Certain things don’t come to light until one truly gets exposed to a rather significant sample size. We’re often so caught up in our own lives, for legitimate reasons of course, that we often don’t realise just how much influence others may have on us or how much influence a small group of people can have on the lives of all of us. I don’t mean it in a bad way at all though. All I’m talking about is style and taste. I mean at first I kind of developed the idea that most people in and around my neighbourhood seem to have the same style and taste in the clothes we wear, the furniture we choose to decorate our homes with and even the food we prepare, particularly for special occasions.
The more friends my children made with some of the other kids in the neighbourhood and the more friends’ houses from which I subsequently had to pick them up occasionally, the more this common taste and style became apparent. It was even more so when my kids were still at play-date age and I could spot at least something in someone else’s house which is either exactly the same as what I have in my own home, or bears a similar style.
It wasn’t until we had one of our bigger neighbourhood gatherings at a semi-formal dinner-party/barbeque when I realised that we don’t in fact have similar styles and tastes by virtue of proximity. Yes, again, staying true to the semi-formal/smart-casual theme, all the ladies in particular looked great in their various going out dresses, but I could still spot a very similar style in just about all the dresses. It was then that it hit me that instead of it being a matter of similar style and taste, it was rather a matter of the influence coursing through our neighbourhood, and perhaps throughout the entire town and maybe even the whole region. I mean I have a couple of very close friends, right and although we have a lot in common, we certainly don’t agree on absolutely everything. How then could it be at all possible that an entire region has the same taste in their style of wear, decor and in other areas where we purportedly have choice? It simply isn’t.
What’s really going on is that we all do our shopping at a handful of stores which in truth are the ones really determining our collective style and taste. For these reasons it’s very easy for each of our tastes and styles to represent a contemporary flavour, but then this sort of eats into the individual’s true style and taste. Look, it’s not a matter which is very high on any practical list of priorities, but I reckon it’s important to stay true to your own style and taste, especially through your everyday living spaces and surroundings as well as the clothes you wear. The best way that can be done is by shopping online and having your goods delivered, and you can buy anything online these days, instead of limiting your choice to the options presented to you at your local outlets.
