Emerson’s Unspoken Fashion Culture

Imagine yourself picking out a nice outfit to go to class, you paired a nice blouse with a plaid skirt, put on some tights and a red scarf -because it is almost fall. You have taken your time to put on your makeup and style your hair the way you want. You look gorgeous, you smile at yourself. You feel confident, stylish and overall happy. Because fashion makes you happy. You grab your backpack and you are ready to go to class. You are the first one there, you said good morning to the professor. Always smiling. And by the time everyone else is there, you look around: sweatpants, slippers, tanks. You are the only one wearing red at an 8:00 am class…

How is that Blair Waldorf pull it off? Do I need a group of followers to make myself feel better that I took time to dress nicely because I enjoyed it? No! Of course not. Then what’s the big deal? And is it bad that I am overdressed?

But worry no more, I am here to tell you that overdressing is in fact: pretty damn good.

You dress for yourself

Many people don’t want to look as if they have tried too much “less is always more”, and sometimes it is.  People generally have this conscious thought that for some places and occasions we must dress in a certain manner. There are many arguments about what’s the appropriate attire, what is trending right now and how you should look in general.

We all hear from our friends and family that we shouldn’t use too much makeup, that neutral colors are the best for a work outfit or that you can’t ever go wrong with a black dress for a date. But what is this self-conscious thought that we shouldn’t stand out? And when you do, when you just want to finally use that maxi yellow dress, then you are overdressed.

It is not a crime people. Taking your time to pick out what you want to wear and to put on your makeup and style yourself for whichever place you want to go to is perfectly ok. It is more than that, it makes everything better. It is after all for self-pleasure. When you take the time to picture how you want to look for a certain occasion -no matter which- you feel better. And it is so much fun to play with your wardrobe and makeup. After all, you are dressing for yourself.

It is your style: own it

You might find posts on social media of girls admiring other girls for “sacrificing” their sleeping time for the sake of wearing makeup and dressing up, “I wish I could be like that, but I enjoy my sleep”. One time a girl told me that I should change to politics or a law major because of the way I usually dress, “You are the only one who takes time to come here so beautiful”.

I am a Writing, Literature & Publishing major at Emerson, I love watching anime and I adore wearing makeup and dressing nicely. Of course, I also love to sleep but I have always taken the time to dress up because I want too. It’s fun and nice and it grows your confidence.

But do you have to be lowkey about your fashion? If you go to a party -and this always happens to me- you put on a beautiful dress that you have been dying to wear and pretty heels, do your make up with an extravagant eyeshadow palette color that you have been scared of using because “maybe it is too much”. And when you finally arrive -after taking a long time to get ready- every girl there is wearing shorts and vans.

The feeling is kind of overwhelming because you feel out of place, but you own your style and you don’t have to feel afraid or explain to others why you are wearing what you want. You have your personality and sense of fashion. You don’t have to live by the standards implemented by others.

Don’t stop because of what others think

Honestly, if you feel overdressed and that people are looking at you thinking “how weird you look”, what they are doing is admiring your style and the next thing you’ll see is that you have started a trend. It is as easy as that.

When I was 17 I went to a party with my friends,  I wore a long skirt and a blouse and as an accessory, I wore a long chain necklace. What I didn’t realize was that most of the girls were wearing mini shorts and tank tops, that was the trend of the time. One of my friends approached me and said: “At least you should take off the necklace because you’re wearing too much and I don’t want anyone to make fun of you”. I felt bad because of the way I was dressed, left out. But then girls were staring at me and coming to tell me how pretty I looked and that they liked my style.

What happened afterward? I went to another party -wearing shorts and a tank top- and long collars and skirts were all I saw.

People judge and have stereotypes about everything. But you should never be conflicted about the amount of time you take to care about how you look. Maybe for some people, it seems a waste of time if you are just going to attend a lecture about the History of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and so more when it is a morning class.

But everyone owns their fashion. And even though you might feel overdressed, not in the trend and certainly out of place, you are making a statement of who you are. And you are awesome. You rock it and you are over the top gorgeous. Fashion is diverse, fashion is fun, and fashion portrays who you are.

Don’t ever be afraid of dressing the way you want. Let us know what you feel and your own experience with overdressing in the comments!

Featured Image Source: @themaddycorbin