The H&M Factor

I went shopping at the newly opened H &M today to look for a nice turtle neck sweater to wear to tonight's Alumni Dinner and Dance. I felt out of place half of the time because I knew I could be more creative than the trash of Mississauga (and I do not mean the less fortunate in terms of wealth, although if you saw these people you'd probably consider them less fortunate in other ways) and the other half of the time I felt insanely out of place for not being stylish enough because of the other half of the people shopping there. It must have been at the opening yesterday when those incredibly stylish women of Mississauga decided to break out of their homes and actually show their faces in a mall in the suburbs. These specimens are those Ashlee Simpson look-a-likes you typically see shopping downtown. It occurred to me this morning that their stylishness could be attributed to the fact that they enjoy shopping with their mothers and their mother's credit cards and that H & M does such a good job of marketing easy build-your-own outfits at moderately high prices for their low end quality.

As I was standing in line for the changerooms, there was this mother-daughter duo in front of me, and the daughter looked like a fricking model. She had to be nearly 6' and was just beautiful. Half the store was filled with dolled up women with faces with makeup perfectly applied and dressed in the latest fashion. I felt inadequate and even frumpy!!! So maybe it's no surprise that guy's don't really look at me. Look at what I'm competing with! I'd rather be make-up free, wear second hand stuff, and eventually clothing I've made myself, while these trophy women roam around snatching everyone up with their H&M wardrobe. Afterall, who wouldn't want to date that 6' model bedeckled in sequins and lacey stuff?

I've spent a long time convincing myself that I have a unique style and that it's better to be original than a store mannequin, but perhaps I should stop critizing women like the ones who shop at H&M. Who am I to argue against the fashion principles of women who certainly have been successful at looking good even if it is the marketing giants that make us all think we need to want to look like that.