Let me just start by saying that me writing this article is not a manifestation of internalized misogyny. I do not intend this to be sexist and I do NOT condone significant others controlling what their partner wears. (I’m looking at you, Kanye. Stop being gross).
Rather, this article was inspired by the fact that, whenever I go shopping with my boyfriend, he’s better at finding clothes for me then I am. On multiple occasions, I’ve tried on something that I was on the fence about, my boyfriend convinced me to buy said article of clothing, and it ended up being a closet essential that I wear consistently.
Perhaps this is because he is not critical or insecure of my appearance the way I am and sees more accurately how things flatter my figure. Or perhaps, because he’s not that familiar with women’s fashion, he has more of an open mind.
I wanted to see if he could expand my fashion sense to new horizons with the clothes I already had in my closet and to inspire me to consider outfit combinations that I normally would not.
Monday
Sweatshirt: Brandy Melville; Long-sleeve: Uniqulo; Maroon corduroy pants: American Eagle
I only bought this cropped zip-up sweatshirt because it says “St. Barth’s” down the sleeve and Barth is my last name. I don’t wear it a lot, maybe three times in the almost two years that I’ve owned it. It’s a tad too broad in the shoulders. The cropped fit of it feels too early 2000’s, so I’ve only ever paired it with high-waisted mom jeans to keep it from looking dated. I actually didn’t mind the silhouette of it paired with skinny high-rise jeans, but these particular corduroy jeans are a bit too formal and structured for the casual sweatshirt. It also made for an unideal combination regarding how the outfit felt. But, I liked the look of this sweatshirt with high rise skinny jeans more than I anticipated. Next time, I’d pair them with some black, stretchy skinny jeans. Another small detail that bothered me was that I felt too warm with a long-sleeve shirt under the sweatshirt; I would have gone with a short-sleeve T-shirt had I chose this outfit myself.
Would I wear it again? Not this combination exactly; however, this outfit did inspire me to consider wearing this sweatshirt with a different pair of skinny jeans
Tuesday
Blue and green flannel: Nordstrom; Graphic long-sleeve: Brandy Melville; Two-toned Jeans: American Eagle
I was dreading wearing this outfit! Firstly, because it looked like none of the pieces matched nicely with each other, but most importantly, because it looked like something I would have worn in high school, and high school was just a cringeworthy time all around. My boyfriend described this look as “rustic,” and but I would call it grungy and unkempt. Once I put the outfit on, I realized it didn’t clash as much as I anticipated, but I didn’t like the look of pairing an oversized long-sleeve with an oversized flannel. The outfit was unbalanced and definitely swallowed up my body. I also did not like how I couldn’t cuff the sleeves of the flannel like I usually do, because I was given a long-sleeve T-shirt to wear underneath it. I ended up ditching the flannel about halfway through the day because it was on the warmer side in my classrooms. Without the flannel, the outfit wasn’t bad at all — but it’s hard to screw up jeans and a graphic tee.
Would I wear it again? No. I could *maybe* wear the long sleeve and jeans while ditching the flannel. I could foresee this combination only being utilized if all of my other clothes were dirty.
Wednesday
Sweater and Jeans: American Eagle
This was the most “me” outfit of the bunch, and I could easily have seen myself picking it out for myself. This sweater is one of my favorites and is actually in part what inspired this article. When I first tried on this sweater, I was on the fence about it because I didn’t think it was anything special. But my boyfriend convinced me to buy it, and I’m so glad I did. This sweater has become a closet staple since it’s cozy, but not too heavy or bulky. I normally wear this sweater with flare jeans or mom jeans to balance out the tightness of the top. I’m normally not comfortable wearing something so form-fitting on top so I like to pair it with a looser pant. But, I didn’t mind how the skinny jeans looked with it.
Would I wear it again? Yes.
Thursday
Turtleneck: Forever 21; Jeans: Loft
I’m not a huge fan of this outfit. Unlike Monday’s outfit where I was initially skeptical but ended up not minding it, this one I went into with an open mind but grew more averse to it throughout the day. I would normally pair these white jeans (my nicest pair of jeans) with a nicer top. And this shirt is generally something I wear with a pair of black flair jeans. This outfit clashed, because the white stripes in the shirt are actually an off-white.When brighter colors are involved, as is the case with this turtleneck, it looks as though the white and off-white are supposed to coordinate with each other, but don’t. Something about the light-colored, tight-fitting turtleneck with the white jeans felt very dated, like something a child in the 70s would wear, but part of the 70s aesthetic that hasn’t been revived via hipster tumblr. Or like Howard from the Big Bang Theory. I don’t hate the silhouette though, but if I were to pick a lightweight long-sleeve top to pair with these jeans, I would have picked a black turtleneck, my solid, mustard-colored top from Madewell, or the shirt from Wednesday.
Would I wear it again? No.
Friday
Sweatshirt and pink mom jeans: Urban Outfitters
This outfit combination seemed like something I would have picked myself, tried on, and then not liked as much as I had imagined in my head. I love the pairing of the two dusty pink colors, and how these pieces are relatively unique compared to what else is in my closet. But, there was a lot of extra fabric and bagginess. Overall, though, this outfit felt like “me” outfit, yet still adventurous.
Would I wear it again? Yes.
I had not worn any of these outfit combinations prior to my boyfriend picking them out, which is pretty surprising considering that I don’t have a huge closet. Through this experiment, I realized how much of an outfit repeater I am, or at least how formulaic my outfits tend to be. For instance, I have very specific ideas of what types of pants I should wear with certain tops, and this challenge definitely challenged these notions.
One thing that was kind of surprising was that, even though some of the outfits I didn’t like aesthetically, while wearing them, I never felt that deep-seated feeling of insecurity you physically feel in the pit of your stomach. When I wear an outfit I love and feel confident in, I feel unstoppable. But when I wear an outfit I’m not 100% sold on, it doesn’t really have any adverse affects on my self-perception and confidence. And honestly, realizing this feels kind of liberating.
While this challenge did expose me to new outfit combinations I wouldn’t have otherwise chosen, I don’t think it had any sort of impact on my style or self-expression. I will say, though, that I do have a little more faith in the tight-fitting top and skinny jeans combo. The results of this little experiment were anticlimactic and don’t make for particularly riveting journalism, but this hasn’t caused me to re-think my wardrobe or inspire me to test out any drastically different outfit combinations.