As Kim Kardashian reveals that she let husband Kanye West throw out all her favourite ‘cheesy’ clothes, we’re asking, would you ever let your partner have a say in what you wear?
As Kim Kardashian reveals that she let husband Kanye West throw out all her favourite ‘cheesy’ clothes, we’re asking, would you ever let your partner have a say in what you wear?
Let’s start by acknowledging that theirs is a relationship like no other. Kimye, the formidable duo whose empire spans reality TV, music, fashion, cosmetics and more, are in no way an average couple. But Kim’s comments have really got us thinking – would we ever give someone else the authority to decide what we wear?
'I really think my relationship with my husband Kanye really changed everything,' she says in a new interview with CNN Style. 'I mean, back in the day, I thought I had the best style. I look back at outfits, and I'm like, mortified.'
'I love my husband's opinion, so I always ask his opinion on everything and he always helps me put together my looks. Kanye sees my body obviously every day, so he can understand what works well on my body type, so it's been really fun to dress and we try things that work and some things that don't work.'
‘I think he probably thought they were a bit cheesy,’ Kim previously told Love of her pre-wedding wardrobe detox, in which Kanye asked her to bin some of her treasured (potentially diamante-covered) outfits from the noughties. ‘I said to Kanye, ‘Well I’m going to save them for my daughter one day’. And he said, ‘Well if it’s going to be our daughter, she’s never going to wear those.’’
See Kim Kardashian's style evolution in the gallery above.
It’s a known fact that celebrities hire stylists all the time to re-vamp their style and allowing someone else to work on your wardrobe could introduce you to exciting new labels, or give you more confidence simply that what you’re wearing looks good on you. Another (slightly odd) revelation that Kim makes is that, pre-Kanye, she’d never seen snakeskin before. As in snakeskin.
‘I’d never spent time in London or Paris or seen what style was like around the world, so he wanted to bring in stylists to update my look. And they brought in things like snakeskin that I’d never seen before.’
So, yes, getting someone else involved in your outfit can help you to see past a sartorial stalemate, find new labels you love and even introduce you to fabrics that you may not have seen in the sheltered land of, erm, Los Angeles.
However if that person is your partner, does the whole thing become a less about having fun, and more about control?
Tabloids are branding Kanye the relationship dictator, and, bad taste or not, it seems quite extreme to ask someone to give up any possessions with sentimental value. Style is supposed to be one of the most personal (and hopefully enjoyable) experiences for both men and women, and like it or loathe it, Kim had her own thing going on long before Kanye came along.
Kim insists that, for her, a partner’s influence has made her fall in love with fashion ’so much more’.
So would you ever give your other half free reign over your wardrobe?
'No. My style, my choice,' says Rosa Aillon on Facebook
'Never, style is an extension of YOUR own personality!' adds John Duthie on Facebook
'I'm open for new style explorations, they can be fun! A few years ago, my fiancé encouraged me to update my closet. I discovered new sides of myself! It doesn't mean I changed, just that I reduced my self set limitations in regards to my style.' Helena Alexandra also comments on Facebook
'No definitely not, surely he fell in love with "everything" about her, that would include her style as that's a huge part of a girls personality. Surely by making her change he is trying to change her as a person.' Laralou Marshall on Facebook
Tell us what you think on Twitter and Facebook @MarieClaireUK and we’ll add your opinions to the debate.