved one single bit”. This is quite a statement, but one that I have to agree with. From a statistical point of view, one could say that we are going in the opposite direction, with disease management being the norm and forever increasing rates of illness.
It was always something I found hard to comprehend – how a piece of fabric could worth so much money and social status and yet be just that – a piece of fabric. I have a few friends I would consider to be very well dressed, and although some of their clothes are higher end, what I have seen is that the way the clothes look is far more determined by how you wear them than how expensive and fashionable they are. When a simple dress is worn with true confidence it looks a millions dollars.
Well said Rebecca. It’s the way we wear our clothes that looks a million bucks because we feel worth far more than that.
The price of clothes is crazy and price does not always mean quality.
And then, of course, there is a whole other conversation about the unnatural and unrealistic demands that the fashion industry places on the size and shape of their models with absolutely no regard for the extremely damaging diets they have to endure in order to fit the bill.
Getting honest about fashion’ is only touching the tip of the iceberg. There are millions of things we need to get honest about.
Having worked for a period of time in the fashion industry, I too experienced a level of abuse that felt shocking to me at the time, and this was over 20 years ago. I was taken on as a pattern cutter because of my experience in this area, but quickly got relegated to being a machinist, turning out dresses in half an hour that would then be sold for a lot of money. We got paid pennies per dress. This didn’t feel great to me and I left to make bespoke dresses for individuals. But this is nothing new and still happens today, more than ever, all over the world. It is the motivation behind the energy that is key here – this industry is not about people, but about image and style first and foremost. When it is conducted in this way, it is in fact slave labour.
When I look at fashion in magazines I have noticed that it is not just apparel that is marketed and sold, each picture seems to come with a huge wallop of consciousness, from outright and brutal sexualisation to supremacy and everything in between.What are we really buying then?
It’s pretty awful to feel the energy behind the fashion industry and what we take on as consumers (by choice, knowingly or otherwise) in wanting to be perceived in a certain way by what we wear and how we wear it and how we can use it as a form of protection whether we do it by wearing high fashion or dressing down – it all sends a message.
Thank you for exposing the multi billion dollar fashion industry that plays on our need to stand out and look different without feeling what energy the clothes are made in and how they can alter how we feel in them. It can be easy to override what we feel in favour of wearing something that is fashionable and individualistic. The more aware I become of this the less attached I am to using clothes to distract me from my own inner beauty.
Adele I love how you are bringing truth and love to an industry that is in dire need of both.
Fashion/food is an industry that claims authority to lead the way in trends, where we push our bodies to be one step ahead of even time itself. And yet when fashion/food is created in rush and disregard, and presented with emotions, what is fashion/food really trending?
When it comes to fashion/food, what you see is really not what you get.
A big hook of fashion and clothes is feeding the illusion that we need to be perfect to be of any value. Perfectionism is the cruellest of task-masters to live under.
Adele it was fascinating to read how you felt the energetic quality of the clothes that you were looking at. This is something that we currently don’t consciously do but in the future it will be the energetic quality of all things that will be our most important consideration when buying anything because our energetic quality is directly affected by the energetic quality of whatever it is that we are using, wearing, eating etc.
Adele when i read your description of the length that fashion is going to to look as if it has created something new, it caused me to think about food and how we similarly keep ‘re-inventing foods’, to make us think that we are improving food. We colour food blue, we add sparkles, we super size it or make it mini, all the while all we’re really doing is entertaining ourselves for a nano second. It feels like, as a race of people we are slightly bored most of the time and so permanently looking for some kind of distraction.
We all know comfort is anti-evolutionary but we do not want the responsibility, it is impossible then to not be bored and create unending distractions, not only are we are still bored no matter how many complications we create for ourselves to unravel, we are also sick.
The current state of the fashion industry offers a brilliant opportunity for someone inspired with love to create beautiful clothing to honour and celebrate all women. I’m sure the same could be said for men’s clothing too.
Adele, I’m very inspired by your choice to look more deeply at the industry in which you work, to surrender more deeply to your body and feel with your heart and soul, exposing what is lying underneath that you may have previously chosen not to see. Thank you.
I’ve struggled a lot in the past with trying to ‘fit in’ with current fashion trends, as particularly when I was a younger teenager I was really attached to looking like other people and thus being ‘accepted’ by other groups of teenagers at school. Unfortunately no matter how much I tried I just had a different taste and look, and would always stand out somehow for not wearing the full ‘uniform’ of what we regarded as fashionable at the time. I realise now how much I value my own fashion taste, as it’s what makes me – me, and can be another area in my life to express who I am and how I feel.
We are being invited to allow ourselves to go to a deeper level of love and with that comes an even greater level of responsibility. This is exposing all of our cracks and whilst it’s hard to acknowledge the level of loveless-ness that I’ve taken as normal, it’s also very beautiful to be given this opportunity to feel how I can be so much more and how every detail matters, always.
“When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?” What a revolution in the industry this could instigate Adele, designing clothes that reflect the joy of life, a joy that comes from living with huge regard, honesty and integrity for self and our fellow man. It could change the entire industry, a big challenge considering the ‘sweat shops’ out there who use and abuse their workers for the sake of cheap fashion, but possible if the customers lead the way by only buying clothes made with integrity and joy. It adds a new dimension to choosing clothes because of their quality, its not the just the fabric and the cut that counts, its the energy they have been made in that makes them attractive too.
Wow Adele there is so much going on in fashion that most of us are not even aware of. Yet we are all affected as we all require clothes to wear. Fashion carries energy, so what energy are the cloths designed in, how are we as consumers being responsible. There is lots to ponder on.
I’m not sure why, but I hadn’t considered that the clothes I buy also come with an energy. Thank you for highlighting this, Adele, and how important it is to always discern the energy first, otherwise we are inviting the energy in to run us as it pleases.
We give more importance to the picture than to the feeling. This has been and is our downfall.
This sentence particularly struck me, ‘Whether loudly or subtly, some clothes imparted the feeling of female sexualisation, some presented rebellion and anger, others a cushiony numbing of allure, as well as supremacy and competition.’ Everything is made with an intention to create an emotional reaction instead of simply allowing us to celebrate who we are by wearing clothes that reflect our inner joy. This is a thought-provoking article that will have many of us looking at fashion with greater discernment.
Like so many industries in life the fashion industry has taken us away from serving humanity. If we put people first and everything else can then follow, we are then all evolving!
Greg I absolutely agree. To offer the reflection that people can be put first in this industry and let us see if we choose to evolve or to stay in comfort, we do not have time to waste, but we will be patient.
Yes Adele let all the waste go on the cutting room floor!
Adele, what I often feel is that fashion dominates us more than we think it does. Only the fact that sometimes you can buy only a certain style of clothes which is considered as fashionable or certain colours is showing that there is a certain manipulation and dominance of what people are expected to wear.
Often when I try on a new piece of clothing there is something about it that does not make sense: a hard label in the back, an uncomfortable trim, a fitting that does not comply with the body shape. I always wonder who thinks of it and then I realise that no-one actually does. Very little if any clothing is made with the wearer in mind in terms of being comfortable for the body, made with care and attention to detail. It is all about the looks and about profit. Yet another major facet of life that needs a big turn around when it is to serve humanity and yet another great opportunity to learn what it means that everything is energy.
Beautiful Adele the honesty being called for in the fashion industry and in every detail in our lives now is very revealing of how we have all been living and will take time to change as you share and as every one of us calls for more integrity and we each live and bring a greater honesty into our own lives and as we feel this will bring about a much needed change and appreciation for everything and expose the abuse in all industry. It will allow us to start feeling everything and expressing this and not accepting blindly what we are given. True love and appreciation with ourselves and hence our clothes with what and how we wear them will blossom and bring a joy and lightness to the fashion industry and our lives bringing love and fashion together by our inspiration also into this multi billion dollar industry.
Could it be that the energy of fashion has never changed because it has always been about what is on the outside of us rather than what is inside?
A serious “outing” of an industry that is lost in how it looks, with minimal consideration for how it feels, and an opportunity for readers to become aware of the role energy plays in everything including the clothes we wear.
When we begin to claim the Love we are collectively, we will then know what is of Love and what is not. The more we say no to abuse in our lives the less the demand for products that perpetuate and elicit abuse will be present. It is through our presence of Love that will call to question and arrest the industries that service the abusive cultures that currently exist in our society today.
What you have shared here Adele is a blessing in that you are inviting us all to not only be honest with how honoring we are with ourselves and with how deeply we value and appreciate who we are within, but also to be discerning as to what energies are at play in the world around us including the fashion industry, and the choice we have to be a leader or owned by corrupting energies ‘rather than leading the way’ from our connection to what we feel and know is true – as you have so wisely said.
Being honest with how we are feeling within ourselves when we choose what to wear does bring awareness as to the energy we are in at that moment. Are we hiding, or overcompensating for the lack of love we are feeling within or for ourselves, are we seeking attention, approval or acceptance or are we rebelling, or are we truly and simply celebrating the joy and power we feel from our connection to our Divine beauty within? For the fact is, at this point in time, there is a style or fashion specifically designed and readily available for anyone who is seeking to continue to hide, escape and exist in the illusion that fashion and the clothes you wear is what defines who we are or brings a sense of worth or meaning to your life.
Brilliant expose Adele – there is so much to consider here. It does feel like the fashion industry is driven by competition and comparison seeded from a deep sense of lack of self-worth. We see this in the many magazines and images that are constantly imposing on women and young girls that they are only valued if they dress in a certain way or subscribe to a particular image or brand. None of which calls for women and girls to confirm the innate gorgeousness they are within first or inspire women and girls to feel the joy of their connection from which the clothes that are chosen to wear are an extension, a celebration and a reflection of the inner-beauty felt within.
