Whether or not you want to admit it, we all went through it in middle school. And now, six years later, I’m at it again. Not acne, braces or embarrassing displays of un-athleticism in gym class – I’m talking about making sometimes-questionable fashion choices and reinventing myself.
I decided to spend the last week trying out different styles to see what it was like. Would how I dressed affect my every day life? How would I feel in these ensembles?
On the first day my little of fashion experiment, “athletic day, ” I rolled out of bed and threw on yoga pants and last year’s Dillo Day T-shirt. Not the most authentic workout gear, I know, but I’m not exactly the sporty type. My athletic look is highly reminiscent of my “I have an exam today and I don’t care how I look” look,so the change wasn’t all that different.
The next day, I tried something a little more edgy and attempted my version of a Goth look. Although I managed to put together a pretty accurate, head-to-toe black ensemble, the first thing that crossed my mind was “Oh man, what am I doing?” I have nothing against the style, but it was just too drastic of a change for me. So, I watered it down a bit and my final look consisted of grey shorts, a black band t-shirt borrowed from my boyfriend and a black cardigan.
For my next challenge, I attempted a hipster-like style by wearing jeggings, an oversized and faded Beatles T-shirt and an open flannel shirt. I think the resulting look was a little too hipster meets a lumberjack version of Kurt Cobain, but it worked. Hipster day was fun. I’m not sure if hipsters can admit to having fun, but I’m not a real one, so that doesn’t matter, right?
Preppy day was relatively easy to do. My outfit included a white button-down shirt with a burgundy plaid cardigan layered on top, dark jeans, and of course, pearls. I felt sophisticated, but my inner creativity felt a bit stifled. Although the stereotypical “off to the country club for a quick game of tennis after I take the SATs for the 10th time” is cute, it’s not really me.
On the last day of my experiment, I tackled the boho-chic look. With a faux-vintage floral dress, gray cardigan, leggings, ornate gold earrings and plenty of bracelets, I felt unique, yet fashionable. Normally, I would have worn the dress by itself, but it’s amazing what leggings, the right shoes and lots of accessories can do. This was my favorite look and a combination I’ll definitely wear again.
Over the course of the week, I learned that it’s hard to copy a certain style, especially when it’s somewhat stereotypical and reminiscent of high school cliques.
Even though my own inhibitions and lack of a Daily Northwestern-financed shopping trip kept me from going all out with the new looks, I still got the general idea of what it’s like to dress how I normally wouldn’t. I didn’t wind up hating anything I wore, but I did get a stronger sense of my own style and what I like and don’t like. Although it was amusing to be “sporty,” “Goth,” “hipster,” “preppy” and “boho-chic,” I’m happy to go back to dressing for myself instead of channeling a modern-day version of the Spice Girls.
