Organic cotton, ayurvedic-dyed jacket, A.d.o.; vegan shoes, Cri de Coeur, pants, t-shirt, and jewelry, vintage.

By Bianca Alexander

“Fashion is not something that exists only in dresses. Fashion is in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” — Coco Chanel

For centuries, fashion has been dictated by an elite handful of magazine editors, red-carpet critics and self-appointed trendsetters.  With brazen authority, they tell us what colors to wear this season, which designers are hot and who is a fashion don’t. Keeping us in line, they’ve taught us how to dress like a lady, how long or short our hemlines should be and why wearing white after Labor Day is a no-no. With the best of intentions, they’re quick to point out whether we’re too pale, too kinky, too plump or flat-chested; what role we need to play in the world and how to dress the part to find love, acceptance, and success.

In today’s modern era where women are allowed to define themselves, this kind of guidance is presumptuous at best.  At worst, it’s sexist, racist and seriously misguided.

A fashion revolutionary in the early 20th century, Coco Chanel succeeded as a working artist by empowering women to break the shackles of conformity imposed by the social dictates of their time.  Liberating the objectified “second sex” to dress for comfort, function and her own inspiration instead of for the arousal of her male counterparts, she helped countless women create an evolved sense of identity and to develop a personal style all their own.

Today, even the legendary Coco Chanel would probably be bored by her signature designs.
As in Coco’s day, a revolution is upon us.

Today, a new regime is emerging that demands freedom of expression, freedom of choice, and freedom to be an individual above all else.

Freedom to be authentic.
Freedom to love—or be loved by—whoever suits your fancy.  
Freedom to shave your head bald, rock a Mohawk, or heaven forbid, expose hairy appendages in public.
Freedom to bare your body, or conversely, hide it with a burqa.
Freedom from the old rules of fashion.
Freedom to wear what you want, when you want, and how you want.
Under the new rules, true style is defined by fashion do’s, not fashion don’t’s.
Under the new rules, all you have to be is you.

Coming up:
New Rule of Style #1: Be Authentic.