I would call myself a previous slave to fashion. I NEEDED to have the latest; I NEEDED a new outfit for every occasion, Putting a look above quality is precisely what we have ended up with in the fashion world.
Shoes are a great example of this… I find many styles extremely attractive – but very few actually support me in the way I walk; and require a different type of movement to walk in them.
In putting the way I feel in something ahead of the way it looks; my entire wardrobe has changed – it’s now what I call true style.
The fashion industry is the way it is because we have abused the very nature of what clothing is really about.
It in dressing from our hearts that we can more easily choose clothes that reflect a quality of integrity; and at the very least do not impose upon us or others.
Fashion can be used to fill so many voids for us as women – To make us feel ‘good enough’, ‘attractive enough’, ‘worthy enough’, ‘to be taken seriously’, ‘to gain attention’, ‘to fit in’, ‘to not fit in’, ‘to not gain attention’, ‘to fit into a stereotype’ etc… we can use fashion to fill any one or more of these needs – and thus, in doing so, completely ignore the energetic qualities that you have described Adele.
This is a great ‘next level’ for people to start considering Adele…The world is now familiar with and comfortable with standing up and rejecting production that is unethical, so now here is our opportunity to start to consider what you present here: the quality in which clothing has been designed and made and is therefore sending out to the world. What if style were to consider this aspect – we’d have a new love-level for the definition of stylish.
I have not truly connected with the truth that clothing myself is an everyday choice and activity and has a consciousness to it. Fashion can either be about competition and wanting acceptance or recognition or about reflecting my relationship with myself to the world.
Thank you Adele for sharing about the fashion industry. Whilst I know virtually nothing about he industry per say, it differs not from any other industry where people and relationships with our product or service do not come first!
“When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.” Actually this is often the case. More accurate would be: what you feel is what you get.
With awareness that deepens we all get the choice you describe here, Adele: “I had a choice: to repeat this again or to make a different choice.” To me this also reflects God’s ever lasting and non-judgmental love for us all.
“Fashion can be created for individualisation and competition, which is how clothing is mainly created presently in the world, and yet fashion can also be made with the intention that it is for all of us.“ I would love to wear clothes made with the intention that it is for all of us.
“Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.” I never realized this, but it makes absolutely sense. It stayed the same and actually didn’t change. It is often made in competition with another brand.
This is an awesome blog Adele as you bring to the fore one of the ways we most like to individualise ourselves. Mostly our clothes are not a true expression of who we are, complementing our beauty and expression as women, but much more a statement that puts us in a certain box we want to belong to as a way of identifying ourselves. Whether this is ‘beautiful’, ‘sexy’, ‘rebellious’, ‘different’, etc none of them is true to the inner beauty that shines out when we live from within and choose our clothes to express for all.
This may be off topic a bit but I love the change in seasons and buying clothes to suit. It seems like around the time the seasons change, it’s also time to change your clothes. Some go, some stay and some are new. I’ve always looked forward to this change to let go of things that don’t suit or support me anymore and bring in something that does. It’s not so much to keep up with fashion but to support yourself for how you truly feel.
Fashion is just one big hamster wheel – one is never at the high of fashion, for it is ever changing and seeking something greater – but what lack is it that drives this need to improve, to become more daring and be the best. Is it possible we use clothes to hide in one way or another?
The extremes that are around at the moment are highlighting what it takes to deny our divinity. The extremes in fashion feel like they are just another way of putting up a wall of protection, much as we can do in our bodies through being hard or sending a message of ‘back off’ by being aggressive. What is interesting is that deep down usually what is being craved is deep connection and yet the behaviours that are being acted out give the complete opposite message.
A deep understanding is needed for the fashion industry for any true change to happen. On the surface, we can point out unending examples of lovelessness and abuse, and it is important that we do express them without reaction. And yet, what we call an industry, is made up of people, not only people as in statistics, but these are people that I know and are close with working and being together. The collective force that drives this industry makes it difficult for anyone to see they are being driven, because of the comfort, glamor and recognition that is rewarded. We are deeply sold out in the fashion industry, that is why we have to start being honest, and to allow this honesty to be felt in our bodies.
The importance is to feel, discern and express what it is that we feel in fashion. Obviously, seeking for perfection on any clothing brand designed and produced for the market presently (but this is changing now) is unrealistic, however, just by feeling the energy of how our clothes have been designed in and made, we will be more aware of how clothes impact us, as all is energy, and by expressing what is felt, we do not have to be blindly led.
A great point. Often the reaction is our way forward, but really expression of how and what we feel and opening up the conversation is where it all begins.
There is abuse and corruption in this industry because this industry is not rooted in love and it is not about people. In fact, I am involved in such a case in the industry presently on abuse, there is no coincidence of its happening a day after this blog was published. People are not seen as important, only results are, and people can be dismissed, ignored, abused, let go of if they do not play this game. In many jobs of this industry, people are not seen or valued for who they are, they are only valued for how much their price is and the extent they will disregard their bodies for the results.
’Yet the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.’ This is powerful Adele – we all know the truth of this, and yet time and time again we act like we are blinded, we follow the main stream and fall for the emperor’s new clothes.
So interesting Adele, I read your blog and posted a comment on it yesterday and then at work was told that I should be a model for a fashion magazine. I took this as a complement and immediately thought of this blog and the industry behind those magazines. I could then feel that what the person who gave me the complement was feeling was the quality in which I dress for work and the way I care for myself, rather than the way I look. This was lovely confirmation for me of the quality in which I hold myself.
It can be a shock to hear ‘we have not evolved one single bit’, we want to justify and show how we have improved life in all the little parts. But it is true what you say Adele. We have effectively made ourselves ‘fashion victims’ repeating the same way of being endlessly, thinking we were being different or unique. The confronting fact you bring to us is that Love is currently not so fashionable in this world, but it is absolutely the most beauty full garment we could wear, if we dare.
I love how this blog also brings support to continually be discerning. This awareness and ability to ‘read between the lines’ of what we consume daily, be it fashion, food, television, social media, family values, good student, is key to living healthily in a world which is continuously ‘feeding’ us unhealthy beliefs and options.
You expose so much here Adele; but I particularly love how you expose that fashion is ultimately designed to not make you feel beautiful but instead feel not good enough – it seems to create an addiction to fashion itself as you get hooked to buy something to fill an emptiness of not good enough, which is never satiated. So we try buying something else. Awareness here is key – awareness which you have given us. So we come to buying clothes as an outward expression of the beauty already connected to inside of ourselves. This is one way to tackle this very insidious energy.
Your increased awareness is brilliant Adele, for you to feel from within the industry that you have bought into as a fashion stylist in the past; and how false fashion is, attempting to influence us so much to be ‘with it’ when it’s regurgitating the same old thing all the time. You are in a position to re-imprint the industry with truth and love, and show others the importance of how a body in connection is when carrying the clothes it wears.
“When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.” – Yes, I totally get this from your experience and realisations. I am very interested to observe when I go shopping for clothes next.
What a great insight to feel – “Within the simplicity of design there lurked a subtle but undeniable desire to stand out in form and/or even fabric. The design, detail and production were all imbued with competition and comparison. In-truth, none of that is love, and neither is it beauty.” Even though you felt drawn to it because of its simplicity, to then feel the underlying energy of wanting to be ‘different’ etc, very astute awareness, and one that will be helpful for all of us I am sure.
I love your blog Adele – what a great eye-opener it is and you are so right, to feel into the item first what energy it carries brings a whole new dimension to shopping for clothes. Thank you, awesome!
Who or what is dictating the latest fashion? At the current time it feels like a mind driven ideal constantly striving to be better energy, hooking anyone who does not value themselves and lacks self worth and on the same merry-go-round of thinking they are not enough. Imagine how different it would be if the energy behind fashion was one of inclusiveness, true expression, love, creating what is needed for humanity to evolve… and creating what people need to see and feel when they wear a piece of clothing. It’s a whole different way of looking at fashion. At times I do dress feeling what others need to see me in that day or dress to show what I’m feeling in my body.
“The design, detail and production were all imbued with competition and comparison. In-truth, none of that is love, and neither is it beauty”.
Yikes! This sentence brought a shudder through my body, the consciousness of competition and comparison that runs deeply through women is being embedded further, even by clothes we wear – the designs and styles of clothing to be more revealing and portray an image of a false sexiness to be more than another.
Adele, how awesome this blog is in bringing awareness to the energy behind clothing. Something we are doing every single day of the year, in one way of another, is to choose and wear clothes to either to adorn and enhance or to truly reflect how we are feeling.
Clothing used to be very important to make me feel better about myself or portray a different image to ostensibly cover over the anxiousness underneath the facade of being ‘fine’. As going deeper in inner connection within my body, it has become a gift to enjoy feeling how various clothing feels upon my body at that moment which may not feel the same another day. It is a constant surrender to my body to honour what it is calling for and wearing whatever supports this.
I remember the first time I had my own clothes made overseas with a tailor, there were some pieces that worked and some that didn’t, but I definitely noticed a difference on how it felt on my body, both in the fit, but in the feel, and then working with the tailor until it was just right. The piece then felt like an extension of me, rather than as something I used to manipulate a particular message.
This conversation brings up a question: what do we consider art to be and how do we gauge the value of what is created? When we allow ourselves to go there and don’t dismiss what we feel deep inside, we can tell the difference between some items that feel great and some that simply don’t (as you did with your eyes closed) – when more of us start to accept and acknowledge the fundamental impact of energy on our well-being, it will become very clear that the value of anything produced, whether art, a piece of machinery, an email or a business report the most important aspect is always the energy with which it is produced and thus the energy that you are bombarded with.
