Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved fashion. It’s been a hard thing for me to show because I enjoy being comfortable, especially when I’m at school. Because of my love for comfort, people seem to be shocked when I say my thing is fashion. Here’s what I think: comfort can, and does equal fashion.
At every family event, I would dress myself up in a fun dress or a cute skirt, with tons of jewelry, my hair done and some lipstick too bright for me to be wearing as a child. I had a family friend who always called me “her little fashionista” and boy, did I love to hear those words.
In every instance, I was a fashion girly. I spent my entire time playing with dolls by dressing them up and brushing their hair. After hours spent at Justice, I’d come home and throw a fashion show for my mom. I had two of the same skirts so I could wear one when the other was in the wash. Every time I’d wear a skirt, I’d twirl to see if it was flowy enough.
Suddenly, growing up got to me and it was uncool to wear what I spent my life wearing. When I was in my late years of elementary school, my mom just bought me this pink sparkly sweater dress with a tutu frill hem that I’d been wanting. I got laughed at so badly by kids at school that I went home crying, threw off the dress and begged my mom to take it back. That was the end of my girliness.
I started wearing basketball shorts and Jordans to completely erase any correlation between me to anything considered girly. As I went through my middle and high school years, I didn’t do anything to my hair, I didn’t wear makeup or jewelry and I tried my hardest to blend in. Eventually, this just became my style and dressing up was only for special occasions.
Fashion wasn’t a thing for me to embrace anymore. It felt like something that needed to be hidden. Now that I’m in my twenties, I still find it difficult to embrace my style. I struggle to wear dresses and skirts to this day. But I try to find ways to implement my style in a school-friendly, comfortable way.
Comfort for me goes way past what clothing is pleasant to wear. It’s not just that sweatpants are comfortable, but that they’re safe. To me, dressing casually is safe because it doesn’t grab too much attention. I fit in just like anyone else.
One year, I received a Torchie award that said, “is a fashion minor, but wears sweatpants.” This and many other sly comments made me feel like a phony. How could I be into fashion when I look like a bum every day?
Every morning, I choose to put on a comfortable outfit. Something that fits, that makes me feel good about myself and that can get me through the day. Along with that, I style my hair, I put jewelry on, sometimes I wear makeup, I make sure my socks match and I change up my shoes. I am intentional about what I put on my body, and how it makes me feel.
At the end of the day, fashion is whatever you want it to be. I choose to prioritize comfort and I’ve learned that I get to do that. After all, I’m not trying to impress anybody but myself.