s-impliste:

I’m looking to follow loads of blogs and I’m checking out every single one that reblogs this

It doesn’t matter what kind of fashion I want to follow all different kinds

I’m just asking that you follow me (s-impliste) and don’t like this

(I’ve had exams recently, so sorry for the lack of blogging.)

Today being a Leap Day - traditionally dedicated to giving women the opportunity to propose - in Literature Society today (yes, I do go to Lit Soc… I know it’s a bit lame but never mind), we were looking at women in literature and the way in which they are viewed. This was, for me, extremely interesting as I would, without a doubt, call myself a feminist. We looked at Shakespeare’s portrayal of women, from Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Lady Macbeth. What I found most interesting, however, was a poem called The Disappointment by Aphra Behn, who was the first female writer to be able to live off her pen, and counts Virginia Woolf as one of her fervent admirers. She was born in 1640 and died at the age of 49; and so was writing around the same time as Shakespeare. I think it’s amazing that not only was she a woman writing in a predominantly misogynist (bar the obvious, Queen Elizabeth I) society, but she was writing so openly about such a taboo topic (see for yourself when you read the poem - it doesn’t leave much to the imagination). 

It all got me thinking about the way women are viewed in other aspects of society, predominantly fashion. I think it’s great that fashion is so unashamedly female-orientated, and how it allows women to express themselves in ways that they might not otherwise be able to. Chanel (Coco) was obviously the greatest pioneer of feminist fashion. Her desire to let women be seen as men’s equals she expressed in he designs - the suits, the drop waists, the boating tees; what she managed to do was strike a perfect balance between femininity and masculinity. Her clothes aimed to, and succeeded in, bringing out all the best parts of womanhood: femininity and strength, something that up until then was considered strictly a ‘manly’ acquisition.

Fashion has continued to provide one of the greatest means for women to express themselves ever since Chanel. Even women who claim to care not one bit for clothes still deliberately pick the clothes that they feel best demonstrate their attitude: need I mention the editor’s meeting scene in The Devil Wears Prada? The fact is, fashion is a distinctly feminist form of communication. And I’m fairly sure it will stay that way.