For as long as I can remember, fashion has always been fascinating to me. I think it truly all began when I was in elementary school waiting for the new school year to begin so my parents could buy me fresh pairs of shoes. Preferably Jordan 1s. Yes, those three to four hundred pairs of shoes that you are wearing used to be a squeaky 100 bucks back in the day. I always got the pink pair.
Throughout elementary and middle school, my style was limited to what my parents bought me, as usual. Whenever I could dress myself up, I was usually always tormented for mixing clothing colors. One day in middle school, I wore a brown button-up shirt with a green long skirt and gray converse. I vividly remember my fellow peers looking at me like I was a crazy person. While I felt great about myself before entering school, the perceptions of other people quickly changed that.
Fast forwarding to my freshman year of college, I wanted to branch out in terms of my own style. Although I was gaining confidence in myself, I was not completely sure what I wanted my style to look like. All that I knew was that once I double-layered a piece of clothing, I felt like the coolest person alive. When we were sent home due to COVID-19, I really spent that time cultivating my own personal style.
Being stuck at home, I was entrenched and intrigued by what I considered to be good fashion. I loved people (and still do) who were able to go outside of the box. The hours of scrolling that I spent on TikTok and Pinterest was a way for me to pull inspiration from others, as well as my friends. Once I viewed a picture of platform Doc Martens and saw how they were able to be styled, I saved up all the money that I could and bought myself a pair. Ever since then, I have always loved a good pair of shoes that will give me an extra pump.
Once I started to build my own wardrobe, I decided to make a personal Instagram account relishing my favorite styles and outfits that I put together. When I have a good outfit on, it offers me a lot of stares on the way to class and I love it. Instead of being insecure by a few looks, I now relish in it. I personally think that the more people find your sense of style weird, the more enjoyable it is. My personal rule now is if I think too much about an outfit, I know that it will certainly be the best one.
My sense of style has allowed me to appreciate and love my creativity and uniqueness. Instead of wanting to be like others in terms of what they are wearing, I personally like to think outside of the box. As I get older, I hope that my sense of style develops as well. I want to be able to look back at some pictures of me in college and think, “What the hell was she wearing?!” If I am able to do that, then I think I have been successful in what I have decided to wear so far.
Wear something funky tomorrow. Pick a piece of clothing that is out of the box. You do not in fact have to buy an entirely new wardrobe. Use what you have and think of something creative. Take inspiration from others! The hallway is your own runway. Style and fashion have taught me that if you feel good about something, take pride in that and run with it!
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!