Minimalism vs. Maximalism

A fashion movement that has a great contrast with Minimalism would definitely be Maximalism, where both were opposing each other in terms of styles and attitudes.

While Minimalism shows the subtle beauty with forms and space, Maximalism presents the aesthetic of being loud and bold. Being less about practicality and form as compared to Minimalism, Maximalism leaned more towards sensual and designs with rich visuals. Both movements have adapted themselves to fit in with the society at the time repeatedly throughout the years. (Kim, 2014.)

Since 2009, designers like Céline, Jill Sander and Raf Simons have applied Maximalism on the runway of Dior. Phoebe Philo, creative director of Céline said she was inspired by Brassaï's photographs of graffiti. While Mrs Prada got her inspiration from street murals.  (Fox, 2014.) Here it shows that the styles of Maximalism was inspired by street art, which is very much an expressive movement, having much contrast with Minimalism that opposed the idea of Expressionism.

Some argued that Maximalism is taking over Minimalism at this era, as fashion weeks were mostly promoting Maximalist fashion, claiming it as the New Thing. The inspiration from art into fashion aesthetic seemed to be setting the agenda for this year.

Say It Loud: Chanel, Paris fashion week, Spring 2014.

[Say it loud: the Chanel show at Paris fashion week womenswear spring/summer 2014.] 2014. [image online] Available at:<http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/jan/01/minimalism-dead-long-live-maximalism-fashion> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]

Céline, Paris Fashion Week, Spring 2014.

[Céline, Paris Fashion Week, Spring 2014.] 2014. [images online] Available at:<http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://konnikim.com/2014/01/10/goodbye-minimalism-hello-maximalism/> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]

Maximalist Fashion, Topshop.

[MAXIMALIST FASHION] 2014. [image online] Available at:<http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://konnikim.com/2014/01/10/goodbye-minimalism-hello-maximalism/> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]


From the pictures above, it was cleared that Maximalist fashion plays with a lot of bright colours and intense decorations, it was bold, playful and very much art-driven.

It may seemed that Maximalism is taking the lead on the fashion industry this year, however Minimalism is stilling running its course as being wide accepted in the culture aspects. Lau points out that we are subconsciously reacting more to the Maximalism style, but Minimalism should always be tripped up with its subtlety. (Fox, 2014.)

Especially where Malaysia is considered as a more conservative country where the people here do not promote loud fashion as much compared to the Western culture. Minimalist fashion remains a trend in Malaysia as many local fashion bloggers were promoting more to the minimalist styling approach.




References:
Kim, K. (2014) Minimalism vs. Maximalism (Say goodbye to minimalism.). [Online] Available at<http://konnikim.com/2014/01/10/goodbye-minimalism-hello-maximalism/> [Accessed: 17 July 2014]

Fox, I. (2014) Minimalism in fashion is dead – long live maximalism. [Online] Available at<http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/jan/01/minimalism-dead-long-live-maximalism-fashion> [Accessed: 17 July 2014]

Influence of Minimalism on me

As I've mentioned, I'm quite a fan of Minimalism (both 60's and new Minimalism). I adore the concept of Minimalism with the reductivism, deconstruction and anti-figurative forms, and I do applied these into my personal lifestyle, in terms of fashion, work and lifestyle.

Also, as being extra thin on my appearance itself already proposed the idea of minimal, giving me advantages to pull off the Minimalist fashion, like André Courrèges's idea in his "The Moon Girl" collection which he chose tall (although I am not very tall), weak and long-thigh girls that will harmonize the design in maximum. (Stoykov, 2008.)



My Fashion
My fashion attitudes and ideas were very much driven by the concepts of Minimalism in the 60s, however not as extreme as that time, due to the environment I'm living in that would be unappropriated to do so. Below are some of the photographs of what I wear, a.k.a. ootd.

I am very much inspired by the non-emotive design concept in Minimalism with the repetition of lines, shapes and geometrics. Besides, designs like these would blurred the line of my actual body shape and gave an impression of not being underweight as well.

The idea of anti-figurative forms gave an influence on me as well. I like the idea of unisex as I was never a girly type of personality and I believe independence in woman. I'm also very much into oversize clothing and thick material of garments like knit or wool.



