Glued To Your Smartphone Equals Not Fashionable
by Catriona Whitehead
You know what's fashionable? Being classy. You know what's classy? Putting down your smartphone and interacting with the world that's right in front of you. When you tune in to your online life, you're also tuning out the world around you. When your shopping, and texting in the middle of the sale section, or when you're briskly walking the sidewalk and nearly collide with three people, on three seperate occassions, it's time to tuck away your phone and regain your class.
I don't believe that fashion simply refers to the clothing on your back:
A large part of being fashionable is retaining high quality physical and mental presence. Good posture is big. Walk tall and sit up! Have you ever seen a runway model hunched over while bookin' it down the catwalk? The more hunched over you are, the harder it is to a) appreciate the innovative and striking work you've done in creating your ensemble, and b) respect you. You know what hunches you over? Constantly texting or logging in on your smartphone!
Which brings me to mental presence. There was a woman browsing through my store the other day--well she wasn't really browsing, she was more so just occupying space--who was wearing a beautiful pair of merlot red platform booties with cutouts on either side. I stopped her and said, "your shoes are beautiful, who makes them?" She tersely responded "Prada" and kept her focus on the keypad of her phone. Suddenly, the shoes weren't so fabulous. She was so engrossed in her online activity, that she completely ignored the basic requirements of polite face to face human interaction. I was inconveniencing her somehow. She was in a high-end clothing store afterall; not to mention a store in which I am expected to sell fashion. Her lack of poise diminished her capacity to wear those shoes with style.
I blame FOMO (the Fear Of Missing Out) for our culture's dependency on smartphones:
Everytime you look at your smartphone, you're making sure you haven't missed any texts, Facebook updates, or tweets that may concern you and your social life. If you aren't up to date on these things, you very well may miss out on a really good time. The constant flow of selfies and other photos showing happy people looking their best exclaims, "we are here having a great time" and you're not. But what are you sacrificing by putting most of your attention into your online life? You are sacrificing your quality of presence in the real world in two large ways. You are first and foremost ignoring those around you, diminishing the potential for a great time right here and now (put your phone down when your out to dinner with your friends!!!). And secondly, your communication skills begin to weaken. When you prepare for a job interview, you practice asking and answering questions; it allows your brain to map out what you want to say and how. I realize, life isn't a constant job interview, but it frequently offers opportunity when you least expect it. The well spoken person usually gives an excellent first impression. Since you've been glued to your smartphone, however, you've started speaking in abbreviations. Now you refer to take phone calls and only text. I get it. It's quicker and it's minimizes the amount of effort required in responding adequately to the other person's emotions. But constantly communicating through a keyboard will deteriorate your interpersonal skills overtime, and subsequently, your poise. Look whose outfit isn't so stupendous now.
Folks, those updates, texts, tweets, pings, pongs, etc. don't immediately concern you. They will still be there in an hour--so practice waiting 60 minutes, or even just 30, before checking your phone again. The more you let go of your online life and tap into the life that's around you, the more rewarding life, and your apparel, will be. I promise.
You know what's fashionable? Being classy. You know what's classy? Putting down your smartphone and interacting with the world that's right in front of you. When you tune in to your online life, you're also tuning out the world around you. When your shopping, and texting in the middle of the sale section, or when you're briskly walking the sidewalk and nearly collide with three people, on three seperate occassions, it's time to tuck away your phone and regain your class.
I don't believe that fashion simply refers to the clothing on your back:
A large part of being fashionable is retaining high quality physical and mental presence. Good posture is big. Walk tall and sit up! Have you ever seen a runway model hunched over while bookin' it down the catwalk? The more hunched over you are, the harder it is to a) appreciate the innovative and striking work you've done in creating your ensemble, and b) respect you. You know what hunches you over? Constantly texting or logging in on your smartphone!
Which brings me to mental presence. There was a woman browsing through my store the other day--well she wasn't really browsing, she was more so just occupying space--who was wearing a beautiful pair of merlot red platform booties with cutouts on either side. I stopped her and said, "your shoes are beautiful, who makes them?" She tersely responded "Prada" and kept her focus on the keypad of her phone. Suddenly, the shoes weren't so fabulous. She was so engrossed in her online activity, that she completely ignored the basic requirements of polite face to face human interaction. I was inconveniencing her somehow. She was in a high-end clothing store afterall; not to mention a store in which I am expected to sell fashion. Her lack of poise diminished her capacity to wear those shoes with style.
I blame FOMO (the Fear Of Missing Out) for our culture's dependency on smartphones:
Everytime you look at your smartphone, you're making sure you haven't missed any texts, Facebook updates, or tweets that may concern you and your social life. If you aren't up to date on these things, you very well may miss out on a really good time. The constant flow of selfies and other photos showing happy people looking their best exclaims, "we are here having a great time" and you're not. But what are you sacrificing by putting most of your attention into your online life? You are sacrificing your quality of presence in the real world in two large ways. You are first and foremost ignoring those around you, diminishing the potential for a great time right here and now (put your phone down when your out to dinner with your friends!!!). And secondly, your communication skills begin to weaken. When you prepare for a job interview, you practice asking and answering questions; it allows your brain to map out what you want to say and how. I realize, life isn't a constant job interview, but it frequently offers opportunity when you least expect it. The well spoken person usually gives an excellent first impression. Since you've been glued to your smartphone, however, you've started speaking in abbreviations. Now you refer to take phone calls and only text. I get it. It's quicker and it's minimizes the amount of effort required in responding adequately to the other person's emotions. But constantly communicating through a keyboard will deteriorate your interpersonal skills overtime, and subsequently, your poise. Look whose outfit isn't so stupendous now.
Folks, those updates, texts, tweets, pings, pongs, etc. don't immediately concern you. They will still be there in an hour--so practice waiting 60 minutes, or even just 30, before checking your phone again. The more you let go of your online life and tap into the life that's around you, the more rewarding life, and your apparel, will be. I promise.
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