MY LI’L STYLE HAS GROWN UP. It was a big day for me when I donned the above-“2010s Annie Hall” outfit this week. It was not only one of the most fashion-forward looks into which I have ever slipped (I usually lean toward a more minimalist outlook on accessorizing and layering), but that was the definitive day on which I matured from a fashion-loving young-adult into a fashionable adult.

When I was just five years younger, single or not, I always utilized the clothes I wore to seek out attention from everyone, both men and women (of all sexual persuasions), but always with one eye firmly planted on their effect on heterosexual men.

THAT WAS THE DAY ON WHICH I MATURED FROM A FASHIONABLE YOUNG-ADULT INTO A FASHIONABLE ADULT.

I look back on that little girl, sitting pretty and dumb-but-so-focused in her early 20s, who dressed, consciously or not, primarily for men. I was afraid to not conspicuously show off at least one part of my body on a daily basis, whether this was achieved through baring skin or bearing skintight silhouettes.

WHAT WAS I THINKING? I WAS SO. TERRIFIED. OF NOT LOOKING “HOT ENOUGH” THAT I REFUSED TO WEAR SCARVES TO INSULATE MY COLLARBONE, EVEN IN SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURES.   

Little by little since that age, I have gained more and more self-possession and learned “hot” really doesn’t have to entail running around in a miniskirt. There are many more subtler ways of simultaneously getting on “Best Dressed” lists and men’s dating radars. I would love to personally mentor any young Padawan who finds herself in a similar situation and guide her toward the light of her own adult, stylistic path.

You know where I am.

IN THIS POST:

• vintage Panama hat // SHOP SIMILAR • Freedom by Topshop choker // SHOP SIMILAR or HERE • byCORPUS blazer // SHOP SIMILAR • Naked Zebra embellished blouse // SHOP SIMILAR • custom-made leatherette leggings // SHOP SIMILAR • Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers // SHOP IT •