My Works

These are my digital artworks which implied the Minimalism concept. The drawings were based on the idea of Reductivism which use only the essentials and reducing design to its core (shown in the clothes where I removed the outline leaving only the main colour and pattern of the shirt).

These are some spreads of my publication design which again influenced by the concepts of Minimalism based on space, shapes and lines.



My Lifestyle
I like the idea of reduction to its core as I am a person who work and live based on the essentials. I enjoy living in the minimal lifestyle, simplifying everything in my daily routine and focus only on what it needed to be done by the day itself. Less is more, working in this way allowed me to work more productively and being more positive in living.



Reference:
Stoykov, L. (2008) André Courrèges Or The Futurism In Fashion. [Online] Available at:<http://www.fashion-lifestyle.net/designers_en_broi12> [Accessed: 17 July 2014]

The Evolution of Minimalism

Like every other movements, Minimalism went through an evolution and its concept and attitude in fashion and body had undergo some changes.

Elyssa Dimant explains in the book Minimalism and Fashion, “In many ways, Minimalism transitioned from a 1960s high art movement to a persisting presence in contemporary artistic vernacular due to its appropriation within the field of fashion, and to the many fashion designers who have equated reduction and abstraction with beauty and progress.” (as cited in Fashion and Runway, 2010.)

New Minimalism focuses more on the idea of consumerism. People nowadays wanted items that were durable, easy, unrecognisable and versatile to be worn repeatedly at anywhere, the previous habits of disposable clothing that were more noticeable went on a down track. Minimalism became more functional to the mass market in the practical way.

The design of clothes became plainer,  so to their messages. Examples for designers like Stella McCartney and Hannah MacGibbon at Chloé followed suit, with practical tailoring in neutral palettes; Alexander Wang and London's Heikki Salonen (who focused on grunge style streetwears previously) began showing minimal sportswear in greyscale; even celebrity designers like Victoria Beckham who was more of the conspicuous look, has turned to a minimalistic approach.
(Walker, 2011.)

 As for the concept of body, the modern Minimalism allows more casualness to the human body in a reductive manner. This attitude now that embraced on the body forms itself was opposing the anti-figurative idea of the traditional Minimalism (60's). Most designers nowadays came up with easy and simple cutting to the garments, one of them would be Calvin Klein. He identified his version of Minimalism as ‘an indulgence in superbly executed cut, quiet plays of colour tones and clean, strong shape.’ (Ventus, 2013.)

Today's Minimalism.

[Defining Minimalism In Fashion: Part 2] 2013. [images online] Available at:<http://the-rosenrot.com/2013/09/defining-minimalism-in-fashion-part-2.html> [Accessed: 17 July 2014]


Some argued that this interpretation of Minimalism which literally reducing clothes to its very basic (almost nothing) lost its true meaning of the movement. As Minimalism was simply an easy title to attach to almost everything simple now, things that are monochromatic and clean were being associated with the term, even T-shirts and jeans were being considered. (Ventus, 2013.)

As the fashion world evolves fast, eventually one fashion moved on to another. I would say the new Minimalism was simply fitting in to the society today, where we demand for fast, easy and convenient for everything.




References:
Fashion and Runway. (2010) MINIMALISM AND FASHION: Reduction in the Postmodern Era by Elyssa Dimant. [Online] Available at:<http://old.fashionandrunway.com/fashion/article.cfm?id_articolo=24001> [Accessed: 17 July 2014]

Ventus, G. (2013) Defining Minimalism In Fashion: Part 2. [Online] Available at:<http://the-rosenrot.com/2013/09/defining-minimalism-in-fashion-part-2.html> [Accessed: 17 July 2014]

Walker, H. (2011) Less is more: The new minimalism. [Online] Available at:<http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/less-is-more-the-new-minimalism-2236966.html> [Accessed: 17 July 2014]

Who wear them?

Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges, both of these successful fashion designers which contributed to the minimalistic fashion have dressed some big celebrities during the 60s.

