I LOVE fashion?

I LOVE Fashion!! I really do! I've made a career out of it after all so it must be love with a capital "L" - right?! 

And yet, and yet... as I check all the collections on the net and check out all the great blogs about the people who attend those shows, work in the fashion industry or simply aspire to do either or of those things, I find that I am actually very happy to be sitting in my sofa instead of traipsing around the fashion capitals with what seems like the de rigeur accessory of the season: the impossibly high heels and platforms attached to any form of shoes. (One such example in the picture, this bootie by British designer Nicholas Kirkwood - www.nicholaskirkwood.com. It is beautiful and sculptural but I'm not sure it would survive a walk on a cobblestoned Paris street or the rush hour on any city's tube system). 

Maybe its sensory overload, maybe its the knee talking ("You thinking of wearing those shoes? You crazy woman or what?! No way am I letting you do that kind of damage to me - enough's enough!!!) But the fact is that at this moment I am quite happy to NOT indulge in what is, admittedly, one of my favourite pass times of all time - SHOPPING! And all that I am seeing about this season and the next isn't really changing that feeling. I'd rather look into my closet and make up new combinations with all the pieces I have picked up and kept over the past... oh 17 years. (That kinda gives away my age doesn't it?)

Is this some sort of midlife crisis or just a sign of the times? Not quite sure but I think its basically a combination of both, with a few other factors thrown in for further disorientation. Maybe its just that having worked in several areas of the fashion world the sense of mystery and wonder is gone.  Its not that there aren't amazing ideas and designers out there that make me drool (the Mulleavy sisters at Rodarte, Alber Elbaz at Lanvin, Dries Van Noten or Rick Owens immediately pop to mind) its that I feel that there are alot of others that don't really bring anything to the mix. I'm not quite sure that the whole system of between two to eight collections per designer per year, is very condusive to actually editing your own work and taking the time to create something different or improved. That some manage to do this year in year out is a mark of genius that is often undervalued.

Maybe I just need a sabbatical. To walk away from it all and concentrate on other things... other areas of my life - you know, those that feature in feng shui's bagua; Relationships, Friends, Family, Children / Creativity, Knowledge and Balance and Unity. Maybe I should just clean out my flat to make a fresh start of it and get the chi moving! After all I really think my Career, Fame and Wealth areas could also use a good shacking! And maybe, once I get all this done I can truelly answer the question: Do I LOVE fashion?