Look around on your next commute. It seems that most people play it safe with their clothes, sticking to black, grey and navy blue. We wonder why so few manage to add a touch of humour to an outfit – from wacky patterns on trainers or ties, to quirky pins on coats and playful characters on our socks, there are endless possibilities.
Laughter and fashion may not seem like a natural pair – have you noticed that models on the catwalk rarely smile? And when ChattyFeet co-founders first introduced their character socks to the world, not everyone bought into their vision of having fun with socks.
Hard to imagine, right? But it’s true that some in the fashion world have dismissed novelty socks as against “the rules”. We say rules are there to be broken.
It’s a combination that some of the world’s best fashion designers have shown can easily be pulled off. There are cabbage print dresses from Dolce & Gabbana; Loewe designer Jonathan Anderson’s elf shoes, which he described as having “no sense … but they make you laugh!” And even designer Michael Kors has dismissed the idea that to be chic, you have to be serious: “No one ever looks more fabulous or more beautiful than the moment they start laughing uncontrollably,” he says.
But while fashion may be funny on the catwalk, that’s not always reflected in the stores on the high street. We think that’s a shame. When you get dressed in the morning, it’s the perfect opportunity to inject a bit of fun and playfulness to your day. Maybe you’ll wear bright colours that clash, spots with stripes, or socks that make you smile every time you catch a glimpse of them. Who cares what anyone else thinks?
Humorous fashion lifts your mood, it pushes boundaries and can even lead to a smile or conversation with a stranger. Mr Bon and Mrs Pon in Japan, who have been married for 30 years, have found delight in dressing the same and posting photos of their matching outfits to entertain their 837,000-strong fanbase. “When I was young, I found matching styles embarrassing but at this age, I no longer feel ashamed,” Mrs Pon said. Stepping out of her comfort zone has actually made her far more comfortable in her own skin.
So don’t be held back by outdated notions of what you should or shouldn’t wear. Find clothes that please you and allow you to be true to yourself. Clothes may ‘maketh the man’ (or woman), but it all starts from the ground up. So what do your socks say about you?
Do you seize the opportunity to make each day a bit more playful? Do you reject the notion that fashion has to be serious? Do you make your own way in the world? We could all do with a bit more laughter in our lives. As the poet EE Cummings once said: “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.''
