FIRST OUTFIT POST OF THE YEAR!!!!!!! WAHOOOOO!!!!
(Sorry for the obnoxiousness of the capital letters and exclamation marks, but I wanted to start this pivotal, life-changing moment with a real BANG!!!! Ya dig? No? Well, too bad. It's my blog. Mine, mine, MINE! No worries, kids. I'm still annoying/ just jokin' wit chaaa! tehehe.)
Fun story: my first day home marked one of the best days of the entire year. Yes, that's right, kids. This day, this glorious day, could only consist of one thing... VALUE VILLAGE'S 50% OFF SALE. When I received the email announcing this grand day (I'm a subscriber to VV's newsletter, obvz), I literally whooped in excitement. I thought to myself, "Yessss. This is a good omen for coming home. This makes my mundane town in Canada all okay." And it was.
I purchased da shirt and da overalls on said sale day. I'm absolutely in love with these overalls. They are probably one of the most unflattering items I own - it is ill-fitting, has a "mom" butt, and just generally makes me look like I'm a little boy in the 90s. I love it! Perhaps to compensate for the little boy aura of this outfit, I thought it'd be fun to wear some stripper heels/ clonkers just to, you know, go for "juxtaposition." Or something... Well, actually, I'm not really sure what vibe I was going for - perhaps some farmer boy porn star? - but it makes me happy! The overalls also reminds me of Phoebe Buffet - aka my favourite Friends character, aka another reason why they are so horrendously wonderful!
Whilst traveling for 5.5 months, I was determined to do the backpacking thing right. Consequently, I crammed all my clothes - along with other shenanigans, such as a whopping four guidebooks (shhh... I mean, I was a free spirit and just went with the wind and wandered to random lands and never looked at those guidebooks, pshhhh....) - in one backpack. Clothing-wise, this equated to one pair of pants, four long skirts (oh yeah, I had to be "Morocco friendly" aka rocked the "colourful nun" look everywhere... shuper shexy!), five shirts, one dress, one jean jacket and... yeah. That's all. As a maximalist-slash-I-just-love-dress-up-in-general this was, well, really good for me, actually. It was good to go through a style cleanse - as in, no style. Whatsoever. At all. I find that in Canada, there have been times that I have been concerned that I've been defined by my style. My style isn't who I am. Style shouldn't be who you are. It should be a reflection, a glimpse of who you are. Yet, there have been times where I have found myself feeling self-conscious, wondering if my style was been a defining characteristic of who I am, rather than merely a reflection. Like, maybe the only cool thing about me is the fact that I can stop traffic with my obnoxiously bright attire...
So it was good to go into foreign lands, where I was forced to meet people in relatively dull clothes that don't reflect me or my normal style at all. Generally speaking, whenever I walk out in drab clothes, I never feel like I'm representing myself well - I lose some confidence, I don't feel 100% me. But you know what? It was okay. Because we are MORE than our clothes, more than our style. It was really good for me to see that clothes don't define who I am, and people still saw me as joyous and bubbly and all those peppy things that colourful clothes generally elude towards and, more importantly, what I really am.
That being said, I really did miss my clothes. Not in a vain way. I know it sounds vain. And I don't mean that, at all. But I did miss the process of putting together a smashing - or a totally ridiculous farmer porn star - outfit together. The creative process, the self-expression, the dressing up. I realize that perhaps style means more to me than I initially thought, and I'm really grateful to be living in a country where there is freedom in dressing and self-expression. It's really nice to be able to play around and have fun again! But it's also nice knowing that I don't need wacky clothes to be myself! Aww!
(Shirt - Value Village $3, Overalls - Value Village $3, Necklace and bracelets - Nepal, Socks - homemade! my-mom-knit-them-because-she's-going-through-a-midlife-crisis-shhhh...), Shoes - Vintage $12)
Have you ever felt defined by your clothes? How does your style play into your confidence, personality, etc?
6 comments:
Wow this outfit is insane in the best possible way! I LOVE those shoes and I LOVE your nails! I'm a details kid, what can I say.
I love your overalls and your shoes. this whole outfit is amaaazing.
hope you had fun travelling!
Sometimes I feel defined by my clothes, but mostly, I look at my style as not a reflection of who I am or anything- it's just what I like to wear and I'll wear what I want! Man, I am digging those shoes hardcore. I don't think I could ever pull them off, but man, I would love to own them!
I AM SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK YAYYAYAY
auGH your colorful bracelets! I want them all! They're so fun and colorful and you and colors and greatness. Yes, that sentence made no sense whatsoever, but unfortunately that's what happens to me after I see your awesome pictures--my brain goes splat.
It's good that you can stop traffic with your attire. That means you'll get somewhere. And I'm glad that you're not afraid to keep on wearing them. The bright colors really ARE what makes you you! :D So keep wearin' them and dressin' like you do, yep yep. <4
Wow, I missed you so much! Ahaha, my mom read all my blog comments all the time and she asked me why you weren't commenting anymore, and when I told her, she was like "oh no!".
I'm so glad you're back though, and this outfit is the perfect thing! I love the shoes, they such a 70's vibe to a very 80s/90s outfit.
And I agree. I don't think clothes should define us. I feel I get judged on how I dress but my personality is a lot different than that.
Anyways, so happy you are back to blogging! We need to do a blogger meet-up sometime if you're ever in the Toronto area! :)
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