On the whole I’ve managed to sail through life pretty much blissfully ignorant of what people make of my fashion sense.
Over the years I’ve seen a few raised eyebrows and over heard many ‘isn’t she cold in that?’ jibes but I’ve also received my fair share of compliments and been asked by friends, acquaintances and strangers alike ‘I like that, where’s it from?’
But recently I came across a blog post someone had written about the 30 worst possible purchases they’ve ever seen from ASOS, the holy grail of online shopping and a favourite shop of mine.
To my dismay I owned number three, a rather charming (in my opinion)pink fluffy cat clutch bag – that I will defend till the bitter end.
YAY OR NAY? . . . one person’s fashion favourite is always going to be another’s nightmare
I’ve always thought my style was slightly more OTT than most but, obviously, I love what I wear or I wouldn’t be wearing it.
But it made me wonder what do people really think about my choice of attire?
At 21 I feel I’m old enough to handle any criticisms that might come my way(especially since I have openly asked for opinions)so I decided to poll a few of my nearest and dearest and get their opinions.
I started with my best friend Megan. Me and Megan have always had quite similar styles and bonded over a mutual love of bleached hair and leather jackets.
She said: “In three(ish) words I’d call your style unique, figure enhancing and eye catching.”
After years of friendships and plenty of fashion highs and lows Megan says the worst thing she’s ever seen me wear in public are I <3 Zante pants on a night out during a girl’s holiday in Greece when I was 18.
Personally I think if you can’t profess your love to a Greek city through the medium of really small pants/shorts at 18, then when can you?
Megan added: “I think you look best in co-ords but nothing annoys me more than when you buy really complicated outfits and need help getting dressed.”
CO-ORDINATE . . . co-ord outfits and pencil/midi skirts make up a big part of my wardrobe
I obviously asked my boyfriend Sean, whose 27 and works in forestry, he seemed a bit unnerved by the question.
He simply said he likes everything I wear because it’s girlie and he doesn’t like it when girls are tomboyish – which is lucky considering I haven’t owned a pair of jeans since I was 17.
Next I asked my 26-year-old punk sister Cat who has given me more dirty looks because of my attire than anyone else.
She says the worst thing she’s ever seen me wear is a crochet mini dress with a watermelon design (I too agreed and I speedily returned it to ASOS).
Cat added: “It actually made me want to vomit.”
Her favourite outfit of mine is a stars and moons print crop top and mini print co-ordinated set from Motel. It’s black so that’s no doubt why she likes it.
MOONSHINE . . . me, second left, wearing my sister’s favourite outfit (sorry about the photo location)
She described my style as tight, expensive and scarce and shock of all shocks she thinks I look best in BLACK bodycon dresses, BLACK knee high heeled boots and BLACK leather jackets…she’s such a goth for life!
I also asked some colleagues to see what they made of my dress sense considering they rarely see me out of my work clothes…and because they were sitting next to me when I wrote this.
My news editor Fiona, whose in her 30s, stayed true to her journalistic roots and gave me a proper quote.
She said: “You have a unique dress sense, know what you like and wear it confidently.
“You probably tone it down slightly for work and to be honest, we’ve all got used to some of your quirks (like the pink hair).
“You’re still young so you can carry off most of what you wear, however I’m intrigued to imagine how you’ll dress when you’re older as I know from experience that tastes change as you age.
“I wonder what your older self will make of the clothes you wear now!”
My other colleague Lisa described my style as tight, flirtatious and on trend – which I thought was very kind of her considering she’s a known fluffy cat bag hater!
She says she prefers me in my pencil skirts and noted last year’s Halloween costume – I was a blue unicorn – as my biggest fashion fail.
FASHION FAIL? . . . my blue glittery unicorn costume wasn’t a favourite for my colleague Lisa
From this little experiment I gathered the general consensus is that I wear very form-fitting (tight)clothes and my style isn’t for everyone but at least it’s fun and unique.
In the end however it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.
Just as some people look at me and ponder ‘did that girl get dressed in the dark?’ I too in turn will often wonder ‘what were they thinking’?
It’s important to remember that the only person you should dress for is yourself (but dress responsibly in the work place).
So if clutching a pink fluffy handbag (like moi), wearing blue lipstick (Joey in Friends)or having twelve piercings in your face (my sister)makes you happy then go for it!
So are you brave enough to ask people what they think?
