Recently I had been stuck in a fashion rut. I felt like there hadn’t really been any new trends coming out and I was over all the pre-existing ones. This made finding outfits as well as my favorite pastime (shopping) far more difficult and less enjoyable. What I realized though, is that it wasn’t that there weren’t any new trends; it was that I had been sticking only to the safe ones and dismissing others as “not my style” or “I can’t wear that”. Once I excised those two phrases from my vocabulary, a whole new fashion world opened up for me and I have been loving the experience. I am not a risk-taker by any means in any facet of my life; in fact I am as predictable as vanilla ice-cream and that’s just how I like it. However, as I get older I’m starting to realize that sometimes you just got to take that step out of your comfort zone and see where it will take you. For me, it started with experimenting with fashion, who knows what this new attitude will lead to! Read on to find out about some of my newly-discovered favorite trends!
1. Mixing prints
It wasn’t necessarily that I was afraid of mixing prints, I just assumed it was one of those things that simply wasn’t done. Then I was watching Love, Lust or Run on TLC one night and Stacy aka the Anna Wintour of makeover shows said that it was okay once you kept it in the same color palette and I was sold. Floral and polka dots, houndstooth and stripes; I know it sounds like you are going to look like you escaped the asylum but I promise you it is super trendy and super chic. It is a statement-making trend so if you are one who shies away from attention then maybe this look isn’t for you. Or actually, maybe it is, maybe this look is exactly what you need.
2. Sportswear outside the gym
I’ve always admired Zendaya’s kind of urban, hip-hop kind of style but always said it wasn’t for me. In my mind, there was just a certain swagger needed to pull off that type of look and I simply did not have it as far as I was concerned. However I had been eyeing these neon Nike Air Max’s for a really long time and my mind was just exploding with all the different outfits I could create with them. But of course, in my head these outfits were on someone else’s body, someone cool who could pull off that urban sporty-chic vibe. Then one day I just said eff it, and I bought the shoes. And I love them. And I look cool wearing them. So there is my motivational quote for the day, sometimes you just got to say eff it.3. Hats
When I was younger I really loved hats; hats and bags to be precise. I was the only 10 year old who used to walk around with an empty handbag and thought hats were crucial to any outfit. As I got older, at some point, I’m not sure when, I decided my head was too big for hats and stopped buying them. Now this is still relevant as my head is pretty big which means I need to try on any hat that I buy but let me tell you, my mornings have become so much simpler since hats have been reintroduced to my life. Running late for class? Throw on that Red Socks baseball cap. Bad hair day? That black wide brim floppy fedora is your best friend. Not only do they add a cool dimension to your outfit, they are an easy way to look like you put in a ton of effort when you actually put in about 5% into your outfit. Win.
4. Denim on Denim
I’ve been feeling this trend since I saw Rihanna rock it on an episode of X-Factor USA about 3 years ago and yes, it has taken me that long to try it out. I felt like you needed a model’s physique to wear a monochrome look like that and I figured it just wouldn’t suit my body type. Nevertheless, I kept pinning denim on denim looks to my fashion board on Pinterest anyway. Also, I just never really owned a lot of denim; I much prefer leggings to jeans. However recently I started picking up a couple denim pieces here and there and decided to finally give it a whirl and I loved the way it came out. Perfect body definitely not needed; it is actually a very flattering look and I was pleasantly surprised as I had been dismissing my body as not good enough for 3 full years to finally discover that I was being ridiculous. Imagine what else I had been missing out on?
Never let anyone tell you that you don’t have the body to wear anything, Once you feel comfortable and look tasteful…the sky’s the limit.