I have always loved clothes and dreamed of one day having my own boutique.
As a little girl, I would draw clothes on printer paper with map colors, makeup store names, and play dress up any chance I could get. I think back to that imagination I had, there were no limits. I mixed and matched my clothes, put on what felt right, what made me feel confident, and added the perfect accessories. Close your eyes, remember a time when you did something like this as a kid when you felt no judgment or no boundaries. Hold on to that moment.
As we become young ladies there are pressures we see all around us in order to fit in and follow the crowd. Whether it be how we fix our hair and makeup or what brand of clothes and shoes we wear. This can cause us to slowly start to lose our identity and become another face in the crowd. We saw fashion magazines that told us how we had to look, how skinny we needed to be, or how curvy and thick we had to be to fill out a dress. We felt that we would never live up to that expectation or all we’d do was daydream about looking like that one day. Sound familiar?
When I started back at TAMUSA as a non-traditional student, I just wanted to blend in. I came to the university in 2016 at 28 years of age, I didn’t know who I was anymore or who I wanted to be or how to fit in. But as I got involved on campus and started to meet people I slowly started to learn my identity and build my confidence. I started to learn that being diverse was important. I told myself, one day while getting ready, wear that red lipstick, it looks great on you, and it’s something you love.
There is so much freedom you give yourself when you learn you don’t need to blend in when you learn you were born to stand out. We are not given this life to impress everyone else, we are here to impress ourselves. We are made to be bold even if we are shy people, be bold with that polka dot print dress, wear those bright red shoes that make you feel like you can conquer the world. Put on that bright pink or purple lipstick because it makes you feel good. We can still follow fashion trends but learn to put your own spin on it.
I’ve always loved preppy fashion, which is more neutral tones with toned-down makeup and a clean polished look, but I also love color. I add in a pop of red lips or a bright colored headband,basically anything that brings in my sense of style. I am a lover of polka dots, black and white stripes, leopard print, bold nail colors, and printed headbands. I am learning that once I dress for myself,I can conquer my day.
So my call to action for you is to not put on makeup because society puts pressure on us to look a certain way. Put it on because you love playing with different colors that bring out your eyes or enhance those gorgeous cheekbones. Wear the dress with sneakers because you feel comfortable and they’re your favorite shoes. Wear the heels because you feel on top of the world and they make you feel good about your legs and your confidence.