Some of them are:

The Beatles

The Beatles in the Cardin Cylinder Suit

[The Pierre Cardin Period] 2012. [image online] Available at:<http://www.voxsartoria.com/post/34049534982/the-pierre-cardin-period-the-beatles-in-douglas> [Accessed on: 14 July 2014] 

This collarless suit was a design by Cardin Pierre in 1964, it was a style that became associated with the Beatles. (Vintage Fashion Guild, 2010.) 

Patrick MacNee

Character of John Steed in the 1961's The Avengers.

[John Steed: The Man Two Girls Left For Bond] 2013. [image online] Available at:<http://thesuitsofjamesbond.com/?p=2159> [Accessed on: 14 July 2014] 

The costumes for the character of John Steed in the famous TV series ‘The Avengers’ were designed by Pierre Cardin. (Cardin, n.d.)

As for André Courrèges, celebrities that he dressed included the duchess of Windsor, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lee Radziwill, and Jane Holzer. (Design Index, n.d.)

Lee Radziwill, Courreges suit by Henry Clarke for Vogue, 1967.

[Lee Radziwill, 1967 - Courreges suit by Henry Clarke for Vogue] 2013. [image online] Available at:<http://www.pinterest.com/pin/27162403976179473/> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]

Jane Holzer

Jane Holzer by Penn, vogue 1965, Courrèges

[Jane Holzer by Penn, vogue 1965, Courrèges] 2013. [image online] Available at:<http://www.pinterest.com/pin/358388082817415001/> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]

Reference:
Vintage Fashion Guild. (2010) Cardin, Pierre. [Online] Available at: <http://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/cardin-pierre/> [Accessed: 14 July 2014]

Cardin, P. (n.d.) Couturier. [Online] Available at:<http://pierrecardin.com/pierrecardin_createur_en.html> [Accessed: 14 July 2014]

Design Index. (n.d.) Andre Couureges. [Online] Available at:<http://www.designerindex.net/designers/andrecourreges.html> [Accessed: 17 July 2014]

Mass Production of the 60's Minimalism in Fashion

In this post, I'll further looking into the two fashion designers, Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges, that I've mentioned in the previous post, how they bring fashion for the people, contributed minimalistic fashion into the mass market at that time.

Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin came to Paris during the World War II. He started out his career by making costumes for the film-maker Jean Cocteau. (Schofield, 2011.) Cardin launched his own label in 1950 and his designs were peddled by the likes of Dior and Balenciaga. Cardin was working as a couturier for a few years, but he felt that the future would be in mass production. (Walker, 2011.)

In 1959, Cardin launched the first ever "pret-a-porter" (ready-to-wear) boutique for the mass market. His bold action for introducing the secret arts to Joe Public caused him to be expelled from the prestigious Chambre Syndicale, the governing body of couturiers. (Walker, 2011.) Later, he went into merchandising majorly, with hundreds of outlets all over the world, many of them were not exactly top-of-the-range. (Schofield, 2011.)

Pierre Cardin's ready-to-wear collection, 1959.

[The world of tomorrow] 2011. [image online] Available at:<http://doloresdelargotowers.blogspot.com/2011/11/world-of-tomorrow.html> [Accessed on: 12 July 2014]

"Why should I work only for rich people?"
"I want to work for the people in the street." said Cardin at the time.

His sense of forging ahead socially as well as aesthetically informed many of his collections, from 1964's landmark Cosmos collection, where Cardin introduced unisex tunics and androgynous clothing that has resulted from the concept of anti-figurative forms in Minimalism since the 60s.



André Courrèges
André Courrèges studied engineering before entered the fashion industry. He started out his fashion career first under the illustrious couturier Cristobal Balenciaga from 1950 until 1961. Then he left to launch his own house, with the introduction of the miniskirt along with Mary Quant, which associated youthfulness in disavowing traditional social codes and rules of fashion. (Fashion Bank, n.d.)

In 1964, Courrèges unveiled his Space Age/Couture Future collection. The entire collection was a great success which influenced other designers to make their own versions of futuristic fashion including Pierre Cardin. In the aim of making his couture clothing more accessible, he came up with fifteen different designs in four to five sizes and had them mass produced. This enabled the clothing to be sold at 20% of the usual price. This led to the ready-to-wear manufacturers and made its way to the mass market. (Dudbridge, n.d.)