These industries are parasites directly feeding off the separation that we all feel. But it’s worse than that. They are in fact, set up to actively and very consciously foster, increase and expand those feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, competition and comparison. Which is a vicious circle of making us feel even less, align even more and feel even less etc…Humanity is a long, long way from home when it believes that a piece of clothing will make it feel better.
Adele – it’s brilliant to read these words from someone on the ‘inside’. To hear someone have the courage to stand up and speak out. 99.9% of what you right is directly relatable to my world (Film and TV Production) and I too am beginning to open myself to the truth of what is at play. It’s not pretty and it desperately needs calling out. Great when that is coming from those in the know – like yourself.
In this article, I hear the question “what is true success?”. The fashion industry has been “successful” according to commonly held beliefs of what success means… BUT I feel, more and more, that true success really can not be at anyone’s expense and can not ignore or be arrived at, at the expense of our humanity; the love and sensitivity that we all are inside.
There is so so much you have raised in the blog Adele and is great that you are calling to account the fashion industry. The state of the industry is actually a reflection of the ‘demand’ we (all of us) create for the fashion we want to wear. So as an extension of all that has been shared, we are actually demanding and using clothes to gain attention or favour through sexually exploiting ourselves. We are wearing clothes to incite comparison in either trying to be better than or less than others. We are wanting the quick fix and quantity over quality.
“I went through the many different racks of clothing, I decided not to use my eyes to register their value, but instead connected with my heart and felt the quality in which they had been made and were then sending out to the world.” Love it Adele, a great reminder of feeling the quality we are offered and not getting so much distracted by our eyes.
The sexualisation of women in fashion and the belief system around models having to be incredibly thin is very exposing of how the industry is run, and as you’ve shared the energy that is behind it as well as the consciousness in fashion itself.
Adele this blog should be printed in the latest fashion magazines. In this blog you have uncovered the truth of fashion and the reasons as to why so many are slaves to the industry. I love fashion and clothes, but I love it as a form and a way of expressing myself. I’m not into brands or labels, but enjoy playing with and coordinating how different clothes go together. The way I dressed used to very much be about the external appearance and what I looked like. Now it is about how I feel and a form of expressing on the outside what it is that I feel on the inside.
Well done Adele, for standing up and revealing what the fashion industry is really about. This has inspired me to feel more into the clothes that I buy on a deeper level, as after all, if everything is energy, then I owe it to myself to discern how I dress my body. There is nothing wrong with looking beautiful, and expressing ourselves, but rather than succumb to the dictates of the fashion industry I would rather keep it simple and express my beauty from the inside out rather than from some expensive designer garment which may carry the energy of greed, corruption and irresponsibility, and very often, discomfort!
I know many of these collections are made by pushing people to beyond what is humanly possible using adrenalin and panic to power the finished garments. It is like this is expected as this is the way it is always done. This is no way to live. There is no good rhythm to live this way and will always lead to disease.
I say the same or similar thing about technology. We are not more productive even though more can be produced. We are not more intelligent because we have computers processing for us – technology is only what we put into it. Why are we not putting the same energy into ourselves and each other through connection, not the connection of a cable ?
It is an illusion to think we are evolving or moving forward when technology is used to check out and numb just like fashion. Industries not so related but heading in the same direction .. ..
Adele you raise a great point here: “The quality of energy that colthes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is.” If this approach was taken seriously, and really appreciated for what it meant, the fashion industry and the way we dress would look and feel completely different. Thank you for raising this important aspect, it is something that I for one will be much more aware of when I am trying on new clothes, and also when doing my next somewhat over due wardrobe edit!
Very much food for thought, what is the intention when making a product or selling anything, is it to provide the buyer with something that cares for them, in the case of clothing makes someone feel supported in their body. Too often things are being made in this world with only profit and recognition of self to the fore, and particularly if this is coming at the expense of exploited workers to make then it makes the product even less desirable if we discern truly the energy of the whole production.
Energetic Responsibility is what is being called for and moved forth in the Fashion World.
Great article Adele thank you and important questions to pose. We are so easily led by fashion that we often ignore how the clothes feel in favour of fitting it, competing and being seen to be fashionable, ‘with it’ and trendy. What are we sacrificing in the process though? Do we really consider the living habits of the designers, their vitality and health to be important? Do we really care about the quality of lives of those who mass produce all this clothing? To some it may seem irrelevant, yet when we wear these clothes everyday the energy they have been produced in have an impact on us, our thoughts and our own health. Choosing our clothing based on how it feels, the quality of its production un-hooks us from the merry-go-round of fashion and takes us instead into the world of expression. Wearing clothes that supports a healthy vibrant expression is a whole new industry to be explored and what an amazing revelation it will be to everyone involved with the fashion industry world wide to receive the effects of energetic quality first, design second.
As you point out, Adele, clothes are an important part of life because we have them put on as soon as we are born. Why do we not use the same level of discernment in choosing what to wear as what we eat for example? This blog has been an eye opener for me, in terms of re-assessing what I wear and why, and looking at what consciousness is behind the choices I am making.
I can feel the way we are all caught in this trap of fashion and we all have to wear the clothes on offer unless we make our own, and even then the patterns produced follow the fashion. Our eyes become very used to the different styles and shapes as one trend moves to another, and we can have a judgment on someone who is “out of date”, and looks strange. This reveals how comfortable we get in the familiar, and how dependant we can become on the designers without feeling for ourselves how we would like to dress. This is great Adele, to work in the fashion industry and expose it in such a way. It is an edifice that takes us away from feeling the naturalness and worth of ourselves and most of us are caught in it, even those who feel they are rebelling and expressing their own style. That also can become a fashion!
Perhaps it is our own dependency on those emotional states that fashion is both feeding off and contributing to. Because in a solid and loving relationship with yourself, anger and comparison etc. do not exist. So the fashion industry in the way it is today can only be here through our own lovelessness towards each other and ourselves. When you love your self completely, what you wear is an expression of that love that gives to everyone just by walking into the room.
Great recognitions Adele – I always feel whether what I buy feels good or not. If it doesn’t I usually don’t buy it. Occasionally I buy it just because it seems like a bargain but it usually ends up my not using it anyway because I don’t really feel it is part of what I want in my life. Sometimes when I buy something I ask myself if I want that piece of clothing or whatever it might be to part of my life, and that usually makes it easier when making my choice.
Fashion is everywhere – billboards, media, every celebrity show and all about judgement, comparison and competition. Choosing what to put on our body is a personal choice and depending on the energy behind our choice means that a piece of clothing can be laced with more than the initial idea, cutting, fabric, designer. This blog allows for increased awareness and ask us all to feel a little deeper in to our choices.
I find it interesting how these days many clothes say dry cleaning only. The cloths are over priced for a start then you have to pay for dry cleaning on top of this which is not cheap last time I paid 25 dollars for a dress to be dry cleaned.
Something is not right and we need to open our eyes like you say Adele and not cave into fashion rather buy and wear clothes that best express how we are feeling and that are not over priced.
When I was in Vietnam this year I realized that there are no pictures from half naked (or naked) women in lascivious poses. No ‘sex sells’ at all.
And I felt the beauty of freedom from this energy and consciousness.
I felt also no tension with men.
No anxiety to get attacked verbal or violent or even with a view to that.
Gosh I felt so free to unfold my true femininity again…
Good question: “When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?” – and what means “truly successful” and which way do we get led with fashion? Every half a year (or even more often) we get a ‘new’ style presented, the ‘must have’ of this season. From my point of view this is all to sell products. It has nothing to do with honoring a body and what is needed at that time to support us to be confirmed and develop. The fashion industry is not really about people. But it should be. And it can be. One day. Then we will design to confirm our beauty and divinity and to support us in our unfoldment. To dress like that with what we’ve got till now is sometimes a challenge – but also a great motivation for all of us to bring a change here.
How amazing it would be if clothes were created lovingly with the best interests of everyone at heart. The imprint would be so supportive and the clothes would be an absolute delight to wear.
Wow – this is huge – beginning to challenge the energetic basis of the trends within fashion which influences the clothes that we all wear. Super interesting and you can’t help but start to ask what is behind our own choices of what to wear.
Exactly and how awesome will it be to truly observe this when we go shopping for clothes next time.
Do we fashion ourselves against external images or in connection to ourselves and who we are? I know women who because they intrinsically know who they are have never followed fashion, but created their own style.
Adele I’ve always looked at fashion shows and seen how impractical and unsupportive the clothes that are shown often are. For example why would anyone want to see women walking wearing dresses made of knives or men walking with barb wire coats? It would certainly be great to see fashion built to care and support people rather than to compete and exclude.
“But what is really going on if we are not aware of the energy of clothing, nor how we may be led by it all our lives?” Adele i used to be a big fan of vintage second-hand clothes, I prided myself on finding these unique items that I knew no one else would have, however what I discovered with greater awareness is that they felt energetically heavy and that I no longer enjoyed wearing them, the nature of them being old meant that some were quite worn and this begun to feel like it dragged me down. Now when I choose a new piece of clothing, the lightness that it allows me brings greater playfulness in my expression.
Adele, this is amazing and so true what you are writing. In truth the energy of the clothing can not be hidden, the enormous pressure the designers are standing to produce something new, outstanding, special, yet something which would raise the selling numbers, actually I feel the stress of everybody who contributes in selling those clothes.
