Your Evolving Sense of Fashion

[TheSadeianLinguist]

Today I excitedly ran to my P.O. Box to pick up my shirt, and I realized, my sense of fashion has gotten pretty quirky as I've aged:

http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/forums/image.php?u=1644&dateline=1146502498&type=profile

When I was a teen, I would NOT wear pink. I wouldn't have worn something politically daring, even when I first started buying my own clothes. I wouldn't wear anything that hinted at sexuality. My clothing tended to be baggy and dark, leaning towards frumpy. Anything hinting at a female figure was tsked at by my dad. However, my mother pushed for cute as I gained a figure. I pushed the baby tees toward the back of the closet.

Around 19, I had simply gotten tired of looking more conservative than a nun. No matter what I did, my fashion never measured up to the liking of those around me. I quit wearing shoes altogether. I quit brushing and combing my hair and let it dread up. I started wearing more fitted, lighter-colored, and comfortable clothes. A lot of my skin problems improved. My split ends went away. I was more confident with my body.

I'd always been an admirer of fashion, especially of the pin-up girl, Gothic Lolita, and hippie look. As I've gotten older, I've gravitated to actually wearing hot and cute stuff!

This is sort of the summer of the new wardrobe for me. I'm done with high school clothes. Today, I ordered another shirt and my first piece of jewelry I've ever purchased for myself from Soul Flower (http://www.soul-flower.com).

Here's the shirt and necklace since most of you are as nosy as I am:

http://www.soul-flower.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/FTC004.jpg

http://www.soul-flower.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/RIP003.jpg

One thing I've found in my attempt to define my sense of fashion is the use of the internet. I am NOT willing to get in the car, drive an hour each way to get to a JC Penney's, and find one shirt I like, costing $23 for the shirt alone, if I'm lucky to find anything at all. I am not willing to wear something just because it's mainstream. Ruffle shirts? Uh, no. I prefer my clothing to be as weird and eccentric as I am, ranging in nature from happy hardcore to nature-loving to creepy. I'm through with the idea that I shouldn't make myself seen for the sake of being vain.

So, how have the rest of you changed since you were younger? I'm DAMNED nosy.

[moonvine]

Gosh, this is a good question.

I used to wear a lot of black, since it is supposedly "slimming". For a long time I was lucky if I could afford to buy any clothes, even from Wal Mart, so I didn't have much of a sense of style. I would wear sweats whenever I could get away with it.

Now I have designers that I love - Peg Lutz is one of them. I wear all kinds of fabulous clothes. I'm not sure really how to quantify what my style is as I am all over the map, but I don't wear crummy quality clothes.

Some of my favorites: http://ww.persephoneplus.com

http://www.plus-size.com

Favorite ebay sellers:

http://www.holyclothing.com

http://stores.ebay.com/BBW-Boutique

I love velvet, sequins, linen. I don't like polyester.

[Miss Vickie]

Oh wow. I love their stuff. I'll definitely show my 13 year old hippie inspired, phunkified daughter. She'd go nuts over some of those shirts.

Given my age (*cough cough 41 cough cough*) my so called style has had a long time to evolve. In high school I did the In Your Face Cuteness thing, while at the same time cultivating the art student thing. I wore a LOT of pink, peach and baby blue, lots of carpenter pants, scooped neck shirts. Very CUTE. When not wearing that, I was wearing overalls with those scoop neck leotards under them and a scarf (so very Dramatic!) I wore Love's Baby Soft perfume and was Adorable. But Dramatic! I think the two parts of my personality -- Bible reading good girl and crazy, dramatic, moody actress -- were competing. It wasn't a pretty time.

Then I moved to San Francisco and did the whole scooter drivin', labrys wearing, babydyke thing (even though I was with a guy at the time). I wore jeans, shit kicker boots, oversized men's suit jackets over t shirts and often a lacy scarf for a bit of the girlie girl. Yeah. It was a look. ;)

Once I got out of the Bay Area, I moved to suburban Washington and did the iced jeans or black leggings, big hair, decorated t shirt and sweater thing. With Birkenstocks (don't ask). I definitely looked like a mom. My socks matched my underwear which matched whatever shirt I was wearing. Big scrunchies for my long hair. Volumes of mousse to try and cultivate big hair. Then I discovered We Be Bop and got a bunch of their stuff and my fashion sense improved. Bright colored shirts, jeans, Birkies.

Once I moved to Alaska, I cultivated Alaska chic. Flannel shirts over tank tops in winter, camp shirts in summer. Jeans. Birkies. Fairly plain stuff, but I did have a few pieces from Silhouettes that I loved (and still love). Funky necklaces, when I remembered to wear them. Hair various colors, lengths and styles but ALWAYS permed.

These days I shop a lot at the Gap. Which means more tight fitting stuff (for the first time in my LIFE) -- long sleeve cotton shirts, or tank tops under light jackets or shirts, low rider jeans and pants, and now I wear my Haflingers in winter, my Doc Marten sandals in summer. I got a couple of cute skirts that I'm look forward to wearing when the weather warms up, and have scored some cute peasant shirts as well. I have some nice Indian shirts that I got that I've been wearing too. So again, a weird eclectic combination, this time of hippie stuff and hip young adult stuff. Oh and my hair? Not permed. Will never perm again. (I promised my hairdresser). It's shoulder length, straight and, thanks to Nioxin, thickening up. It's a medium red now, but I plan to get high and low lights put in as a Mom's Day prezzie.