Couture Future, André Courrèges, 1968.

[Couture Future] 2011. [image online] Available at:<http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=36591> [Accessed on: 12 July 2014]



References:
Dudbridge, S. (n.d.) Andrè Courrèges. [Online] Available at:<http://www.catwalkyourself.com/fashion-biographies/andre-courreges/> [Accessed: 12 July 2014]

Fashion Bank. (n.d.) André Courrèges. [Online] Available at:<http://www.my-fashionbank.com/articles/article25.html> [Accessed: 11 July 2014]

Schofield, H. (2011) Pierre Cardin on banks and working at 89. [Online] Available at:<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15593861> [Accessed: 12 July 2014]

Walker, H.  (2011) Pierre Cardin: Making his name live forever. [Online] Available at:<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10727920> [Accessed: 12 July 2014]

Concept of body in minimalism (60's)

Anti-figurative form is one of the component of Minimalism. This idea which related to the idea of form over function (mentioned in the previous post) removes the idea of a 'figure' in terms of gender and human form from clothing.

Kimono would be a perfect example of clothing that 'eliminates gender distinction, and negate the sexuality frequently imbued in Western clothing'. Genderless, ageless and weightless body were being pictured by the emphasis of this idea. "I learned about space between the body and the fabric from the traditional kimono... not the style, but the space" said Issey Miyake.
(Ventus, 2013.)

Space acts as an important element to this idea in Minimalism especially in the 60's era. The fascination of space exploration were spread widely during the 1960s, they called it the Space Age. Some of the significant designers of that time would be Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges.

Pierre Cardin with the ability to sculpt fabric with an architectural sensibility made it his signature. His experimentation with fabrics focused on geometric abstract yet not losing the sight of a human figure. In 1964, Cardin's Space Age or Cosmocorps collection showcased his streamlined and minimal apparel. This body-skimmy clothing featured cutouts also Cardin's innovation in using vinyl and metal combined with wool fabric. Cardin's clothing that was ignoring the female form, often unisex and asexual showed the idea of anti-figurative. (Fashion Bank, n.d.)

Pierre Cardin’s Space Age clothing on the cover of The Sunday Times Magazine, 1967.

Pierre Cardin, 1960-1971.

[FLASHBACK: Pierre Cardin – 63 Years of Design & Counting] 2013. [images online] Available at:<http://blog.thedpages.com/flashback-pierre-cardin-63-years-of-design-counting> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]



André Courrèges's design collection were architecturally-sculpted like double-breasted coats with contrasting trim, minidresses with dropped waistlines and detailed welt seaming, big extravagant sunglasses, breast pockets, square-toed midcalf boots and helmet-shaped hats. (Fashion Bank, n.d.)  He is the first to combine trousers with tunics and allowed to the woman to wear trousers. The combination of man and woman components as well as masculine style (trousers and flat-heeled shoes) in the female clothing (Stoykov, 2008.) clearly showed the concept of body that was anti-figurative.

André Courrèges, 1960s.

[André Courrèges Or The Futurism In Fashion] 2014. [images online] Available at:<http://www.fashion-lifestyle.net/designers_en_broi12> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]

[André Courrèges] 2013. [images online] Available at:<http://www.my-fashionbank.com/articles/article25.html> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]





Reference:
DPAGES. (2013) André Courrèges Or The Futurism In Fashion. [Online] Available at:<http://blog.thedpages.com/flashback-pierre-cardin-63-years-of-design-counting> [Accessed: 14 July 2014] 

Fashion Bank. (n.d.) Pierre Cardin. [Online] Available at:<http://www.my-fashionbank.com/articles/article34.html> [Accessed: 11 July 2014] 

Stoykov, L. (2008) André Courrèges Or The Futurism In Fashion. [Online] Available at:<http://www.fashion-lifestyle.net/designers_en_broi12> [Accessed: 11 July 2014] 

Ventus, G. (2013) Defining Minimalism In Fashion. [Online] Available at:<http://the-rosenrot.com/2013/08/defining-minimalism-in-fashion.html>  [Accessed: 11 July 2014] 

Minimalism In Fashion

Note: I commented on Shi Jun's post.