“We have devoted so much time, effort, hard work, money and labour, we have abused a lot of lives and nature to endlessly produce fashion, which takes us nowhere but around and around in circles.” Indeed, for if all this effort goes into something that is empty from its core then around we go in a cycle of movement that truly serves no one.
The quality of our clothes makes all the difference in how they are made and the designs and intentions behind every single stage in the process of manufacture and how we buy them and the intent and purpose behind it all . Are we truly loving everything about ourselves and the garments we wear or are they something to simply put on and ignore the rest we feel and we use them for this. Are they honouring of who we are in our delicateness and grace and do we feel this and embody it for ourselves and then fashion and clothes simply enhance this and pay tribute to who we are naturally also. A great sharing for all to contemplate and appreciate.
What I love about the conversation you have so beautifully shared here Adele is that it all brings it back to quality and the energy in which everything is interwoven. Responsibility starts with us and what we choose for ourselves which can inevitably break the patterns of abuse found in not only the fashion industry but many other industries all over the world. Thank you Adele.
It seems like it is not only in fashion but in life that we are trapped in what we have told ourselves is a truth. In doing so we continue to perpetuate the lies we live as truth, with very few calling our choices or the quality we live, to account. Thank god for Universal Medicine and the students such as yourself who are prepared to speak out and get honest about what’s really going on in the world.
Some brilliant questions posed here, Adele, and I love the way that you haven’t come up with any convenient solutions. This gives me the space to consider the part I play in the fashion industry, as a consumer, and how my relationship with my body is impacted by my approach to fashion. Great ponderings, thank you.
“The quality that clothes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is.” Wow Adele that is really a different way to look at fashion and I have to admit that I like it very much and so I am wondering if the fashion designer or industry are also aware of this fact and the responsibility they have. My feeling is they don’t as it would mean they have to leave their comfort zone and add a new ingredients – the fact that energy determines everything.
Very few of us, be that individuals, groups, companies, nations, have even begun to touch the sides when it comes to understanding responsibility. It is huge. Given that ‘everything is energy and therefore because of energy’ is truly mind boggling when we stop to fathom what this actually means.
As you say Jenny, this is massive – a very large can of worms but there are some ethical clothes companies emerging so as we all support those who make garments with love, that love can shine out in the world.
Great point Ester! Clothing would be not so cheap anymore as well because we would pay for honoring conditions for the people who make the clothing. Taking responsibility (and leaving my comfort zone 😉 ) is also on the side of my counter, I realize…
The fashion industry is empty and filled with corruption, never based on an inspiring care for women and people or even deep down for a love of the craft itself, because even though the latter can be said to be there for many at the beginning, they too get usurped in the vortex of competition, tight margins and cheap, if not slave, labour.
Once upon a time there might have been the innocence; of wanting to design beautiful garments to celebrate the woman in her innately beautiful form. Not the case today — the fashion houses feed back to the woman that she will never be beautiful enough, because her own inner connection to who she is has been buried beneath all the beliefs she has taken on about what true beauty and worth actually is and where it comes from.
Beautifully expressed Katerina.
As I read this I remembered working with some lovely tailors in Vietnam about a year ago, and how the clothes I had made feel so lovely because of the quality they were made in.
I am aware that everything is energy but I feel this is important to note this without reacting to it, the way we put on a piece of clothing feels more important to me then how it was produced. There is very few brands that are produced with integrity but that does not mean that we can’t wear them with integrity.
When we have built a solid relationship with ourselves, no matter what the energy of clothing is, we do not have to let it affect or change us. In the past, I would never touch any clothes which sell “sex”, as that is not an energy I feel to be true. But now with a more solid connection with my own body, these clothes do not affect me anymore, as what is true within me imprints back on the piece of clothing rather than it imprinting on me. And it is fun to be able to dress in such freedom.
“And yet when fashion is created in rush and disregard, and presented with emotions, what is fashion really trending?” It is definitely worth considering what fashion is adding to, and what each of us have the choice to buy into – or not. As with all things, fashion can be supportive or not – it all comes down to our individual relationships with ourselves and how we then relate to the world around us.
This is super fascinating. I’ve never been one for fashion but it’s always intrigued me, the belief that one can be someone through what one wears, the constant striving for innovation when it’s constantly recycling what’s gone before, dismissing the present for the newest trend – summer fashion when it’s still spring. All this has put me off giving it attention but perhaps I’ve been in reaction because I do appreciate people celebrating who they are through their clothes. Their clothes aren’t masking their natural essence but accessorizing it. I’m inspired to re look at my wardrobe and feel the energy behind what’s there, why I bought each item, what I hoped to attain perhaps – was it to try to be someone? Or to dull my beauty down or to celebrate and express who I naturally am naturally so?
Fashion, we are an industry that does not stop, and this is only a reflection of the whole world. Twenty somethings I know do not sleep and drive themselves day in and day out, thirty somethings I know already have built a momentum of never sleeping and continue to drive themselves the same but now have even more pressure to build a name to become something or someone more and hence will do more in abuse to their bodies. Forty somethings and fifty somethings I know also do the same. We do not stop until we are forced by our bodies to do so, and even then, the momentum is so strong we would revert back to constant motion, but until when?
Being a part of this industry, I have learned to respect, deeply understand and accept our choices. Being removed from life and to seek an existence in numbing is a reaction towards our own sensitivity and an irresponsibility of not expressing what we feel in truth. We are a very honest bunch, and if we unite in responsibility to express, this is very powerful.
I have worked in this industry for 20 years. The connections and friendships are real. We genuinely care about each other and we have had many amazing moments. But more and more each day when I allowed myself to truly feel and see, I know we are not okay. We are sick. Some have died. We are lost. We feel empty. These are not statistics, these are people that I know and am close with. These are amazing people with deep passion in what they do, and they are my friends.
We have to ask ourselves, what is truly going on?
I cannot hold back truth or love from you.
This is beautiful, Adele, ‘When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful’ … no, it is not. I have a coat that I absolutely LOVE to wear. It honestly gives me so much joy every time I put it on, I’ve seen pictures of myself wearing it and I am radiant. I feel this connection is the connection you’re talking about. The delicate details and unusual patterns in the coat, for me, are a reflection of my deep appreciation for my own delicateness and beauty.
It seems that the fashion industry panders to our spirit which is always seeking recognition and wanting to be seen as individual. But at what cost, not only in terms of the abuse to all the underpaid workers, but also to us as the consumers, do we become secondary to our ‘outfits’.
Fashion conjures a picture that it is all good, it is larger than life, glamorous from the mundane, we are special and superior and it is a destination many would like to reach and be a part of. We feel that when we are accepted in this circle, our issues in a lack of self-worth and awkwardness would vanish. We are in an unending momentum and affair in seeking for recognition to cover up our emptiness. These are some of the pictures of what fashion is and these pictures blind us as once we take them in, they are constantly fed into us and there is no possibility to see outside of this, until we get honest in how our bodies are truly feeling, what is the truth that it wants to tell us.
Great observation and questions, Adele. “If we are seeking acceptance or fitting in with this industry, we override what our bodies feel is disharmonious, for harmony would never dishonour the preciousness of our bodies” – I agree. To me, fashion is an industry whose sole aim seems to be about making a statement based on images projected by the way we dress ourselves – and dressing ourselves is something every single one of us do every day, yet we allow this industry to somehow put itself above us as the expert who would command what is in/out. There feels to be a piece missing from us the ordinary consumer to have this (im)balance play out.
I was stopped in my tracks when I read that some clothes have to be cleaned by the Atelier ….. I’ve never heard this word before. I thought that clothes went into the washing machine or to the dry cleaner! With some of the ‘high tech’ outfits, I can see why this would be the case. It feels like there is so much complexity to the whole industry being driven by the need to be different and innovative, to stand out above the rest, rather than creating gorgeous clothing to honour our innate beauty.
Fashion can be our work of art and expression. I love fabrics, colour design and texture. I appreciate the quality of the feel of clothing; recently I bought a cashmere jumper, which simply feels divine to wear.
How much are we allowing fashion to dictate to us how to express? There can be such identification with labels, fashion houses etc that we then become the advertising for. There is so much more going on and being communicated by our choices.
Hi, Adele, you raise some really interesting points in your blog. I’m not someone who really follows fashion, I’m always drawn to clothes that feel good to wear and compliment my colouring and body shape. As an industry, it appears very cut throat and competitive, where it’s all about recognition and comparison and less about the customer, except in terms of revenue. I love what you’re exposing on an energetic level.
This is a great blog – it’s true when you watch a catwalk fashion show it can be intense – you get all these messages and pictures from the clothes and how the model moves – I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that really supports people in this, it’s all about an image.
It is fascinating to stop and really consider the impact that fashion has had on us over the years. It is continually reinventing itself and also ahead of itself. I agree Adele, “Fashion is an industry that claims authority to lead the way in trends, where we push our bodies to be one step ahead of even time itself.”
There is the energy fashion is made in, and then there is the energy we are in when we buy those items. If we are feeling amazing within ourselves we will purchase something that supports us in that feeling; if we aren’t feeling good about ourselves then what we end up buying will never support us in those times when we feel amazing.
“the truth is, fashion is never truly new because the energy that fashion is created in has never changed.” So true Adele, to look at fashion in this way means there can now be space and opportunity to change this!
This is a really insightful article Adele. “When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.” This is so true there is so much you can feel in clothing, the love it is or is not made with, the quality the identification etc etc. I find clothing isn’t very well made these days, and generally is just made to last one season.
