In a world where athleisure is the norm and wearing jeans is considered fancy, everyday fashion is a dead concept. Sweatpants are donned as soon as one wakes up, and the same five shirts are worn in a never ending cycle.
I live in this world — sweatpants are practically a uniform for me. Some days, when everyone around me happens to be dressed up, it feels like I’m all alone in athleisure world.
And it’s not that I dislike the comfortable, breathable, sweatpants-that-double-as-pajamas all the time — it’s just the opposite. But the I’m-not-gonna-try-in-clothing world can get boring.
So I decided to try out three different bold fashion moves (bold for me, OK. Curb your enthusiasm.) And wearing them to school and everywhere else I went was an….experience.
After doing a little research — and by that I mean typing “bold fashion moves to try out for people who don’t try out bold fashion moves” in the google search bar and hitting enter — I decided on my first piece:
Patterned Bandana
One of the first things I noticed about this whole ordeal is that you can’t just wear a bold piece with normal clothes — well, not with my normal clothes. I got a little crabby when I tied my pink patterned bandana around hair and my KC Fusion soccer hoodie didn’t seem to match, leading me to change into a more socially acceptable outfit of jeans (which I had to dig out of the back of my closet) and a t-shirt.
And no one gave me any looks of awe or surprise… probably because it’s just a bandana. But I was just dipping my toes in, OK? I decided to be a tad more adventurous the next day.
Barrettes
The casualness of this one was nice, I’m not gonna lie. I felt comfortable wearing a cute-ish sweater and leggings without feeling like I was dressing down my 20 million barrettes — mainly because this returning trend is similar to that time in kindergarten that I stole my moms hair clips.
When I walked into school, my eyes were flicking from person to person to see if they were judging the preschool-chique. Some of my friends complimented them, others teased them. At the end of the day, though, they weren’t that big of a deal and the conversation about them acted as a nice distraction from school. Instead of the usual complaining I hear about grades and lack of sleep, the six barrettes that I normally would’ve never worn started up a much more interesting conversation.
Not quite ground-breaking, but I was getting there.
Yellow Glasses — And Yes I have 20/20 Vision
Ah, fake glasses. You have no practical use, and yet you’re sprouting up on my Pinterest like a damn weed. I couldn’t do this little experiment without giving you a try.
The day I wore fake glasses happened to fall on a weekend, so my classmates didn’t get the opportunity to see my librarian-vibes style for the day (was it on purpose? I guess you’ll never know). Even though they were constantly tickling my nose, the positive effect they had on my mood was definitely not what I expected.
Remember when you were five, and your mom made you the coolest halloween costume? You strutted your little self around like your were the best pumpkin in the patch. Fake glasses day was like halloween, and my confidence was boosted just by wearing a costume (if a costume can be constituted solely of fake glasses).
It’s like I was a different person — I was happier about random things like the fact that my car wasn’t low on gas. And when I went into Panera and the cashier complimented my glasses, I probably scared him with my enthusiasm over them.
They did itch my nose, but other than that, no complaints. They improved my mood and my outfit.
My venture outside of I’m-not-gonna-try world was surprisingly beneficial. Wearing different accessories made me feel like a different person. I’m definitely going to continue broadening my clothing horizons, but that’s not to say I’m not wearing a oversized patterned hoodie right now — if you are what you wear, I want to be myself.