-


The concept of minimalism in art movement (emphasizing on the shapes and forms itself) can be applied to fashion as well. Minimalism in fashion concentrates on the form and fabric of the garment instead of its functionality to cover human body. Terms like reductivism and non-emotive design would be the core elements of minimal fashion.


Reductivism
Definition to reductivism would be extreme simplification, reduction to a minimum and use of the fewest essentials. (Your Dictionary, n.d.) In fashion, it can refers as reducing the design to its core and removing the appearance of composition. The final works are often simple-looking and utilizing invisible closures even the construction is complex.

(Ventus, 2013.)



Example:

Wedding dress by Cristobal Balenciaga, 1967.

[Defining Minimalism in Fashion] 2013. [image online] Available at:<http://the-rosenrot.com/2013/08/defining-minimalism-in-fashion.html> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]

This Balenciaga wedding dress isn't held up by any corsetry and it does not follow the shape of the human body. The dress was formed by the three seams that connect the lengths of silk gazar.

Non-emotive design

Geometric composition and/or the use of non-conventional materials act as the elements for non-emotive design. Lines and shapes were the ideas to go for. Many early Minimalist works implied the repetitions of shapes and the utilisation of lines and planes.

(Ventus, 2013.)

Examples:

Suit by André Courrèges, 1960s.

[André Courrèges] 2013. [image online] Available at:<http://www.my-fashionbank.com/articles/article25.html> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]

This suit designed by André Courrèges made great use of the geometric lines. His visionary approach to fashion incorporated clean geometrical lines and rejected excessed materials. (Fashion Bank, n.d.)

Gareth Pugh, 2007, 2009, 2010.

[Defining Minimalism in Fashion] 2013. [image online] Available at:<http://the-rosenrot.com/2013/08/defining-minimalism-in-fashion.html> [Accessed on: 17 July 2014]

An example of a much recent scene. Gareth Pugh enhanced this idea of non-emotive design further in his works where he used the repetition of geometrical and linear shapes. (Ventus, 2013.)

Reference:
Fashion Bank. (n.d.) André Courrèges. [Online] Available at:<http://www.my-fashionbank.com/articles/article25.html>  [Accessed: 8 July 2014]

Ventus, G. (2013) Defining Minimalism In Fashion. [Online] Available at:<http://the-rosenrot.com/2013/08/defining-minimalism-in-fashion.html>  [Accessed: 8 July 2014] 

Your Dictionary. (n.d.) Reductivism. [Online] Available at:<http://www.yourdictionary.com/reductivism> [Accessed: 8 July 2014]

Question 5 it is.

After much considerations, I've made up my mind on the essay topic that I will be picking. This time I wanted to go for the one that piqued my interest the most, and so question 5 it is. I'm thinking to choose Minimalism as the fashion I'm going to analyze on, as I'm personally quite a fan of minimal fashion and adore the idea of 'less is more'.


What exactly defines Minimalism in fashion? Before I look specific into the minimal fashion, I'll need to look at the origin of Minimalism to understand the whole concept of the term itself.

Minimalism was began as an art movement in New York in the early 1960's. It was born as a self-conscious movement, a reaction against Abstract Expressionism. The Minimalists attempted to remove the suggestion of self-expressionism and appearance of composition from their work. They tried to take out all the signs and thought processes of artists in aesthetic decisions, instead, focusing just on the object itself.

Here is a quote of a Minimalist at that era,

"A shape, a volume, a color, a surface is something itself. It shouldn't be concealed as part of a fairly different whole." - Donald Judd.

The Minimalists' concept is to emphasize on the meaning of the object on its surface rather than laying "inside" it which emerge from the audience's interaction with the object. Using simple, geometric forms, lines, and courting the appearance of industrial objects, it is the way the Minimalists do it. This concept provides a new idea of art with emphasis on the physical space of the artwork.

So does this idea of Minimalism in art movement apply the same in fashion? I'll reveal it in the next post.