I wonder how it would be if clothes were designed in honour of our bodies – everyone’s bodies? Then when they were bought, they would come with that energy and people would feel that honouring when buying them. Fashion could become all about honouring our bodies rather than seeking recognition through what we wear.
Why is there such a fear associated with speaking the truth? I know this well, but have managed to see that when expressing the truth no such fear exists. We could risk our position, we may not be liked, but knowing the truth is far more valuable than anything short term.
Fashion is most certainly an industry of competition and comparison, and of seeking recognition. How would it be if clothes, for example, were designed from someone’s essence… then undoubtedly those fashion items would support everyone who wore them to shine in their essence also.
You have brought up such a brilliant point Adele, often we feel things in life are laced, and standing up for truth will put us in a challenging position. I have learned, that staying silent feels more harmful to me than knowing where I stand on something.
Interestingly enough, I observe and feel into if a restaurant is the right place for me to eat, or a house is the right place for me to live, and the landlord the person I want to rent from but never have I considered the energy of the clothes shop or who designed the clothes, yet as you so clearly show us, we wear clothes for a big part of our lives so it really is worth considering and feeling into more.
I have recently been feeling how I cannot buy certain brands of clothing anymore because of the way in which the garments have been designed, manufactured and sold – they feel terrible. I really do not want to wear that energy. As humanity begins to understand everything is energy and how the quality we do things in is what matters, I know we will begin to see clothing made in love, yet that day may be a long way off. Truly awesome points raised here Adele.
Adele, I love this blog, it’s great to read it from someone who is in the industry and I am sure you have had heaps of experience. I used to always only buy from second hand stores, as that is all I could afford and because I had this belief that it was cool and I wasn’t wasting resources to create more clothes. Now, I can’t shop in them because not only the smell, but the feel of the clothes in there makes me really uncomfortable. I have started buying new clothes and to be honest, I get carried away in the excitement and can find the shops really exhausting with the way things are presented, bright lights, in your face advertising, pick me, pick me and the loud music. It is hard to stay with myself and feel when bombarded with so many other distractions and in that, I have not been able to really feel behind the piece of clothing, where did it come from, who made it, how do they live etc.
I love buying clothes and really enjoy shopping. I have never really been caught by fashion that much as it seemed to be always going around in circles. Like anything I guess there is only so much you can do before you have to start from the beginning again. Fashion seemed like this at times it would all look the same and just have a minor tweak or after a few years they would just bring something old back but call it ‘new’. As you are saying Adele when I look at things like this I feel the quality and then buy or not from there.
Clothes can be a distraction or a protection. I’ve met women who are immaculately dressed from head to toe and look super stylish and groomed which is lovely to the eye. But one particular occasion that stands out for me is a woman who used this as her front – behind it, she was quite aggressive in her manner with people, and behaved in a way that put people off side. So she looked the part, but what she put out energetically was quite another story.
It’s a great point and one I have not really considered fully before – the quality of the energy in which clothes were made. I do feel clothes but to be honest, not to level of integrity or responsibility. But it’s no different to the awareness that art and music come loaded with emotions – it makes sense that fashion would too. There is so much investment in the recognition to be gained from the ‘creative’ industries – of course clothing is no different. Thank you for opening my eyes Adele.
Re-reading your great article, Adele, I am finding so much coming up for me into feeling into how I have chosen my clothing over many years. I must admit that I chose clothes that did NOT make me stand out for so much of my life. I spent so many years hiding from the world, and seldom chose clothes that showed me up in any way. I thought clothes that covered up what I considered my imperfections were best for me. But over the past few years, I find my choice of clothes has changed a lot. I never liked close-fitting clothing before, always felt so uncomfortable and constricted in them. But recently I have chosen some clothing that is quite form-fitting, and I now feel so different, they feel right and very comfortable to me now. I am no longer hiding from the world, a work in progress and more to go, but I am loving it.
There’s much for us to learn about fashion and clothing. There’s a vast difference when clothing actually confirms who I am, or when I wear it to stand out, having needs such as being seen. There’s such a lovely energy filling my body when I put on the clothes that are just ‘perfect’ for the day. The energy of clothes… Really, all that matters. Imagine if one day we would change the way we buy clothes based on energy first, rather than how our eyes perceive the image, colours, etc.
A very thought-provoking blog, Adele, I must admit I have never been a great follower of fashion. For all of my life, I have tried to buy clothes that I feel really suit me, that I feel comfortable to wear, so at times I have despaired of the constant changing of ‘fashion’, with skirt/dress lengths ranging widely year to year. I guess I sense the lengths that actually suit me, and I know that may depend on the dress itself, some clothes suit a longer length than others. But I had seldom considered the energy that is in the clothing that I may be considering, other than when I hear of certain makes that are made in sweat shops where people are so mistreated. But what an important consideration you have opened up here for us all. My next visit to a dress shop will be a very different approach for me. Time to really feel into the energy behind all the clothes I am viewing. Thank you so much for opening up this subject. Maybe time to look at going back to making some of my own clothes.
Adele, you have certainly opened up a ‘can of worms’ in this latest article from you. I love how you have felt so honestly into all that is going on in the fashion industry. It is a real eye-opener for us all, thank you. Next time I go clothes shopping I will be far more observant and feeling into the energy that is behind the clothes I am viewing. All you have shared makes so much sense to me.
Wow Adele – you are breaking new ground here and the way you look at fashion is very inspiring. I have a friend who is a stylist and when I have gone to events with her, you can feel the pressure on the designers to make their clothes stand out. But this is at the expense of them not being made with love but with various other emotions. For you to approach buying in this way and to be aware of what energy is behind the clothes is amazing and really does bring light into this industry.
Fashion as it is created now is there to divide us and never to unite and be and feel equal. What you have exposed here Adele is the glamour of fashion and how we only want to see what we see with our eyes. How it encourages competition and comparison. ‘When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get.’
What is separation in foundation can never unite. This has to be looked at from the ground level up, from pure and simple truth, and that we know in absoluteness in our hearts, we are just one. We all have an inner heart and we can all feel, especially in this industry where feelings rule, but we have made choosing not to be aware our normal.
Adele, this is a fascinating look into what is really being brought to the public when fashion is produced. This question – And yet when fashion is created in rush and disregard, and presented with emotions, what is fashion really trending?”. To look beyond what is being presented on a physical level, and to allow ourselves to feel the quality of the energy of what was produced and why they are producing it – as you have shared for us is fascinating – and then we literally wear it every day. So what are we choosing to wear and/or support every day?
Selling ideals and beliefs is what ‘fashion’ is about. I appreciate your offering that discernment is very supportive when it comes to our consumer choice. Who wants to cover their skin in some else’s emotions?
This is exposing of the fashion industry to a whole new level and the energy that propels it. To me it feels like, as a customer, it is based on not being enough. If I am not enough then maybe I can make up for what I lack with what fashion I wear. The industry sustains this such that we all buy more products to feel better about ourselves rather than deal with the underlying issue. The clothes we wear can be a reflection of who we are rather than trying to make up for something we feel we lack.
I recently watched a fashion parade put on in Brisbane and it was like a breath of fresh air to watch, the clothing was light and gay, clothing anybody could wear, and the models were normal size and actually smiling on the runway, the designers were down to earth people, joyful and honestly sharing about their collection. Such a different energy to the way a lot of fashion parades are run.
As soon as I saw the title I thought about a lady I have seen write and post about fashion before, Adele Leung. I look at the end of the blog and I was not surprised but touched to see it is the same lady again, thank you Adele and now I will go back and read another blog from you.
I while ago I bought something in a rush because I was afraid I would ‘miss out’ as someone else had appeared interested in it. It felt dreadful when I got it home and showed me very clearly that the energy I had brought it in was in a way that was completely disrespectful to myself and others and not like me at all. As Anne says above, we need to be discerning what energy we are in and I would add, swayed by, when shopping and purchasing as how we do that also affects the quality of the item.
Young women are particularly swayed by fashion and the need to look great in the latest styles. But often, fashion doesn’t honour them and their delicateness – midriff tops, shorter than short skirts or barely there dresses that on the outside may look great to some – particularly on a body that can carry them well. But I see women in these kinds of clothes when it is cold and they must be freezing! I may sound like a Nanna, but it comes down to caring for yourself and these clothes just scream of ‘look at me’ but at the expense of the women caring for herself on a very basic level to ensure she isn’t walking around half naked and freezing.
Do we connect to the fact that many fashion brands are made in overseas sweat shops where workers are paid a pittance. This used to only be the case for the cheaper brands, but more and more, designer brands are being made offshore too. What energy do these brands carry if the conditions of those workers is poor?
Another aspect of fashion is in how it feeds a ‘throw away’ society by constantly bringing out new styles so that people don’t want previous seasons’ styles – it is feeding a need to look the part, have the latest style and discard what no longer contributes to the latest look.
“If we are seeking acceptance or fitting in with this industry, we override what our bodies feel is disharmonious, for harmony would never dishonour the preciousness of our bodies.” Indeed how many women make it about the statement before the fit, the feel, the quality – in fashion especially the outer recognition ticks the box.
I used to complain that men’s clothes were so limited in the variety of what we could wear. Everything was just a variation on a shirt and trousers, and I remember having an ‘image crisis’ at one point where I did not like any clothes that I saw. Now I can feel that it was because I was looking to be identified with my clothes, and I was not bringing me to what I wore.
“in energy, we are still being led, rather than leading the way.”
This lines really stands out for me Adele for as you say “Without being aware of what this energy is we can be easily led and owned by it”.
