Yesterday I was raiding my closet and I found a bag of clothes that I had put away. They were shut away not because I didn’t like them or that they looked bad. It was because my ex hated frilly things and would always make fun of me if I wore anything slightly non-fitted or too “cute” or out-of-the-box. Basically, if I wasn’t some cookie cutter hot girl then he hated it and I dressed different around him than I did anybody else.
Now with my new found freedom, I was left there thinking. What is my fashion? My answer, my own.
I’m not the type of girl who buys things for the brand. I love it when someone asks me where I got something, and sometimes my answer is literally “I have no idea” or “I don’t remember”. It’s wonderful having something that nobody else does. I don’t go through sales racks and buy things for the sole reason that they are on sale. Most of my buys have been emotional compulsive buys of things I’ve fallen in love with on first sight. I have a habit of buying pieces rather than full outfits. I adore things that are unique.
What is your fashion? I am anything but one thing. Not exactly normal either. I have constantly changing hair colour, which is currently blonde. I have blue, turquoise, purple contacts which I wear in rotation. Sometimes I wear socks that don’t match, heels that are much too high. I have t-shirts with pictures of food on them, dresses that are a little strange and recycled pieces I made from projects on Cut Out and Keep. One day I’ll be a complete dork, the next make boys heads turn. My wardrobe pretty much reflects my ADD all-over-the-place personality.
I love looking at people and trying to guess what they’re like from their clothes. It’s even more fascinating when you actually talk to them and are blown away by the fact you were completely wrong. They weren’t the cookie-cutter person their clothes made them out to be. They weren’t the person their clothes defined them out to be. They weren’t the goth, ghetto or as superficial as the appeared. This goes both ways, girls and guys.
I have a little sister who’s probably everything that I’m not. I never understood the falling in love with a brand or a certain style. Buying the Ed Hardy T-shirt everyone else has? Wearing the same dress as a celebrity? Dressing up as a skater, punk, hipster? Be your own trend. It doesn’t mean you can’t be one of those some days, just don’t stick a label on yourself. I’m sure you are much more interesting. Try owning something that you haven’t had before but was too afraid to try on because you thought someone wouldn’t like it. Just make sure it fits right, that’s the only rule. I guarantee you will get compliments, get noticed. Why blend into the background? Be your own fashion.
Tiana Feng 