Generally speaking, everyone will agree that conformity is bad and that being an individual is pretty fundamental to our overall success in life. But how true is that really? How many versions of you are really out there? And how do you know if you’re the sheep or the wolf of your story? Fundamentally, we all believe that we’re unique somehow, and deserving special recognition for our talents and unique point of view. – is sure to be noticed.” ~ KierkegaardĪnd yet, ironically if there’s just one thing we all have in common it’s that we do tend to think of ourselves as different from everyone else. No other loss can occur so quietly any other loss – an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. “The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. At least some of you would prefer something entirely different, if only you gave yourself the chance to deviate from popular opinion. Kierkegaard (who would have been the most annoying hipster in the world if he were alive today), there’s no way all of you actually like Drake, Louis Vuitton bags and pumpkin spice lattes. “ Truth always rests with the minority,” wrote the philosopher, “ and the minority is always stronger than the majority, because the minority is generally formed by those who really have an opinion, while the strength of a majority is illusory, formed by the gangs who have no opinion.” In other words, according to Mr. Kierkegaard saw “mass appeal” as a mass opting-out of self reflection and understanding, choosing the safety of the river current rather than doing the hard work of figuring things out for ourselves. “ The most common form of despair is not being who you are,” wrote Søren Kierkegaard, the father of existential angst, who argued passionately against conformity and the way it keeps us from becoming ourselves. The paradox lies in the fact that being “an individual” doesn’t seem to be possible in fashion, because eventually, we all end up dressing the same, liking the same things, and posting the same Instagram photos.
![lone wolf clothing lone wolf clothing](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/97/74/7f/97747fa17788e913f4c9ae9854cc26e6.png)
Again and again, until the only thing that makes you appear an “individual” is the fact that you keep evolving.
![lone wolf clothing lone wolf clothing](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0259/5975/9906/products/5c936977b82fb74fdc6e836c-original.jpg)
In a matter of months your unique style becomes everyone else’s, and you are forced to evolve, or become just another clone of yourself. As a result, your Instagram photos routinely get Pinned across the planet and end up featured prominently in trend analysis reports by mega-retailers like Zara.
![lone wolf clothing lone wolf clothing](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41nAam8MavL._QL70_ML2_.jpg)
The conformity paradox in fashion looks something like this: Say you are an individual in the truest sense, and everything you do and wear is so unique and interesting that everyone who sees you acknowledges that you are different.