I recall as a young woman using my choice in fashion to stand out from the crowd, wanting to be noticed. Then I went through a period where I did not want to stand out from the crowd and I went into hiding (so to speak). Now I dress for me. I love clothes that are comfortable, practical but don’t hide me away either. I even wear heels now which I never did and I love it. But even with all of this I never really considered that the way designers and sewers are with themselves would be in the clothing and of course it makes sense.
I love how you felt into all the designs, fabric and intentions behind the creations , Adele. Beauty is never on the outside and always comes from within. We need to be discerning with what energy we are feeling when buying clothing as the energy we are buying in also impacts on the overall quality of the item we are buying.
Thank you for pointing out how we exhaust ourselves by repeating ourselves and yet we think we are going somewhere with it. This I find we do in so many areas as we do not change the quality we are in but keep on running trying to solve situations by doing more.
I like how you bring it back to the simplicity of not fooling ourselves by being honest and bringing it back to energy. It is so easy to fall for the outer but as you say everything comes with an energy and that is what we need to bring our awareness to.
Thank you Adele for the great insights you give on the fashion world with many points to ponder on. I used to be very much a trend follower earlier in life then I left it and it was so liberating, to wear what I want and more so now – feel to. It took the pressure off trying to fit a certain image which stopped the enjoyment of wearing the clothes I chose.
This is great to discuss, are designs being made in connection with everyone who is going to wear it? It sure is not and I can feel it is in everything we create. In joy and connection the world of fashion and design would be very different, constantly confirming the beauty that we are.
There seems something backward about the fashion industry – the coolest people have the latest fashion, but they are really being dictated to by the designers and fashion houses about what they should be wearing so really how cool is that actually?
It’s crazy when we make fashion not truly about the person in the clothes but about competition, recognition and comparison. Those energies are a heavy cloak to dress in… One well worth casting off!
I love what you shared Adele about your choice to stop and have a break from the habitual behaviour and thoughts you have previously gone into around fashions exhibitions and look again – feeling with the whole of your body the different energies coming through the various creations and not just seduced by your eyes and the ideals of what is good and acceptable. This is super inspiring responsibility we can embrace in all areas of life.
There is so much to consider here Adele, thanks for the questions and saying it how it is. I agree, that it does not support our bodies to go numbingly into fashion or rebel it and go the other way wiping our hands of it all together. We all know that feeling of walking around trying to find that perfect clothing that will give us xyz or make us feel ‘something’ or make us fit in. I have had many awful associations with fashion… don’t get me wrong I love beautiful clothing… like feeling all the pressure and energy around shopping, fashion and everything that comes with it, I’m realising this more now with reading this blog. I can leave the shops feeling completely drained and tired but have never truly stopped to feel into why. Thank you Adele for stopping and listening to your body and sharing what it so clearly showed you. I will try this on my next shopping trip.
I look forward to your new line of fashion…one created to serve the person that wears it rather than accentuate a need or hide them from the world
Beautiful reminder to put energy first, the feel and quality that we are in first and then how what is outside us feels – clothes being no exception.
I see a lot of young girls here in Amsterdam with super short shorts on and their bellies naked. When you feel into how they walk and behave, you can feel the insecurity and the lack of self-worth. WIth showing off their bodies and wearing as little as possible, they are trying to hide this. This all goes under the umbrella of ‘fashion’ and what is ‘trendy’ but there is no true honoring in their beauty and sacredness.
Adele, it feels like the whole fashion industry is trying to re-invent the wheel, and go round and around with exciting new designs that are not new or exciting. We know we are the most important thing inside the garment and always will be.
Maybe you could create a space suit Adele? A space suit, which everyone in the universe would be able to wear that would then allow them the space so they could see how to take their next steps and expand or create space.
It never felt right to wear what other people are wearing. I would wear what my friends wore in high school . I did it so i would fit in, but it did not let me know what clothes I wanted to wear. If we do what everybody else is doing how will we ever feel what is right for us! Thank you Serge Benhayon for confirming to me what i already knew.
Hi Adele, I loved reading your blog and this new world of fashion you have introduced me too. It seems it is not so new really as it is really about the growing awareness you are bringing to something that has always been there but is growing. The purchases I have made in the past have always been from feel and fit and I have never pondered what energetically was there to be felt. Thank you for expanding my world of fashion and the level of responsibility I carry as I go forward with this.
I love that line “What you see is not what you really get”! So very true.
We are made from love and so it stands that the garments we choose to dress in should also be fashioned of this love.
Thankyou Adele for peering beneath the glamorous world of fashion and seeing the world of energy at play behind. This all makes so much sense and I suspect that as each of us fine tune our innate clairsentient ability (our ability to feel energy and whether it is love or not) the world of fashion will be turned on its head as it will no longer be able to hide the truth of what is at play.
I love the depth you are willing to look into situations with. Very insightful accounts that can be transferred into all walks of life.
These days I like to feel how a garment is on me as well as how it looks on me. If it looks fantastic but is uncomfortable I simply will not buy. Fashion can never come before me.
Adele,
I have bought clothes to suit an ideal I have had about myself and to fit in and belong. Fashion can, like so many things in life become another way to hide and conform to the world as it is, instead of using our clothing choices to support our true light and joy.
‘We have devoted so much time, effort, hard work, money and labour, we have abused a lot of lives and nature to endlessly produce fashion, which takes us nowhere but around and around in circles.’ This is very honest and needs to be said more, I look forward to the day clothes are made with love. Speaking of which Adele, when will you be designing and making beautiful clothes for men and women, or do you already do that?
Great to read your exposure and expertise in this field Adele. I have always clothed myself quite simply and going with what I feel. Buying around one to two new classic items per year that I will wear for 5 years and following my own fashion motto, which is to always have a great pair of shoes/boots, a great haircut (and/or hat) and what you put inbetween will work out. I have also always dressed to how I feel more so than the event or occasion. I have not been ruled or lead by the fashion industry. However I am not rebellious against it either. I like to look and choose discerningly, as you did at the shows. Fabrics and feelings and the energy. It’s a little bit of fun if we allow it to be just that and not feel hooked by it.
Hi Adele, Ive always considered the fashion industry to be quite vain and superficial and I think its pretty awesome someone like yourself is able to bring depth, understanding and awareness to the situation
Adele, I love how much you felt from the clothes by staying with yourself. There is so much to life that we don’t see and because it is not visible we dismiss what we have felt. I love that you honoured all that you felt as you observed these ideals giving clothes without being caught by the glamour of it all.
This is the most amazing fashion blog I have ever laid my eyes on. Thank you Adele. I love the way you call out the energy of comparison and competition in fashion, I have also felt the lack of self worth in this industry that seems to encourage ‘dressing up’ as a way to bring value to the person. Your blog shows that the way we live is infinitely more important than the clothes we choose to wear.
Recently I have attended a few events I wanted to dress up for and each time I went out and purchased something that I would feel great in with matching shoes etc, however, when it came to the day to wear these clothes I was stressed and feeling out of sorts. After this I pondered on why I hadn’t spent as much time truly caring for and connecting to myself as I had taking care of my outward appearance. It was a big wake up call for me.
What you share is HUGE. How many of us just take clothing to be what is seen instead of how it feels. It may feel good because it offers a sense of recognition, individualisation or glamour, but underneath the body is saying it is not what is honouring of it in any way. It may be an article of clothing but it can either be fully expressing our love, beauty and tenderness, or it can be equally suppressing it
It’s amazing to realise how contrived and manipulated we are when choosing what to wear – and why we are choosing a particular style or brand. What are we saying about ourselves when we buy shoes irrespective of how they feel as long as we are believing that they change other people’s perceptions of us, without any consideration as to the quality or comfort – or as you point out the energy? We have been so conditioned to consider the look without feeling into the energy and what we are truly expressing when we choose to purchase an item. Thank you so much Adele for bringing this subject to our attention – much pause for thought I feel, as we truly begin to feel and consider.
This is such a great blog and you really know how to express Adele. I hope you write for the fashion industry and get this type of stuff out there.
For the record I am no fashionista and long gone are the days of spending money because the label somehow tells me it is going to make me look a million dollars. Designer labels and trying to get a bargain were two very harmful things in my shopping addiction days.
Fast forward today and a reality check with the ability to now FEEL and buy, I am deeply content with my wardrobe and have nothing much to speak of and yet I look and feel amazing. Fabrics and the feel of them and how they are made has always been important from the time I studied advanced needlework. I somewhere along the line thought that meant a high price tag. How wrong I was.
Today the majority of my clothes come from the supermarket – el cheapo stuff and just the general stores where you pick up the average price thing and others think wow when you wear it and have no idea its from the regular high street shop.
It really is about how you feel inside and my best photo to date is a dress that cost £10 but it looks like bespoke tailoring because of my hair, make-up, confidence and vitality shining through.
We all need to stop and pause with this blog as it is offering us a point of reflection as to why and how we view fashion.
Maybe we have pictures, images so to speak about the way we want to look or desire to be but in Truth it takes us away from our true essence.
Too much focus is on the fashion industry and more people are losing their way because of the points raised in this amazing blog.
As a person who loves clothes as a way to express, I see how I used to fall for images and what I saw was blocking my awareness. There are not many shops I go to these days, as the energy is not inviting and caring and the quality of the clothes is reflecting that. Also I see many women wearing things that are not supporting them in their beauty, because they want to fit in or have given up on themselves. The more we know and love ourselves, the less we will fall for the illusion that invites us to be something we are not.
Awesome article Adele. Working in the industry too I get a real sense of covering up what is there to be felt – in many different guises as you have explained. Most importantly to me is the everyday people. We all wear clothes and yet seldom do we connect to and express our true selves when dressing. This is something I love to help people to do, because in that you are owning the outfit, not the outfit owning you.
