What I love about fashion is that it’s ever changing. Bell Bottoms in the ’70s (and 2017!), drop waists in the ’20s I love how every year the trends are always evolving. But with fashion not only does the industry change but so do people’s person styles and that fascinates me. What you liked or what was ‘fashionable’ yesterday is so different today and even tomorrow. I think going back in your own evolution is kind of a fun way to see how your fashion has been a way for you to express who you are in that moment and also a cool way to see how you’ve grown and matured. So today I want to take you on a little trip down memory lane and how I’ve evolved as a fashion lover.
As a child you don’t really have much say in the clothes your parent buy, but you do have some say in what they dress you in. My mom loved buying little matching outfits, and Oshkosh and other children’s clothing companies loved making cute little jumper dresses with matching striped legging sets. Cute right? Well I LIVED in things like that. Until about second grade I refused to wear anything but a dress everyday to school. I loved dressing up and feeling pretty.
Then in high school, of course I still had to wear a dress at least once a week but this was more of my pop punk days. I loved to wear my skinny jeans and band t-shirts. Instead of being as feminine as I used to be I really started to experiment with a little more edge to wardrobe. I embraced being weird and being myself and really took risks with the hopes of standing out in a school where most of it’s students were very similar. I added pink streaks to my hair and wore bows in it almost everyday.
After high school I moved far away from home to go to college. This was definitely the 4 years I believe I found myself and my style. I was very body conscious, and never felt comfortable in figure flattering clothing. So getting to college and finding myself at college parties I felt like I unfortunately needed to show off my body to get more attention. I started wearing more body-con dresses and form fitting clothes. Then around my Sophomore year I decided to shift my style in a very 1950s vibe. Started wearing more vintage clothes and styles. Again I think I did this because I saw the femininity of this era so beautiful and it was also something people in my college weren’t really doing much of.
Now I think I’m a mix of all my different styles. I can’t go a week without wearing a dress or something incredibly feminine. I love to add studs, or rips in clothes for an edgy look, and I still pull out my favorite vintage looks every once in awhile. I think what I really focus on now is less about what’s trendy or incredibly eye catching but what will be a classic style that’s going last the test of time and what looks good on my figure. I have shied away from most of the figure flattering things just because it doesn’t make me feel confident, I’m overly critical of my body shape and my flaw so I try to stay away from clothes that fit tightly. Instead, I find myself gravitating to long and flowy styles. Very feminine fabrics and paring them with sleek shoes and elongating lines. I also think I’ve become a lot more conscious of what is good fashion and quality brands.
No matter the period in my fashion evolution I think the constant themes were be me, be confident and stand out. I preach that everyone can wear any style or trend you just have to put the piece on and own it. I have never shied away from taking risks and trying the latest trend even if it just came on and hadn’t hit the town I was in. If you like it, wear it.
How as your style changed?