How to be a Fashion Icon:

If any tasks is particularly difficult being a fashion icon is it. Fashion is a world built on innovation,
new ideas, cutting edge styles and creativity. Being a fashion icon requires slightly more than the
ability to look fabulous in what you’re wearing. It is about standing out and possessing a style that is
both unique and yours. So how is it done, how does Kate Moss roll out of bed pull on some clothes
and look iconic on her way to a store? How does Agnes Deyn maintain a look that we can only desire
to emulate while riding her bike through Bricklane. What is the secret to being a fashion icon?

I believe the answer to such a question can take us way back to the 50’s and 60’s with fashion
icons such as Marilyn Monroe. Monroe came around at a time when modesty was at the height
of importance in the fashion. Despite which Monroe wore tight-fitting garments that hugged her
shapely figure and showed off her assets. She did this because she wasn’t afraid of embracing her
sexuality and identified this trait through her clothing. Audrey Hepburn on the other hand was a
more modest being, she believed in elegance her subtle sexiness was displayed through the Little
Black Dress which she made famous. And where would us women be without our ballet flats which
shot to popularity due to Audrey’s wearing her own dance shoes out in public.

More recently women such as actress Blake Lively and model Kate Moss are hailed for their unique
and innovative dress sense both women who have no stylists and seemingly march to the beat of
their own fashion drums.

So what is it that all these women have in common, what feature combines them and has earned
them the title of fashion icons. Their secret is themselves. Each of these women express their
personality through their clothing. They use their experiences both positive and negative and reflect
it in their clothes, their styles are unique because their personalities are unique. Being a fashion icon
has very little to do with following trends and everything to do with making your own. You are the
best tool in your crusade for fashion fame and that is what makes people stand out.

Now of course beyond the clothes there are a few other things that are needed to make a fashion
icon. What icon would be complete without confidence, a suburb strut and a subtly pout that tells
the world she’s here to make an entrance? The confidence of an icon is second to none and a vital
ingredient for the makings of a fashion icon.

Picking your style based on who you are, though fairly obvious, achieves memorable results. There
will never be another Hepburn or Monroe so copying is not the way forward. But use clothing as a
tool to reflect your personality and you may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

By Naomi Nightingale

Read more from me on my blog: http://the20somethings.me/