Recently, a copy of The Walk, Penn's very own fashion magazine, found it's way into my possession. I always knew about it, and would see students handing copies out on our campus' main thoroughfare, but I never actually took the time to look through it (it's hard to find time when you're writing papers on comparing the concept the representation of the subconscious by Freud and Nietzsche, and the military expansionism of the Russian Empire), but now that I have some free time on my hands, I though I'd give it a quick going through.I was actually surprised when I found out that Penn had a fashion magazine as a student, considering that Philadelphia isn't exactly a haven for fashionable dress, or even fashion forward thinking for that matter (try walking down the street in Philadelphia in something other than jeans and a hoodie, and try to count how many people blatantly stare at you like you're from Mars). The magazine itself was pretty decent, featuring high fashion magazine-esque photos with current students as models. Naturally, there were the trend reports, how to create a designer look for cheap, where is the best place in Philly to get vintage clothes, etc. Looking through the photos, and articles on various "in" styles, I began, for the first time really, to ask myself, "What exactly is my style?"
Honestly, for me, this is a very hard question to answer. As with everyone, my style changes throughout time. For example, in middle school, my style was brown/tan bohemian/peasant girl-with-the-occasional-sporty-girl-tee-and-jeans. By the sophomore year of high school, my style was preppy-business-casual-with-a-little-lace-and-satin. However, it wasn't until junior year of college that I actually started to redefine my look. Previous to this, I just wore whatever still fit me from high school (the Freshman 15 hit me a little harder than just 15 lbs!) By junior year, the on-campus style of skinny jeans, tights, and riding boots finally began to influence my wardrobe. Just for the record, I'm not a big fan of skinny jeans because of the way they make some girls' hips look bigger, so I always wear mine with boots, so that my lower legs look more even in proportion to my hips. By the time I graduated, I had started to incorporate more lace and ruffles into my wardrobe. Nearly one year later, my style has become a vintage-feminine-preppy-business-causal look. Lately, I've also begun wearing more skirts and dress (something that I had previously only reserved for special occasions), and playing more on my youthful, somewhat adolescent look (people always think I'm 13 or 14), despite the fact that I have entered the working world.
As you can see, the real problem of defining my fashion style is that I don't really have a single style that I wear of like. Instead, I enjoy a little bit of every style, I mix it all together to create my own. Also, my style changes depending on my mood, where I'm going, what the weather is like, etc. In my opinion, it is better to have a mix instead of just getting stuck in one box, or label, but then again, I've never been one to like conformity, or fitting neatly into stereotypes anyway, so this makes sense for me!
