My biggest problem with quarantine is so first world. I feel bad about complaining, even coming from a point of humor. This problem? It is the internet paired with a Visa carrying a higher credit limit than I should probably have. I got it for the airmiles because I plan on being in a plane often -assuming we can ever fly again. Hence the name, Ride and Fly (I thought of that thank you very much). Do I need new clothes, purses sunglasses and hair products to maybe spice up my Instagram game post quarantine? Well, kind of but not now. But I currently have the time to cruise sales and shop around and get exactly what I want, even if I don’t really need it.
The sunglasses can be justified though. I walk every day and sometimes you just want a fresh look. Plus, how can you refuse buy-one-get-one-free, and the company donates to charity? That’s the double-edged sword in this whole quarantine business, EVERYTHING IS ON SALE. If you’re paying full price for something…why though?? Except for workout equipment. Us Kentuckians have a long minute before gyms open again, and who knows how that will work.
If you want to know how bad my impulse control is, I just took a break to do some online shopping because email blasts and sponsored ads struck again. I try and justify it in my head, I mean its clearance after all, not just a 25% off sale. Mom taught me at a young age to bargain hunt. So, when I see SALE or CLEARANCE, I am in deep doo doo. You see, my mom was so frugal my whole childhood, and I thought I would grow up to be just like her. Well, yeah, I look for deals, but whereas she has the discipline to say, “nah I don’t need it” I’m the one who goes “yeah I need it”.
Mom and I also live in two very different states with very different attitudes towards fashion. Save for Seattle, which carries a very international (and very wealthy) population, most of Washington State doesn’t think much about what’s going on in the world of fashion. Milan and New York are so far off the radar, both figuratively and literally, by the time a trend hits the Pacific North West, it’s sometimes on its way out of New York. It’s not that PNW’ers don’t have style, it’s just largely impractical. It rains so frequently for most of the year, good hiking boots, rainboots, and rain jackets are better investments. Not to mention the mountain biking popularity is growing rapidly, and that’s an expensive sport itself. My point is, people don’t have a use for designer handbags or fancy shoes up there.
Louisville, on the other hand, is just 2 hours by plane to Chicago, Miami, or New York-major fashion districts. And that’s one of the reasons I stay in Louisville instead of moving back to Washington.
People don’t think of Kentucky as a place that would be concerned with fashion. But let me tell you, it is. Well, at least Louisville and Lexington. The driving force of it? The horses. Do you know how many designers are inspired by the equestrian world? And have been for a long time, at that? Gucci (hello horse bit everything!) Hermès, Coach, Ralph Lauren… the list is much longer but I won’t bore you with names. My point is, fashion designers have been intrigued with equestrian style for centuries, as horses have been a symbol of affluence since the beginning of time. High fashion and the equestrian lifestyle have been the longest-standing indicators of social status in human society, so really it makes perfect sense that Kentuckians pay close attention to both. If you’re out on the farm you’re probably not strutting around in Louboutin’s. But at Keeneland of Churchill downs? Red bottoms are everywhere (men wear them too), suits and or blazers just look expensive. Gucci and Louis Vuitton can be seen everywhere, it’s like no big deal if you have either of those anymore.
People want to adapt equestrian outfits to fashion and bring the air of aristocracy to the mundane streets. But you must go all in if you want to nail it, if you’re going for the high fashion look that is. I can’t help but chuckle, as those knee-high “riding boots” wouldn’t help you in the slightest to ride a horse. Or the bachelorettes stomping down Broadway in glitzy “cowboy” boots. Teehee, imposters. What the outside world doesn’t realize is that us horse people aren’t always out in Walmart, fresh off a horse in our boots and spurs. And when we go to country concerts, you’ll rarely see us in cowboy boots, and we’ll opt for a ball cap over imitation western hats. Those of us that ride the most can clean up quite well. When we’re not riding and out socializing, we enjoy changing up our looks.
Kentucky has been breeding some of the world’s finest Thoroughbreds for centuries. If the bluegrass and the horses that call it home grabs the attention of the Queen, then you understand how serious it is here. Only now that I’m grown do I realize those poor kids who made fun of me were most likely jealous, and I am certainly having the last laugh now. As is my bank account and will continue to do so until I’m 6 feet under.
What fashion trends or looks are you obsessing over?
Until next week,
Ciao.