Everyday People are Making Celebrity-Status Fashion Statements

Since the little yellow America Online man ran his way into our hearts, the world has taken up residence right at our fingertips.

What once was the mysterious realm of fashion, solely explored by the elite and entitled, has now become a thriving community. Most, if not all, fashion magazines have their contents uploaded onto their website. The fashion world has become so accessible that NYLON magazine has detailed instructions on their website regarding the possibility of interning at their office. Furthermore, in 2009, American Vogue allowed filming in their New York City offices. Suddenly the creative processes for putting together an issue of Vogue became common knowledge. Still, fingertips are a far cry from equal footing. When a non-public figure dresses in a bolero, a jumper, and stilettos, she is bound to get the stares.

Though societal norms may deter us from experimenting with our style, the fashion world can be credited with increasing persons' accessibility to non-mainstream design aesthetic. Rent the Runway is one such initiative.

A website-based platform, Rent the Runway (RTR) rents out designer garments for over eighty percent off its original retail price. The exclusivity you feel when wearing a Vera Wang gown is amplified with the exclusivity of becoming a member, which is free. Also free are the consulting services of their stylists who are at your disposal via online chat or phone. According to Harvard Business classmates and RTR founders, "if designers were able to get their pieces into the hands of young, fashionable women", they could "build an addiction for designer fashion." Slowly but surely, these weekend runway looks are bringing high fashion lower to ground level.

If there was ever evidence of this level change, in 2010, on the Z100 morning show, a daughter had planned to prank her mother over the radio, also known as a phone tap. The daughter described her mom as a Project Runway (PR) groupie who never missed an episode. Later that day was the season premiere of PR and radio host, Elvis Duran, had called up the mother while posing as her cable provider. Elvis said that he was going to have to shut off her cable in the evening to which the mother shrieked in agony. Fashion's inclusion in the reality television pantheon is a surefire way of making a unique style something to be appreciated for rather than be critical of.

E! Entertainment, arguably the most celebrity-oriented entity, is also invested in helping to eliminate societal norms of dressing.

Friday night's Fashion Police includes a weekly segment that is called "Starlet or Streetwalker." A game of sorts, each of the shows' 4 hosts and a guest are presented with a picture of either male or female, whose face is censored. Based on an analysis of the clothing in the picture, each of the hosts has to decide whether the person is a celebrity in the public-eye, a starlet, or someone who is part of the public, a streetwalker. The results of the game show that all types of people can dress at par with celebrities. Despite people in the public eye having access to stylists and expensive brands, the public has proved time and time that they have an eye for fashion.