Gorgeous outfits, Laura! Your newsletter brought back memories of trying to be a contrarian when visiting Korea in my teens/early 20s to express my rejection of social norms which really was - you nailed it - insecurity at their rejection of me. Back then, it was dressing in a revealing way to go against their modest, conservative and uniform dressing norms. It took me a while to work through the identity crisis but now I just go there as me, along with a healthy dose of respect and consideration for my environment.
Dear Irene: I would have loved to see what you wore back then. This reminds me when I wore a pre-columbian necklace to visit the Archivo de Indias in Sevilla as a little act of rebellion for the Spanish conquest etc. I think I wrote about that at one point. Love that you connected with the piece—I admire you so much.
I love all of your looks. Especially your take on classic style that still has little pops of color and individuality. Reading this I realized that my tendency is to dress a bit oddly because of the way I was raised and I’m kind of always fighting against that and trying to look more “normal”. Or I guess i’m looking for the balance between the urge to be weird because of my upbringing and what is really me and just my own self-expression.
Yeah, i think fashion becomes a lot more fun and intentional once we start identifying the root of certain decisions. But not all of them, though—overthinking can rob us of the fun and spontaneity involved in any creative endeavor
so I might be a bit against the grain here but it sounds like you just got the fashion version of 'the ick'?
I'd say it's very normal in a trend cycle, part of the journey if you will, and not an indictment of you or your style to be driven away from some things you otherwise/previously liked because of a negative association (see: the fall in demand for Adidas Sambas after a certain politician was photographed in them, or a certain style of Fred Perry shirt being discontinued altogether because it became a neo-nazi unofficial uniform - it's not just frivolous likes and dislikes, fashion signals something and being aware of it is not a bad thing)
I love the idea of the ‘fashion version of the ick,’ and that is completely fair and human. I guess where I have gained insight into my personal style is in questioning where such an ‘ick’ comes from and what I replace the icky item with, or if the icky item needs to be replaced at all
I love this so much! Your looks breathe life and are so inspiring ❤️And I totally went through this for much of my 20s! I always had elements of my personal style but there was definitely an undercurrent/influence of feeling the need to style in a way that was opposite of everyone else. I spent so much of my childhood trying to fit in I think it was my way of working through what the opposite would feel like for me. My style language still includes the unexpected but now it’s more of an internal gut feeling vs an external desire, which is how it should be!
Gorgeous outfits, Laura! Your newsletter brought back memories of trying to be a contrarian when visiting Korea in my teens/early 20s to express my rejection of social norms which really was - you nailed it - insecurity at their rejection of me. Back then, it was dressing in a revealing way to go against their modest, conservative and uniform dressing norms. It took me a while to work through the identity crisis but now I just go there as me, along with a healthy dose of respect and consideration for my environment.
Dear Irene: I would have loved to see what you wore back then. This reminds me when I wore a pre-columbian necklace to visit the Archivo de Indias in Sevilla as a little act of rebellion for the Spanish conquest etc. I think I wrote about that at one point. Love that you connected with the piece—I admire you so much.
Also: what do you mean it's not normal for men approaching you on the street with their business cards. Oh man, I miss being young and naive.
I love all of your looks. Especially your take on classic style that still has little pops of color and individuality. Reading this I realized that my tendency is to dress a bit oddly because of the way I was raised and I’m kind of always fighting against that and trying to look more “normal”. Or I guess i’m looking for the balance between the urge to be weird because of my upbringing and what is really me and just my own self-expression.
Yeah, i think fashion becomes a lot more fun and intentional once we start identifying the root of certain decisions. But not all of them, though—overthinking can rob us of the fun and spontaneity involved in any creative endeavor
so I might be a bit against the grain here but it sounds like you just got the fashion version of 'the ick'?
I'd say it's very normal in a trend cycle, part of the journey if you will, and not an indictment of you or your style to be driven away from some things you otherwise/previously liked because of a negative association (see: the fall in demand for Adidas Sambas after a certain politician was photographed in them, or a certain style of Fred Perry shirt being discontinued altogether because it became a neo-nazi unofficial uniform - it's not just frivolous likes and dislikes, fashion signals something and being aware of it is not a bad thing)
I love the idea of the ‘fashion version of the ick,’ and that is completely fair and human. I guess where I have gained insight into my personal style is in questioning where such an ‘ick’ comes from and what I replace the icky item with, or if the icky item needs to be replaced at all
I love this so much! Your looks breathe life and are so inspiring ❤️And I totally went through this for much of my 20s! I always had elements of my personal style but there was definitely an undercurrent/influence of feeling the need to style in a way that was opposite of everyone else. I spent so much of my childhood trying to fit in I think it was my way of working through what the opposite would feel like for me. My style language still includes the unexpected but now it’s more of an internal gut feeling vs an external desire, which is how it should be!