Read Gina's fashion blog. What's the message for young people this week? Don't be a FASHION SLAVE!
This week Gina's blog is for young teenagers but has a lesson for everyone.
If you're a young teenager, then you've probably just started to think about wearing fashionable clothes. So I want to ask you something important. Would you wear something just because it was fashionable? When I was younger I did that a lot. It didn't matter what the fashion was, or if I liked it, I had to buy it. I would buy the latest clothes, even if they were very expensive. I thought if I didn't buy the latest clothes, I wouldn't be popular. I remember when I was 141 bought a new dress. It was very long and brightly patterned in red and orange. In fact the style didn't suit me at all, but when I tried it on in the shop I thought I looked great. It was a bit tight and uncomfortable but I didn't care. I bought it anyway, because it was the latest fashion!
My cousin Anna was four years older than me, and she always wore really nice clothes, She invited me to her eighteenth birthday party and of course, I wanted to wear my new dress, but when I showed her she said, 'Gina, if were you, I would wear a different dress. I was surprised! Why?' I said, 'This is really fashionable.' 'I know,' she said, 'but the thing is, that dress doesn't suit you. It's not your style, and red and orange are not your colours.' And she was right!
It made me realise that I was a slave to fashion - and I didn't want to be! I know I tell you about the latest fashions every week, but being fashionable isn't the most important thing. Anna would only wear something if she looked good in it, and want to pass this lesson on to you. Thanks to her, I began to think more carefully about what styles, clothes and colours made me look good, and which ones didn't (like that embarrassing dress!). Now I'm only interested in making fashion work for me, so no long dresses and definitely no red and orange!
