Personal Fashion Masterpost For 2019: Here's To More Good Looks

Tl;dr: fashion is life. 

Long version: sometimes it's hard to believe I went from a gangly kid who religiously wore the same grey hoodie, old sneakers and side-braid to a woman who experiments with nearly every look. It's like a Pokemon evolution, only a lot slower.

 When I really think about it, though? It makes perfect sense. I had my time to be awkward (and sometimes outright disdainful) of how I look. I had the space to explore what I liked, what I didn't like and what I didn't quite feel ready to try out. It's the same logic around any unpleasant or disappointing experience: as Ava DuVernay likes to say, "It's not happening to you, it's happening for you." That hurdle of mine is well over and done with. Life is just too short to not celebrate your appearance. In the future I might just do a fashion retrospect, with each drawing representing where I was at major turning points (young child, teenager, young adult). For now...

I compose my looks not unlike how I compose my paintings. I take into account the theme, such as cute casual or 80's nostalgia. I make sure colors and patterns are balanced. Got a lot of warm? Contrast it with something cool. Got a patterned top or leggings? Pair it with something simpler. It's hard to even come up with a name for my style, because I love to dabble in everything. Magical chic? Contemporary nostalgia? Flowery fatale? These are starting to sound like music genres. I'm not complaining.

the term boho can go to hell, though. even though many of my looks would technically fall under that category in fashion SEO, I hate that term with a fiery passion

Why did it take me this long to embrace the utter power of the tunic dress? Seriously, come to my TED Talk. Let me tell you about how easy it is to mix and match these wonderful things, with the big fat bonus of skipping a step (shirt + pants). I had a tunic dress or two back in high school, but had no idea how to wear them. I'd actually tuck the damn things into my jeans so I wouldn't look 'weird'. There goes the point!!!

The gray sweaterdress on the left with the white and yellow decorations is an old staple I still love. It was actually given to me by a high school friend and, a decade later, still fits me like a dream. Had to get rid of those cute boots, though. Listen to me. Pinched toes aren't worth it.

Long tops and tunic dresses are two sides of the same coin. When in doubt? Stretch it out. I got the pink knitted tunic on the left back in Boston during my attendance as Arisia's guest of honor. I got the shoes and the rose gold headband at the same store to round out the purchase. The only thing more fun than traveling is picking up a fresh new look while you're there. Bonus points if you look like you walked out of a JRPG.

These are my spring and summer looks: just layered enough to feed my obsession, still cool enough to hold up to the weather. I had a really cute encounter while wearing the middle outfit, where two shoppers at a grocery store walked by me in the parking lot and said, "Okay! I see you, salmon jeans!" Made my day. 

Then I gained twenty pounds and couldn't fit into my purple pair. Womp.

I had another cute encounter at another grocery store with the middle outfit, where a guy complimented my hat: when I told him I got it for $2, he excitedly congratulated me. What can I say. Thrift shops really are that girl. 

​Who said fashion is pain, anyway? So many of these outfits aren't just comfortable, they're insanely so. Something else I've been enchanted by lately are unique layers, like the outfit on the right. Regal, unusual drapery you don't see a lot in the day-to-day, like long sleeves peeking out of short sleeves or thigh-high boots with a peek of thigh-high socks. Just...careful details like that make my soul sing. I want to get crafty with my crafting.

Finally bust out my gold cat ear headband (that I also got in Boston, by the by). At this point you're no doubt seeing a few clothing items reused, like the red ankle boots and the jewelry. When you like to switch things up, it helps not feeling the need to reinvent the wheel every single time. Sometimes you have a piece that's been collecting dust for months and deserves a moment in the spotlight. Hell, I can come up with a dozen great looks for a single dress. Again: get crafty.

I went from being unable to find a pair of flats that fit me for months to suddenly finding all the pairs...right when it started getting cold. Go figure! Another favorite contrast of mine is bulky + slimming, like the left and the middle outfits. Cozy and stylish, in equal parts.

My closet's pretty damn stuffed, but that doesn't stop me from reusing the same outfits. Yes, sometimes even I want to take a break from putting together a look. I wore the striped tunic dress on the left quite a bit during the summer. It's the perfect cute casual top, with just a little extra charm to make it pop (like the gaps in the elbows). The middle dress I wore to a concert: Beck and Cage The Elephant, two bands I've loved for years and who delivered one hell of a performance. Oh, the weather was perfect. So warm and breezy I could've been outside all night and not minded. 

and the beer was $15 per can, jesus christ-

Looking back on all these different outfits, I feel proud. I like how I look. Nay, I love how I look, and I've never felt more honest with my appearance than the last five or six years. I'm not slicking my hair down with gel anymore to try and make it look straighter. I'm not wearing copious amounts of grey and black because I'm too shy to embrace my love for color. I'm not afraid to dabble in styles on-the-fly, try new things, let myself reinvent when needed and get lazy when desired. Keep in mind it's none of my business what anyone else chooses to wear: this is what works for me.

There are still fashion languages I'm learning to speak. I want to add a little more green to my wardrobe, first off, which is hilarious because I actually love green. I just so happen to have a knee-jerk instinct to divebomb for anything maroon, lavender or gold. Currently my eyes are set on buying some thigh-high socks, hats that actually fit my fat head and, of course, more jewelry. Maybe one or two of those fancy claw rings. A tattoo will be in the works someday, but for now...

...anyone thinking of shaking up their looks in 2020?

I have some new character art coming out this week, which also means more lengthy behind-the-scenes posts. Stay tuned!