Thank you Adele – I have been feeling into clothes for a while as well and even though it is tempting to go for the look when something does not feel right I do not buy it anymore.
This is a great subject to write about Adele, and a much needed one. I have felt for a long time that much of the fashion that is on sale these days does not have a great feel to it, and that there is an energy of ‘trying to make clothes look different’, but it is not really working. Its as though the fashion world has been saturated with new ideas and it has got to a point where it is producing clothes of a much lesser quality as a result. So much emphasis is put on the clothes we wear, but we really do need to feel the true quality of how we dress in order to fully honour our true expression.
Adele I love what you share here. To consider the intention our clothes are made in is enormous. “Whether loudly or subtly, some clothes imparted the feeling of female sexualisation, some presented rebellion and anger, others a cushiony numbing of allure, as well as supremacy and competition.” This is huge! Who, on greater contemplation would like to wear these ideals, beliefs and emotions prescribed by designers and manufacturers? What if the fashion industry was about celebrating women and men to be themselves clothed in quality and love? How would we feel then?
Whilst fashion is supposed to complement/ bring out the best in us, I can feel that through the energy fashion is currently expressing, it is trying to cap our beauty. So what it sells is the antithesis of what we think we are buying unless we feel the energy first. Beautiful blog Adele, thank you.
Adele, this is very interesting to read, I can feel how clothes do have an energy, the ‘sexy’ or ‘better than you’ look, I can feel how there are so many different looks for us to buy into, rather than wearing clothes to express our innate delicateness, preciousness and loveliness, it feels like we put on an image, an image that is decided by the fashion industry and we choose which one we want to be like.
It’s taken me years to get comfortable with myself and my choice of clothes. I used to try and keep up with the fashion, but very rarely felt at ease in the clothes. Now when I shop I ask myself ‘do I love this?’ If there is any hesitation, I don’t buy it. I’m also very particular now about the fabric and how comfortable the garment feels to wear. Feeling confident to wear my own style is very liberating.
Thank you, Adele. To expose the fashion industry to this depth is quite something. I love how you are no longer bound to the consciousness that you work in, but have chosen to put energy first and are not willing to compromise this any more. What is exciting is that you are not turning your back on the industry, but will bring greater awareness and integrity to it.
Thank you Adele for this informative and thought provoking blog. It’s true that what you see is not always, what you get. As consumers I know we can pay way too much for something because it has a brand name. What are we paying for? The recognition of having a designer label? A feeling of superiority? You ask so many pertinent questions. This is something I will be more conscious of when I next buy clothes.
At first I thought to myself ‘I am not a part of this because I don’t follow the trends in fashion’ but that’s a big fat life because all of us are a part of it, just buying and wearing clothes means we are a part of the fashion culture. Which brings home the fact that if we use clothes in a certain way then it shows others how to use clothes, we learn from each other how to be. I used to wear a T-shirt and flip flops in August even if it was windy and cold because the ‘summer time’ image means this is the normal attire. Now as of a few years ago and respecting my body where it is at and on that day it’s not uncommon to see me in a hat, gloves and scarf if the summer time weather is cold, wet and/or windy. This feels like a much more supportive way of using fashion that is a tool and not something we give ourselves over to. We all have a responsibility of sharing our relationships with others and everything to others and everything that is so simple because we know how to add, remove, or build quality into what we do if we go by how we feel.
I agree Leigh, we are all a part of everything. Everything is Everything. Nothing is spared. All is responsibility.
Love this call to true responsibility in the fashion industry to produce clothes that reflect the joy of the person wearing them. So many mimic what they think is fashionable and are slaves to current trends rather than feeling what feels true on their bodies. The fashion industry can lead the way in making clothes that are all about love and encourage people to feel what their bodies are asking for to support them.
A beautiful message to really discern what we are wearing, why and how does it feel. The fashion industry has a lot to answer for and be called out in the identification and greed that goes on but also we are all called out to discern what we are getting and what we are we really asking for and what we choose for ourselves . A great refection offered Adele thank you.
What’s always bothered me about high end fashion – like you have pointed out here, is that it’s not real. The clothes you see most models wearing on catwalks are not appropriate for everyday life, it feels to me like the fashion industry predominantly puts a lot of effort into creating the ultimate escape from reality, rather than fabricating beautiful clothes that will support people to feel their own beauty.
Adele thank you for exposing the fact that the energy and intention behind clothes, behind fashion can be felt and is more often than not about the competition, comparison and very rarely about supporting, nurturing and loving of the people wearing the clothes. What a great opportunity for change!
Great subject for discussion Adele, most of us just walk around oblivious to the energy our clothes are designed and made in, not caring as long as they look good.
It is not just the energy of clothing; it is also the energy of belonging, pleasing, competing, appearing to be, hiding, the consecration of being different as a value, etc.
In a world where people have lack of self-worth issues fashion is the rescue medicine for many who can afford accessing it so to feel better about themselves but is also the reason why those who cannot afford accessing it confirmed their emotions.
Fashion is a dark world that is made to look nice.
All you have to do is add some colour, a nice material, a few sparkles and we’re convinced it is nice.
Fashion is about dressing up a world that does not change and does not want to change, so no one will notice it.
Fashion promotes the fantasy of a world in permanent change that in truth does not change.
☝🏼️😊 – what a beautiful description of the fashion industry.
Adele great that you share your awareness of the fashion industry with us and how we can learn so much about its motivations by simply looking and feeling into the quality of clothes. When I walk through the clothing section of a certain department store, I can feel the quality of the clothes hanging on the rails and I rarely stop to look, let alone buy. Mass produced clothing has lost its heart and as we know much of it produced by the very poor, on low wages, in sweatshops around the world.
Most fashion labels invest up to 60-70% of their benefits into advertising to create the image people are so desperately seeking and therefore spending their money on. We live in a feedback-loop of fashion (the media, etc.) pleasing our needs for recognition by creating an image that we are then sold and aspiring too.
“We are all trapped in what we have told ourselves is a truth, a truth our bodies cannot lie about”. This is a truth that applies not only to fashion but is something we can do in all aspects of our life. Being honest in why we invest in an un-truth can be very revealing and empowering.
It just goes to show that you get more than you bargain for when you buy clothing, and it does not matter if you pay a fortune for a well known designer brand or something from the local supermarket – maybe the quality or the fabric will differ but the energy the clothes are made in is what counts. Thank you for highlighting this Adele.
It’s interesting to read how you found that the energy of the clothes and fashion was so palpable. It would be also interesting to note the energy of the clothes that we pick for ourselves and what we are saying to the world whilst wearing them…hmmmm.
Who are these people that decide what we should wear and trend what we will like? That as you have said that the available collections to choose are on a wheel that turns slowly, and everything comes around again. I in the past would need something to wear and would find something it liked and bought two or three of them, all the same, that saves having to go shopping again for a while. Now I still buy things I need but I use my hands to feel the material first, and then look at the item. I feel the quality of the material and how it would feel on me. How others see me in this item is never included in this process.
Interesting to note about fashion. It’s clear to see that it comes back around and so never really goes anywhere, yet markets that it has so you have to keep up with the new season…creating an illusion and hype of being ‘in’ with it. In reality, from viewing women who adore themselves completely, when they dress, no matter if it is last years seasons clothes, they are never out of style. We seem to miss that in fashion – dressing for ourselves instead of for everyone else.
Fashion is created by the designers to hook the customer in to thinking they have to buy something new to keep up with what ‘everyone’ is wearing. When we honour ourselves we choose clothing that feels right for us in how and where it has been made and reflects how we are feeling in our body so that is our own fashion and not dictated by others.
The fashion industry is all about profit, not people. The catwalk models wear clothes that are incompatible with modern life. Fashions change each season, but is this truly necessary? If I hang onto clothes for long enough I find that years on they are once again in fashion! There are only so many lengths a dress can vary over time!
When I feel full in myself it doesn’t matter what I wear, because I feel at ease in myself. If I feel less than, then the clothes I chose to wear can keep me down or lift me – but I know in truth it’s what I am choosing not the clothes that changes my mood.
Adele your amazing blog jolted me from being distracted from fashion – You wrote: “The fact is everything is energy. Anything and everything in fashion that is designed, produced, marketed, sold and worn comes with an energy.” On cigarette packets there were warnings printed that smoking is dangerous for our life – how would it be to print warnings on fashion labels – warning this clothing will come with a competitive energy.
Most fashion labels, when not all, come with abuse as the production line is all about outcomes and never about quality and care in the production. Sweatshops, where specifically poor women are working massive amounts of hours for very little money, with no labour rights, sexual harassment normalized and no health and security provisions are the money making machines of our latest clothing.
If clothing came with information the way that food does (ie nutritional content), the world would be shocked by what is revealed.
The price in fashion does not come from the love and care applied in producing the clothes, but from the investment in certain images that are sold with the clothing.
“When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?” – I agree Adele. When I am connected with my body and express how I feel by the clothes I choose to wear, the joy and beauty within is reflected without in how I look and move, regardless of the clothes being part of the current fashion trend or not.
A very exposing blog on fashion, thank-you Adele for highlighting that; ‘ When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get’, which just brings more awareness to all that I wear and the clothes that I buy.
Wow- Adele- awesome blog where you have really highlighted the glamour and illusion hidden in the fashion industry.
I agree, but I just hadn’t taken the time to reflect on how ‘deep’ it goes.
