To Be "In The Know"

Hello my friends! My name is Alper Kakir - I am a London-born Persian, and I have spent most of the 26 years of my life so far having so much interest in the worlds of the fashion and the music. I would like to be able to share with you some of my insight, and to hear from you also the opinions of the persons of the world.

For me, to know what they are selling on the most fashionable shopping stores in your city is not to be "in the know". To be "in the know" is not an understanding of what is fashion to the normal persons - it is a state of the mind. The persons that are "in the know" are already wearing what they will be selling in the fashion stores in 1 or 2 years time, and they are listening to the music that is not today playing on the radio and on the television. Unfortunately I am not one of these persons, although I am lucky to know a few persons like this. For the purpose of this blog then, I have chosen the name "Au Courant". The meaning of this very wonderful expression that the English language is borrowing from the French, is up-to-date or with the times.

It is possible for people like you and I to have great style and be very trendy (to be au courant!) by the thinking carefully and the being selective: the fashion industry is taking many ideas from many places and showing it all to us everywhere - on the buses in London, on the large poster-boards in American cities of Los Angeles and New York, and in the beautiful shop displays in Paris, as well as on the television and movie screens across the world. It is up to us to decide what from all this we would like to have for ourselves. I ask of myself and for you too if you like, to be thinking, "What does this shoes say about me? Which color and fabric of scarf will look nice to my shirt? Should I roll up the legs of my new jeans? Why does that person wear such loose-fitting clothes when they are looking like they are having a good body?" When we are using conscious of our appearance, the world is being a more beautiful place, and we can be happy.

To be happy for me is also very important the music, because I like to say the "music is food for the soul". It is not important if one music is fashion or not - there are many musician in this time, and there is something for every person. The most important is for you to feel that this music is somehow giving the nourishment of life to you. I listen to many different styles of music, just as I am liking to wear many different styles of clothing. I like to enjoy the full life, and there are always many occasions for many expressions through the fashion and the music.

That is enough talk of these things for now, but I would let you know what I am thinking for the upcoming months. I would like this blog to be a place that we can share in the love for music and fashion from many places in the world - I will share for you my experiences with such things as the live music, the music from the record shops and internet, and the clothes I am seeing (and wearing!) in the magazines, and on the persons of the cities I am going to. I am now visiting with family in Monte Carlo - it is very fortunate to have my mother living in such a place! We have been spending days by the beach, and taking the car with the roof down along the coast to many beautiful places. I will be visiting Paris for fashion week (ooh la la!), and perhaps taking a week in London before returning to the place I am for this time calling home - Los Angeles. I will leave now for you this quote to think about...

"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud."

- Coco Chanel