Reference:
Wolf, J. (2012) Minimalism. [Online] Available at: <http://www.theartstory.org/movement-minimalism.htm> [Accessed: 15 June 2014]

Preferable Questions

Out of the following essay topics that we have been given, I've narrowed down my choices to these three questions, they are:

4. Analyse the work of photographer or film maker of your choice, using appropriate illustrations to present your arguments and setting his/her work in a contemporary context. Show how their work has influenced your own, providing illustrations and examples.

For this question, my choice will be on the photographer side. Personally, I'm very much into fine art photography which are often contemporary and surreal. Some of the photographers that I have been following are Kyle Thompson, Bryan Alexander Lim a.k.a Bryzoid and Katerina Plotnikova. Their works are mostly conceptual and unrealistic looking which very much inspired me, as a designer. 

Untitled, 2012 by Kyle Thompson

Fades, 2014 by Bryan Alexander Lim

Untitled, 2012 by Katerina Plotnikova

or

5. Choose any decade since World War II and discuss the attitudes to the body and fashion at that time, Suggest reasons for those attitudes based on your knowledge of media and cultural factors. Define your own attitude to body image and show how this is evidenced in your work.

This question piqued my interest as fashion has always been my hobby. It would be exciting to discuss and further research on this topic, for example how were the 50's to 90's fashion and attitudes at that time, hip-hop, punk or even tattoo, body modification, etc. I could select one of these topic and further looking into it.

or

7. Explore the definition of 'celebrity' in Malaysia and compare with another culture of your choice, choosing relevant examples to illustrate your argument.

This question is pretty much a hit topic to discuss at the time. According to the Oxford dictionary, celebrity means a famous person, especially in entertainment or sport, or secondly the state of being well-known. What I'm about to discuss now would fall under the second statement. 

There were these teenagers in our country who claim themselves as 'red people' which literally translate as famous person in Chinese. They are basically those who are famous in the social networking sites (SNS) with great amount of followers and likes. Previously, they did a song and music video called 'You're Not Red' criticizing their haters which is produced by Namewee, a local music and movie producer. This song receives great amount of responses in Malaysia with feedbacks which however mainly consisted of the negative ones, including me as one of them. After the release of their song, they were officially being signed to contract as Internet celebrities which I personally think it makes no sense at all. To me, they are just a bunch of teenagers seeking for attention in the SNS. This perception of 'celebrity' in Malaysia, as compared to western or korean pop culture celebrity, can they really be considered as true celebrity? This could be a very interesting topic to talk about.


Reference:
Thompson, K. (n.d.) Kyle Thompson - Fine Art. [Online] Available at:<http://www.kylethompsonphotography.com> [Accessed: 4 June 2014]

Lim, B.A. (n.d.) Bryzoid. [Online] Available at: <http://bryzoid.com> [Accessed: 4 June 2014]

Plotnikova, K. (n.d.) Katerina Plotnikova. [Online] Available at: <http://500px.com/katerina_plotnikova> [Accessed: 4 June 2014]

RED PEOPLE (2014) 你不紅 You're Not Red by RED PEOPLE. [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORuSpJUA-2s> [Accessed: 4 June 2014]

Homework

People should not be censored or worry about using swear words when communicating. Do you agree?

I'm partially agreed with the statement above. I believed that everyone has the right to voice their own opinion whether it be wrong or right in any form according to the law of freedom of speech. It is a way of expression and communication. They are some people who grew up in a certain environment that swear words would be all they know in communication. It is just for them to stay true to their voices. Censorship would be like a ban to their language, taking away their way of communication.

Besides, swear words can be an element of humour and a creative way to catch people's attention, there's a reason people called it the f-bomb. Many comedians like to use swear words in their jokes because it certainly adds a sense of humour when swear words are being used. Sometimes, when you take away the swear words in certain sentences, it loses the point of what it originally means.

Furthermore, using swear words doesn't mean the person indicates a lack of vocabulary or education. It is simply a spontaneous way of speaking for certain people. Also, it would be better for people to express it through words instead of violence in real life.

However, I do think that swear words should be avoided in certain environments, for example talking to children or elders, it would be considered improper and rude to them sometimes. In addition, I think that swear words should not be overused in a conversation. It could be irritating and offensive to the audience as well as losing its impact when you overuse it.