Great point Adele, as all clothing we wear is designed into the tiniest details and clothing comes in many styles, trends, colors, designs, fabrics and so on but in the end only the energy it comes with counts. Is the clothing made to support our human evolution or is it made to keep ourselves entrapped in a way of living that does not evolve, but instead stays at the same level or even become lesser? To me there is something big to learn from this and that is that everything we produce we can make it either to assist in evolving people or not and that is a choice we all have to make one day.
Beautiful honesty Adele on the fashion industry as a whole and how inevitably we are all a part of as we all wear clothing on a daily basis. Everything as you say is energy and the energy used to produce the clothing, sell the clothing and wear the clothing is much to consider for we each play a role in unfurling the fabric of truth and how much joy wearing clothing that feels supportive and loving for me can really be.
Indeed – in this true way, clothes are not made for the eyes but for the body. Yet we choose with our eyes not considering what feels good.
Brilliant expose on the fashion industry, an industry that appears to be based on competition, comparison, greed and recognition. But we the public buy into this as we want to look better than the next person, want to keep up with this year’s trends and also many of us are also looking for recognition, and so the cycle goes on. It is great Adele that you now have a deepening awareness of this industry and I know that you will be shining that very wise light of yours into the dark corners of it that need exposing.
For a long time I had difficulty finding clothes that I felt good wearing. I realize in reading this blog that it’s because I was focusing on the functionality or on how they look, not how they feel. If I am connected to my body as I shop I seem to know which shop to go to and which clothes to look at and when I try something on my body lets me know when I’ve found something for me because I feel myself expanding with joy and my movements feel freer.
Fashion can be unpleasant when we feel the lack of love in fashion. A bit like noticing that all non-frozen dairy smells slightly rotten, even when fresh.
Even though fashions change, the underlying energy has not changed. We might think that fashion is helping us “become more intelligent, beautiful or successful” but there is no true intelligence, true beauty or real success when it is based on the competitive spirit of having to produce something that stands out or ‘wins’.
“When it comes to fashion, what you see is really not what you get”. Adele, great that you are exposing fashion but also offering the possibility of a new way of designing clothes – not to please that insatiable desire for novelty, change and impact, but clothes that reflect joy and love and enhance the natural beauty of the one who wears them.
As the producer of a wearable product, I know how much goes into the design, manufacture, marketing, delivery and administration – the production – of just a single garment. My mind boggles when I look at a single store, especially the maxi-brand emporiums: they represent hundreds of thousands of items, all requiring hundreds of thousands of hours of labour and bucket loads of resources. This industry is beyond huge. Yet what we are saying here is all of this (or at least the overwhelming majority) is produced without any understanding of true quality and no love for self and others. And then we purchase these things and all they come with. There’s a case here for bringing a great deal of awareness to the clothes we wear. Granted, we can’t change how producers make things, but we can make sure we’re not lured into the glamour of what is being sold, and that we dress ourselves with a great deal of love and attention.
“as customers, do we truly feel we are enough when we put on the latest piece of clothing? When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing”. The answer to that question would be a no. The only way is our inner connection being truly connected with our essence and emanates the warmth and love we hold deep with our inner heart reflects the joy of our essence and confirms who we are.
We have been certainly given a different view of fashion, (from the inside out) Adele. There is a lot more going on when we choose an item of clothing for ourselves starting back at the beginning with choosing a piece of fabric or if we are buying off the rack then the energy of all the people who had an input into this item of clothing. Thank you Adele for a thought provoking blog.
The way I buy clothes has gradually changed over time – in the past my purchases were determined by brand and the look I wanted to achieve so often I would end up with purchases that I would not wear as they were not actually comfortable or did not feel right. It has been a gradual development but now I buy clothes based on the quality of the fabric, how the item feels on my skin (if it looks great but feels scratchy then it’s a definite no), and most importantly – that I still feel myself when I put the item on, that I don’t feel like I am trying to be something, to match a certain picture.
Very interesting observation about fashion pushing ahead of time and the level of disregard that brings. I had a conversation with a clothing designer/producer not so long ago who recently bowed out of supplying the American market because she’d had enough of keeping up (and ahead) designing not 2 but 4 seasons a year which is the norm there. She’d been doing this for 15 years and she was exhausted.
Great article Adele. I would love to hear more about choices you might have made since with regard to your work as a stylist – how you choose clothes given few designers are likely to have created their works with a level of quality that holds the integrity you know to be true. Perhaps it is about understanding all that is at play, accepting that it is what it is for now, and making choices with the wisdom and love you yourself live.
I would love to hear this as well!
Adele your article raises much to ponder on. Fashion is usually touted as a way in which we can express ourselves, our individual style – but with this comes the inferred pressure of having to have a style – something that defines you, that sets you apart, that others will approve of or admire….If we do not first connect to who we are (in our simplest essence – love) and choose our clothing to honour, support and have fun with this, then we are actually forever stuck in a cycle of confirming our lack of self worth – each item purchased a subconscious attempt to better oneself, to be appealing, to somehow attain the love and acceptance that we have not yet given ourselves.
‘The quality that clothes are designed, manufactured and worn in determines the quality of how fashion is.’
Yes – “If everything is energy, then everything is because of energy” (as Serge Benhayon has presented) then the energetic quality in which fashion is produced determines the quality of those fashion items. This shows us the fashion industry has a huge amount of responsibility in terms of what they produce for people to wear. We are the ones wearing that quality, be it a true quality or one laced with all kinds of images, ideals and disregard.
A number to things stood out so clearly after reading you blog, Adele, that as you describe so clearly here with fashion, this also exists in other areas ‘We are all trapped in what we have told ourselves is a truth, a truth our bodies cannot lie about’ – so much of how we’ve set up our world is just not true and we know it, and spend inordinate amounts of time trying to distract ourselves from not feeling and seeing what we know. And that of course is why as you note fashion has to get more extreme, there is no other way, if it stopped and felt where it was it, it could not continue in this way, hence the complication and the ever greater detail and distraction which do nothing. Considering this where else does this apply in the world, I know in my work in corporate IT we have the same disease of complication and ever increasing complexity and it doesn’t work either and feels awful, yet it continues, until we all begin to speak up and say enough, let’s come back to truth here. Thanks for writing this.
“When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing, is fashion truly successful and does it really lead the way?” – quite Adele, I know that when I feel great in my body, the clothes I wear complement that irrespective of ‘fashion’, it may well be fashionable (or not), though it is my body and how I feel that makes it look good, not ‘the piece of the season/must-have’.
The other point about bodies is the models who wear them, and from the ones I see everywhere, and the modelling industry itself in what it sells, the models to me do not feel at-ease or joy in their body but restricted, and make the clothes and design have that distinctive superior ‘can’t-touch-or-afford-me’ air. The body of the model along with the designs and the energy it’s made in, ultimately send down catwalk runways messages of harm and abuse… it is amazing how much this is promoted, even celebrated as being award-winning, in the name of ‘fashion’.
The silly thing is that we all know how denigrating, dishonouring and simply ugly most or a lot of fashion is and yet we choose to not state it so, or we say yes it is like that and still accept it. We are often less consciously aware of the deeper energetic and insidious aspects that you have mentioned Adele. Perhaps as with many other things such as the press, state of the world etc we can say we have the fashion we have allowed and therefore asked for.
The story about the King has got no clothes on is a great example of this. I am sure everyone knows it so won’t repeat it all, but in short everyone knew the king was naked just as we all know how the fashion industry is not about love, true beauty or true expression.
You bring up a great point here Adele, clothes and what we choose to wear and why, has such a huge influence on us all. It really does make sense that something be made to reflect and enhance our true qualities and not try to conform, mould, or shut down our naturalness and light. If all clothes were made with love, you could not help but feel more when you wore them.
Insightful Adele, the quality the product is made in is the founding precursor to the quality of the fabric or design, yet it is the latter that everyone’s focus is on, gets centre-stage, what sells.. and keeps us all as you say “comfortable, hiding in beadwork embroidery”. Like anything we can use clothes to distract and showcase a very different look to the world and its photographing people, so far away from being a true look.
Fashion feels dictatorial to me – some seasons the colour or style trends are completely at odds with what feels good on my body, or a favourite piece needs replacing and because of the relentless need to constantly change a detail the next season it has changed just that bit to no longer feel great. The energy of clothes is something I will now also feel into … if the buying public becomes more discerning will this influence the trend of design?
Wow, thank you Adele for the reality check you bring here about what are we really buying into with many pieces of clothing.
This is brilliant and at the end of the day it comes down to where the consumers are coming from and what they are willing to pay money for. If as consumers we refuse to pay ridiculous prices for clothes that are made without genuine love and care to support people to evolve and shine then it is us the consumers who are raising the bar. The industry will not be able to survive or run in the ill, empty and competitive energy they are without selling their products. This is exactly what we all need to be asking ourselves “as customers, do we truly feel we are enough when we put on the latest piece of clothing? When our bodies do not reflect joy in our clothing”. Without connecting to our inner appreciation and our inner joy we will look for it on the outside and be more likely to be sold by the colour, sparkle and popularity of loveless fashion. Thank you for opening up this form of discussion Adele!
Spot on, Daniella. On your point about where consumers are coming from – it seems to me we all want the best product for the least amount of money. And so it’s created an industry with razor thin margins that affects people all along the chain. So indeed, we must look at ourselves first as consumers as we play the key role in the supply/demand equation.
A simple message here Adele in that true fashion feels to me to be about honouring our bodies and what clothes, fabrics, styles etc. feel right for us and which confirm who we are, in contrast to being hooked into a fashion style that is dictated and governed by something external and that is run by a different energy than what naturally feels true inside.