Starting high school is one of the most nerve-racking and challenging beginnings for a teenager. One of the most important things you want to get down is your outfit for that first day. However, when I was a freshman, I didn’t put in much effort into my first-day fit.
From what I remember, I wore some vans, tight skinny cowboy jeans, a champion sweater, underneath that was a tight long-sleeve gray shirt, and a very bright gray backpack. I also didn’t do my hair in the mornings and didn’t comb it or put in any kind of effort or product. For the rest of my freshman to mid-junior years, I would dress basically the same way, with some other accessories like boots or jerseys.
I decided to change up how I dressed because I wanted to stand out a little more through my style.
I would go on Instagram and Pinterest to get some ideas from influencers who would wear a blazer coat with a dress-up shirt underneath layered with a sweater vest with a tie and some loafers. This sparked my curiosity to change up my outfits and see how far I could go by changing my looks.
I started by getting inspiration from various influencers like “jaydenrono_”,”derek_mtz”, and “hudsonstuffy”. whose brands vary in different styles you can pull off. The styles were casual (white shirt, jeans, and Converse), streetwear (shorts, jersey, hat), grunge (leather jacket, leather boots), skater (flannels, shirt design) preppy (cardigan, tweed blazer), vintage (leather jacket, classy shoes,) and indie (tie, cardigan).
The next step was to get the items for my new look. One of my ways of acquiring pieces of clothing was by going through my dad’s closet because he had jackets and flannels, so those were the best options at that time for me to start getting somewhere with my outfits. Then, I would tend to go thrifting every weekend, so at least I could acquire some new pieces of clothing like shirts, jackets, and ties.
My most used fashion styles are casual, grunge, skater, vintage, and indie. I mostly love these because of the uniqueness each outfit has. In each outfit, there’s always a main part that brings everything together, whether it be the tie, jeans, shoes, or even just a belt, it can make an outfit more presentable. This kind of fashion had a more noticeable appearance to me and correlated perfectly with the look I was trying to portray, which was to stand out from my peers.
To be clear, I like fashion and don’t do it for other people, I do it for myself. I wanted to change up my style and see if this was something I might start to like, which soon became one of my passions. Not only was I changing my clothing fashion statement, but I also began to work on my hair and facial routine. I used products to support my curly hair, and I would follow a facial routine for a family member. They recommended a daily facial cleanser and a daily moisturizing lotion. That I utilized daily plus maintained my hair routine as well with curly enhancer hair products.
Not everyone’s going to like the way you style yourself and that’s fine; you shouldn’t feel the need to try to look good for others, only for yourself. I became more confident and started to take more care of myself when it came to my hair or my facial features because I wanted to boost my confidence and build on my self-image.
If you are someone who wants to start getting into fashion, start small. Look through your closet and think about the variety of styles you can create. Trust me, you don’t want to entirely get rid of all your clothes, because different pieces make you more “unique.” I started with baggy jeans but not an insane amount of baggy to the point where it looks like you’re sagging. Be conscious about layering, as well as your top and bottom proportions. Lastly, don’t overdo it and copy the same style over and over, try other forms of fashion and have fun with it.
Fashion is more than just putting on a bunch of clothes; it’s a form of gaining confidence and reflecting your personality. It shows you’re a person who cares about how you look and present yourselves to others, or at least, that’s what it has done for me.