Style? What style?? Fashion?? What fashion?? My limitations have always been that it has to be comfortable and I have to be able to move in it. Other than that, I'll wear almost anything. Except anything sleeveless.

[TheSadeianLinguist]

That's kind of my new thing about clothes. This is the first time I've had a job that affords me the luxury of buying nice stuff! Thrilling, isn't it?

[moonvine]

That's kind of my new thing about clothes. This is the first time I've had a job that affords me the luxury of buying nice stuff! Thrilling, isn't it?


It is awesome. And even better if you can score some deals, even though you don't HAVE to score some deals:)

[MissToodles]

I think the reason I'm so into fashion now is I never had the chance to wear I wanted. The things I liked as a teen weren't available in plus sizes. Fat teen girls are so lucky!

So as a teenager, I wore tight anime logo'ed tees under long sleeve plaid shirts, striped tees and converse. But then I enter high school and went all goth or my interpetation of what goth is--black all the way. It also served a second person-it slimmed me down (I was the fattest girl in the school and despeartely wanted to fade away into the walls).

But as I aged in my early 20's, I missed color and I started wearing it and lots of it. I do still love color and funky shirts with jeans and mary janes and bangles and scarves, lots of makeup on my lips and eyes and red, red hair. My boyfriend claims I dress like a "japanese teenager". I'm very big and I might as well dress the way that makes me happy! My students love the way I dress and often compliment me. Maybe because my options were limited as a teen, I can't help but dress this way. Here is a photo of how I dress on a typical day. Yes, I am wearing all black but I swear I usually wear a bit more color.

[TheSadeianLinguist]

Given my age (*cough cough (edit) cough cough*)...

I swear to God, I read 25. I promise. Sounded like 25... :)

[Tracyarts]

- Before junior high, "fashion" for me was whatever my mom bought me or was given to me as a hand-me-down.

- Junior high was the early 1980's and I was the typical "rocker" girl. Tight jeans, heavy metal band concert jersey, feathered back sunbleached hair, lip gloss, desert boots.

- Early high school was all about New Wave and mid 1980's style. I wore a LOT of leggings with enormous shirts. Pink and black. Hair that was very teased up or spikey. Back then when Express first opened and offered stuff like you would see Cyndi Lauper wear in a video... that was the style I and my friends were into. Kind of new-wave, punky light.

- Late high school was when I wound up with the artsy, punky, gothy crowd and we were way into vintage clothes, black clothes, dark or crazy colored hair (both if you could pull it off). I loved to wear prissy vintage dresses from the late 50's and early 60's with ripped up tights and clunky boots and chain or studded belts. Lace skirts over leggings. Short skirts over tights. Enormous oversized sweaters. Long skirts that grazed my ankles. My friends and I were also into sewing, so we made a lot of stuff too to fake what we saw in the high fashion boutiques and magazines. Dramatic makeup, "box" purses, funky accessories, etc...

- College years I wore jeans and tee shirts or broomstick skirts from India with big black tee shirts and black canvas mary jane shoes from Pier One (back when they sold clothes).

- Ever since, it has been a mix of all of those styles for the most part.

Tracy

[FitChick]

I wore black when I was thin before...I wore black when Iw as fat...I wear black again now. I just like black, it has no relation to my size at any given moment.

My mother jokes that my closet looks like the Black Hole of Calcutta!

[crazygrad]

I just wear old sheets wrapped as togas. I'm a grad student and have no $$$. When I teach, I put on some earrings and hold the toga on with one of my grandma's old brooches.

[BBWMoon]

All I can say is that I am SOOOO JEALOUS!!!!

I love this shirt!!! awww..... :( :( :( toooooooooooo small. :(


http://www.soul-flower.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/RIP003.jpg

[TheSadeianLinguist]

You know, most of these clothiers like Soul Flower do print/make their own stuff. I'd email them asking if it'd be possible to get a different size!

[Carol W.]

.....I've seen my wardrobe evolve so many times, from the miniskirts and Carnaby Street look of the '60's up to the present day, that I can't even count! Right now I am getting more color into my wardrobe and getting rid of some of the goth. Not all! by any means, but for a few years there MY closet looked like the Black Hole of Calcutta, too. Wearing uniform black has started to depress me a bit, and I don't want that.

I have also made peace, as much as one can, with the legs that were scarred back in 2000 and 2003 and will never look the same again. I just can't wear stockings and socks, or "pretty" shoes. It's taken virtually five years to accept this, but I do feel much better about myself, and Life in general, now that I do. I'm growing out my hair, which is long with Louise Brooks bangs, and I really like the change.

I guess I have evolved, finally, from the Carol of the 90's with her dated shag haircut and boots and leggings. She looked fine.....but she's not me anymore. And that's OK....