A few weeks ago, I came across Lyn Slater’s blog The Accidental Icon. A professor in Social Welfare at Fordham University in New York, Lyn loves fashion and this is what her blog is all about. Yet, it is so, so much more than fashion. 

In one of her latest posts,  Getting to Know Your “Red”: Here’s Mine  she asks her readers to think about their “red”. By this she means what do you focus on, what inspires you to be you and what is your personal style. For Lyn, personal style is just that: personal. She equates it thus:

Personal Style = your personal identity now + personal identity you are experimenting with or aspiring to + the current culture and time of history you are living in + creativity + critical thinking

 ‘My red’ she says is:

‘my love of fashion and my desire to take it on as a subject of study and interaction. It is my pleasure project that so far has been shared by others who share this same passion. It is for people who want to think and talk about fashion and how fashion can express ourselves, lives, values and culture and be a form of art, creative expression or if you desire, rebellion’.

But why the colour red? In an earlier blog post Lyn explains:

‘This month I decided to focus on red. Not because of Valentine’s Day or the usual sentimental attachment to the color, but more because I want to reflect on passion, adventure and maybe even a little danger.  A crimson red that is the color of blood and fire, the edgy and a little bit dangerous side of red. I want to engage with the desire you feel in your belly when you are really turned on; by an idea, a person, a dream, an opportunity or a garment.  Red is the color of extremes and that is what I feel like being. Red is assertive, daring and determined.  Red gets your attention quickly and gets you to make a fast decision (think flashing red lights and fire trucks). Red stimulates us to take an action and gives us energy. Red is the color of revolution. Prabal Gurung calls red, “femininity with a bite”.’

I love Lyn’s words. My own personal style is most definitely a work in progress, subject to change and ongoing critical thinking. Yet, I can say in all honesty, and to paraphrase Lyn, “red” for me is:

My love of knitting and design and my desire to take it on as a subject of study and interaction. It is my pleasure project that so far has been shared by others who share this same passion. It is for people who want to think and talk about knitting and design and how these can express ourselves, lives, values and culture and be a form of art, creative expression or if you desire, rebellion.

What is your “red”?