A Style Rant

Lately I have been thinking about my style a lot. Or just style in general. A person's style reflects who they are, and how they want to dress. Everyone has a unique style... but do they show it?

Growing up in Southern California, I can definitely pin-point the "SoCal" style. Casual, laid back, comfortable, beach-y,  flow-y, "Brandy Melville-y" are all words that I would use to describe the style here. I see girls all the time that look like they could be Brandy Melville models. 

Girls at school often look like this:

{via}

\

{via}

(By no means am I saying that this style is bad or anything of that sorts. I own multiple pieces from Brandy, Pacsun and other stores with this style, and love them!)

Anyways, about a year ago I "discovered" JCrew. My local mall doesn't have any stores that I would consider to be "preppy" (JCrew, Lilly Pulitzer, Vineyard Vines, Ralph Lauren, etc.) so I had never really been exposed to this style. The entire preppy "lifestyle" and look was completely new to me. All I knew was that I liked "preppy" and wanted to dress that way. 

{via]

{via}

So 2 pairs of boat shoes and many pairs of Chino shorts later, I slowly expanded my collection of "preppy" wardrobe pieces. But it would be fair to say that I never fully embraced the preppy style. Instead of diving into the pool of prep, I was casually wading in, scared to get my hair wet. 

I was thinking about this the other day, and why I am so apprehensive to dress a certain way. I decided that it was because I would be the only one sporting that style. The lone prep in a sea of bohemian Brandy-wearing hipsters. The thing is, when I wear Sperry's no one comments. No one has ever made fun of me or said anything about how I dress (except for the occasional compliment). So why am I scared?

I guess subconsciously I want to fit in. Wear what everyone else is wearing. Shop where they shop. But that ends now. From now on, I am making the "pledge" to dress how I want to dress and wear what makes me happy, no matter if that's what someone else is wearing, or not. And I encourage everyone to as well. Your style is something that expresses who you are and is a way to express yourself. Holding back your style to dress a certain way is stupid, and a waste of what makes you unique. 

I saw a quote on Tumblr the other day that I loved:

"Don't be embarrassed of what you're wearing if you're dressed better than everyone else".

In other words, if you think that you look great and you love your outfit, then what everyone else is wearing or thinking really doesn't matter. 

I'm not saying that I'm going to try and define my style as only preppy, because I think that your style can be multiple things. But by no means am I going to be embarrassed because I'm wearing clothes that may not be the most popular where I live. 

Sorry for this post being all over the place. I just really wanted to share my opinion on this!

xoxo,

Alyssa