It was probably near to the end of high school, around the same time this guy said something about my eye-ball neon orange searing jacket.
Before then, I had dressed sort of unobtrusively. I dressed to NOT get noticed, to blend in, not get made fun of, and to be comfortable. I never wore anything that announced I was a girl, and in fact, dressed as if I wasn’t one.
Think: Grey v-neck ribbed t-shirt, $5 from some bargain bin in a sad little strip mall near my house that I was allowed to walk to alone, and some cheap Zellers (remember them? defunct franchise?) black jeans, with a round butterfly choker and some black shoes.
Ugh. Terrible.
The image is seared into my brain.
I dressed like all the other nerds, because I was loftily and very insecurely trying to announce that I had a brain, and therefore did not need to look like a girl or attract anyone to try and be pretty because it was meant for those who didn’t have brains….. never mind the fact that no one was actually attracted to me!
Also, no pink or purple, or flowers.
I was a sexless jellyfish.
After he made that comment, my braces came off (FINALLY), and I got contacts for the first time, being able to afford them from my part-time job.
Glasses off, braces off, new look onto my femininity and suddenly I was reborn, style-wise.
I wore a skirt for the first time since I was 9, and I became who I am today.
Now I’ve embraced skirts wholeheartedly.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
The entire series can be found here: Women in Clothes Style & Fashion Survey
