Let’s teleport into my closet: my (not so) fashionable history
Since I started this blog, I’ve been hoping to make it about more than just The Bachelor/bad reality TV. I’ve had an online journal in some form since I was about sixteen (before the term “blog” was coined…I remember hearing that word and thinking, “Wait, you mean what I’ve been doing for years?”) and I’m not used to writing online without adding a little bit about me. At the same time, though, I don’t really see this as a “personal journal,” as a) I’d like this blog to have more of a specific focus and b) I feel like I’ve outgrown airing personal grievances over the interwebs.
But one of the other topics I was hoping to explore in this blog is something that, at 25, I’ve only recently gotten into – fashion. Well, maybe I’ve been into it for longer, but I’ve only recently figured out how to dress myself, mostly through trial and error.
Dressing well originally came not as an interest, but as a necessity. For most of my life, what I’ve worn hasn’t really mattered. From first grade through senior year of high school, I wore a uniform. Starting with green plaid jumpers and puffy-sleeved white blouses and evolving into blue oxford shirts and navy blue pants, I knew what I’d be wearing every single weekday. Never try to sell me on wearing navy blue pants again – it will never happen, no matter how hard you try. When I wasn’t at school, it was mostly jeans (including horrific mom jeans I wore in junior high – no wonder I got teased) and long-sleeved Old Navy t-shirts, with some Maurices and American Eagle thrown in there. I was a fan of jorts, too. Hot.
Miranda Priestly would not approve.
Once I got to college, I thought I would need to learn how to dress myself. Which I did – sort of. Then I realized that no one dresses up to go to class, and if you do, you’re a tool (at least at my massive Big Ten school). Behold my college uniform – jeans, hoodie, sneakers, no makeup, ironic/fake vintage tshirt under hoodie, the end. My going-out clothes: same jeans, same ironic tshirt or maybe a cute tank top, actual makeup, bar stamp, the end. Oh, and I also frequently wore gaucho pants in public. Shut up, they were in. I also had not yet discovered hair straighteners, believing that since my hair is naturally straight, I didn’t need one. Thus why my hair resembles a blond ‘fro in every picture from college.
Then I graduated and got a job, with an office and a 401k and a dress code. My office is more business casual, and I can wear jeans on Fridays. I’ve been working for a while now and have bought a lot of boring clothes, only to never wear them, or bought boring layering pieces, only to layer them with other boring pieces. But figuring out your style doesn’t happen overnight. As the great Brenda Dickson of “Welcome to my Home” so eloquently states before teleporting into her closet in a gold dress, “Fashion is something that can be acquired by looking at a lot of different fashions.”
Do you like this gown? It's very dramatic.
But it’s true – I started reading People StyleWatch (basically Fashion for Dummies) and InStyle and started actually listening to Stacy and Clinton on What Not to Wear. And, perhaps most pivotal, toward the end of college I discovered the holy grail (but the killer of my wallet) that is Anthropologie. While I do own several (eh, make that quite a few) items from this wonderful but overpriced boutique of amazingness, their whole aesthetic can be recreated without spending a ridiculous amount of money. Plus, they have wonderful sales, as long as you keep an eye out and get what you want before it’s gone.
Overall, though, I can’t wear items from that store head-to-toe. I don’t like looking costumey, so usually one at a time is all you need. I’ve been told recently that I dress well, which makes me really happy. I want to present a good image to people – as vain as it does sound, I like looking good and presenting myself well.
I’m debating posting outfits and what I’m wearing in this blog – not sure how anonymous I want this thing to be. And once again I’m getting long-winded (can you tell I haven’t written in a while), but I’m hoping to start posting wish lists/recent buys soon. And tune in soon for my liveblog of the Bachelor!
Filed under: fashion, it's all about me | 3 Comments
Tags: fashion, it's all about me
As your sister, I think it’s interesting how both our styles have evolved over the years. I personally don’t “get” Anthropologie, but it looks good on you!
I’ve just started getting comfortable with my own personal style in these past couple of years: sort of urban hipster with dashes of prep and goth-lite. I think it works for me.
And I’m with you: as God is my witness, I will never wear navy blue bottoms again. I STILL get weird about plaid too.
Love the photo! + thanks for the blogroll mention. you’re on mine, too!
No problem…love your blog!