Style for the people

4 July 2018, Wednesday

I really care about personal style, but it's taken me forever to accept and understand it.

It took a long time to embrace because I feared that caring for my style implied I was vain, and that I wasn't really focusing on more important things like my future career or long-term goals.

Whenever I saw people who dressed well, my cynical self believed that their fashion was a facade - that they only used clothes to flex and give off the impression that they were cool enough to hang or demonstrate some sort of "pedigree." (Truth be told, this is true to an extent and I've tried this before – cringing at myself for being so immature). 

After a month of working behind the scenes of a retail company, I have become more aware of how much fashion is different from style. Fashion is what you can buy, but style is for everyone and anyone to interpret: it's not exclusive to those who can only afford to buy nice things.

Though I was sometimes doubtful of others' and my own reasons for dressing up, I always believed that anyone can have style – each and every individual just has their own unique sense of it.

Fashion ain't free but style is!

On another note, have you ever been asked, "How would people describe you?" or "Think of three words to describe yourself"? 

I would say that my clothes are a way of contextualizing who I am without having to stress about what adjectives describe me. I'm a visual person, so I shall explain through an analogy!

From top to bottom, imagine an outfit of: a loose, white tee tucked in, skinny jeans, green sneakers, and an assortment of somewhat-matching jewelry. 

What each item says about me: 
- White tee: easygoing & basic (lol)
- Skinny jeans: organized but flexible - I like to keep things structured, but I embrace changes
- Green sneakers: functional, but colorful
- Jewelry: detailed

Of course, this was just an example, but I wanted to demonstrate that every outfit carries the potential to showcase personality in a way that is unapologetically and extraordinarily you. 

haha, that was kinda cheesy, but thanks for reading. 

xx