Your Clothes Are Talking to Me – Do You Know What They Say?
A look into fashion and identity in the age of social media
by Sydney Preston
Closet doors opened wide as fabrics spill out. Clothes litter the floor, haphazardly thrown during the mission of finding the perfect outfit. Surrounded by shirts, skirts, pants, dresses, hats, belts, jewelry and even old Halloween costumes, you hear the words tumble out of your mouth; “I have nothing to wear.”
Nothing feels right, nothing feels like you. Maybe you’re right, maybe despite the amount of clothing you possess, there is nothing to wear because there is nothing that aligns with who you are as a person. You lack personal style.
Personal style is the unique way someone uses clothing and accessories to express themselves. It is very intentional and helps shape how someone feels about themselves and how others perceive them. Having a truly personal style has never been harder and yet more meaningful.
In the past, style was ruled by decade. When you think of the 1920’s, 50’s, 80’s, you can clearly picture what people were wearing at the time. Those moments in fashion were heavily influenced on what was occurring in the world and each lasted for nearly an entire decade before transitioning to the next. Now that we live in a world where trends spread globally within hours, there is no designated 2020’s look.
The way our generation is viewing fashion is that something becomes a trend, gets millions of views, retailers catch on and then it becomes oversaturated and people hate it. Repeat, reuse, recycle. Hundreds of trends have already swept socials: Cottage Core, Messy Girl, Ballet Core, Coquette, Coastal Grandmother, etc. I am sure that bits and pieces of all of these come together to make your personal style which leads me to ask a very important question: Can personal style still be personal when the internet has already dictated what you should wear?
It comes down to identity. To know your personal style is to know yourself which is hard to do in the age of social media. We are told to be ourselves and then immediately see thousands of posts depicting exactly what you like. So, is this you liking these styles or is it your algorithm shaping your opinion? To know for certain, you need to go back to the basics. A sense of style comes from your personality, culture, politics, music taste, favorite movie characters, career goals, environment. It’s the amalgamation of everything that you are that creates your style.
This is where I am going to get a little hypocritical, so stick with me; finding your personal style is not the same as being the most uniquely dressed person out there. You will find people with the exact same style as you, that does not make you any less special or them a copycat.
The difference in someone having a similar personal style as you versus two people who are trying to fit into a specific aesthetic is authenticity. It’s “I love these boots; they are so me” versus “I love these boots; they are so dark academia.”
It is scary though, stepping out in a new-to-you style while you’re trying to feel out who you are in regards to fashion. It feels as if everyone you pass on the street knows that this is your first time wearing a hat. There is safety in numbers and that’s why the idea of having an aesthetic is appealing to people.
Attempting to pick an aesthetic is a step into discovering your individuality. You figure out what you like and why. The problem with aesthetics is that it makes deviating from them difficult. It starts to feel like you’re limited in what you wear because you’re forcing yourself to be in a specific box and that in turn limits your ability to grow. That’s the beauty of having personal style – it evolves with you.
In the search for personal style, you will find yourself. Fashion is one the most underrated art forms; it is full of heart and love and memory. Everything that has ever stood out to you – the color your mom wore when she went out, that one high schooler that your middle school self thought was so cool, the art on the cover of your favorite album – all morphs into a singular through line influencing your style.
To start your search, I recommend doing these things.
Write down all of your favorite things and describe why you love them. Favorite movies, songs, artists, seasons, decor, feelings. Study your answers and you may find some repeating factors, follow those.
Think of four words that you would want others to describe your style as. Classic, edgy, maximalist, gothic, preppy, modest. Your clothes speak before you do so, what do you want to tell me? Use these as pillars when you’re shopping, does this article of clothing represent me?
Go on Pinterest and pin every single outfit that you like. Anything and everything that catches your eye goes into a board, don’t think just pin. Afterwards scroll through and carefully look over every picture. Did you really like that outfit or was it the silhouette that called to you? What material are the clothes made out of it? Is there something that is repeating in a majority of the outfits? Skirts? Long coats? Specific colors?
The most important thing to remember is that fashion is fun. It is not a set-in stone seriousmatter. It’s fluid and ever evolving – just like you.
You are becoming through clothes. Experiment, create new looks and start noticing the things that catch your attention. Find yourself, find your style. Lose yourself, change your style. Repeat, reuse, recycle.
Two photos below could go with the two paragraphs “It is scary though... appealing to people” and the paragraph below “Attempting to pick...evolve with you.”
