Fashion Beyond Personal Taste
The reactions to the Met Gala during the event and in its aftermath were chaotic. Viewers were not shy in making their opinions on the outfits on display heard. People were quick to label outfits as “good” or “bad.” But in my opinion, fashion is not about whether you would wear something. Great fashion often requires context, intention, storytelling, and perspective. A good outfit is not simply determined by popular opinion or immediate visual appeal. Truly understanding fashion requires stepping into the perspective of the person wearing it and understanding the inspiration behind the look.
The problem with social media fashion criticism is not people sharing their opinions on what they deem good or bad fashion; the problem is that it encourages instant reactions, which lead people to judge outfits in seconds without context. Viral reactions reduce fashion into entertainment, and while I think fashion can be and is entertaining, it also requires nuance.
Online fashion content often boils down to questions like “Would I wear this?” “Does this look attractive to me?”Does this fit current trends?” Personal taste is not the same as objective fashion analysis. Not every outfit is designed to be universally appealing. Some outfits are designed to tell a story, challenge expectations, honor culture, or communicate identity.
The main reason I gravitated towards fashion as a personal hobby is that it’s a part of how I communicate with the world. Fashion speaks. A fundamental concept in the fashion world. The way a person chooses to dress says a lot about them. Clothing is a form of self-expression. It communicates personality, culture, history, confidence, emotion, status, etc. How does this relate to the Met Gala? The met is not supposed to be “normal fashion,” whatever that means to you. It is fashion as art and interpretation. The Met’s themes express this idea, none more so than this year. The theme was “Costume Art.” The outfits are supposed to be inspired by historical references, designers’ philosophies, cultural themes, and personal experiences. Now, to make my point. Understanding the inspiration changes how the outfit is perceived, and without that, any criticism of the outfit is bound to miss the mark.
If you’re reading this, before critiquing an outfit, I would like you to ask a couple of questions. What was this person trying to express? What inspired the look? Does the outfit achieve its intended purpose? Does the styling align with the theme? What emotions or ideas is it trying to communicate? Empathy and perspective matter in fashion critique. Fashion should not always be filtered through personal preference alone. Sometimes, the most impactful outfits are the ones that make people uncomfortable at first because they force viewers to think beyond trends and attractiveness.
So what actually makes a good outfit? Here are my five requirements a good outfit must meet. The first is intentionality. Does the outfit feel purposeful? For an outfit to be intentional, the wearer has to be making conscious, deliberate choices aligned with their personal values and goals. Cohesion, the pieces have to complement each other. Authenticity, does it feel true to the wearer? This can be difficult to judge, but it’s all about trusting your instincts and wearing pieces that speak to you. The outfit has to be worn in the appropriate context, and executed; tailoring, styling, proportions, details.
Fashion online discourse has become shallow. Everything is labeled as “hard, “Mid”, “ or “trash.” This removes creativity and artistic appreciation. Fashion becomes more interesting when people approach it with curiosity instead of immediate judgment. The best fashion conversations happen when people try to understand before they criticize.
Fashion is subjective, but thoughtful critique still exists, and I would encourage readers to approach said critique with curiosity as opposed to judgment (leave room for some lol!). Fashion is about expression, and in order to understand what is being communicated, critique has to be approached with curiosity and empathy. The next time you want to critique an outfit, maybe the question is not “Would I wear this?” Maybe the better question is: “What is this outfit trying to say?”