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It’s so ugly we love it
What is it that attracts us to ‘ugly’ items of clothing?
The word ugly is defined as: unpleasant or repulsive, especially in appearance. But what is it that draws people to ‘ugly’ fashion? Is it the colour, or the design, the accessories or the patterns?
The concept of ugly is subjective, what someone finds hideous, another person might love, that’s what makes the world of trends and fashion so diverse and unique. We just have to look at the recent Barbican exhibition on Vulgar and what is vulgar? Usually it is something incredibly gaudy (covered in gold, diamonds), something overly popular and iconic (McDonalds or Spongebob), bright, bold and clashing colours can all be seen as ‘ugly.’
(Jeremy Scott Moschino 2014 Credit: Getty)
Personally my selection of ‘ugly’ clothing includes a hideously bright patchwork bomber, a selection of cosy yet odd jumpers, and my obsession with metallic shoes. All of these have gotten positive reactions, with people asking me where I’ve gotten them from, so clearly it’s not just me who likes weird clothing!
Take ugly granddad jumpers for example: they’re so ugly and unconventional that they are eye catching.
The trend of frills has been here for months now, with no signs of shifting. Even flares are coming back, flared jeans and yes even flared tracksuit bottoms (you know the ones we wore in the 90s?) Puffa jackets too have made a huge come back this season, in brighter colours than ever. In short all the things we used to hate, the things that would disgust us have now fully come back in trend.
Ugly is no bad thing as we saw at the recent LFW shows, frills, clashing colours and logos were front and centre.
Wonderfully ugly grandad jumpers at The Joseph show. (of course getting the look on the cheap can be done by simply going to your local charity shop or vintage market).
(Joseph. Credit: Source: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images Europe)
Christopher Kane has used one of the most iconicly ugly clothing in his shows both last year and this year in the form of the Croc sandle. Last year he accessoriesed with gems, this year for A/W it's fur!
(A/W 2017 Credit: (Picture: Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage)
Pink feminine frills and bright garish patterns rocked the Ryan Lo catwalk. Get this look by layering the wide variety of frilled items from either a vintage shop or the high street.
(Credit Kimberley Archer)
These utterly 'ugly' (in the best possible way) designs have us looking for more in our wardrobes and in the high street. So go out and find a weird granddad sweater, get a hideously bright bomber jacket and just own it!
