Fashion-no-sta

There is a 23-year-old young woman I follow on YouTube and I'm not entirely sure why since I'm certainly not her intended audience, and most of her videos are about fashion in some way... But I think I ended up on her channel because she'd done something I think is fun, which is that she took $100 into ten different stores in a mall to see what she could buy with the same amount from, say, Forever 21 (a lot) to Kate Spade (nothing). Then I saw one where she tried on a similarly-styled pair of size 12 jeans at a bunch of different stores, and noted how much the actual sizes varied. Ger effervescent personality is just uplifting, plus she employs a bunch of her high school friends, so that's awesome and fun. Anyway, I watch a lot of her videos while I'm doing other things, like paying bills or making dinner.

I realize, though, that she has a seemingly innate sense of fashion. Like she talks about using this belt with this outfit because the belt provides texture as a contrast to the rest of it. These are things I've never even considered. I mostly feel like if I like an article of clothing and it's comfortable, I'll wear it. Because of this, there are many outfits I've only retired after having seen pictures of myself and realizing that somehow what I think I look like based on my mirror and how the outfit actually wears are vastly divergent and this is not a look I want to continue.

The video I watched yesterday was one where she recreated her "worst" outfits from adolescence. None of them was particularly awful, though her friends and mom could tell exactly what time frame she was referencing with her clothes. Part of this is because she was born in the mid-90s so her adolescence wasn't so long ago. But part of it is that she dressed stylishly (or her interpretation of stylishly) for the day, and it was easily identifiable to her peers.

She asked the question: What fashion decisions from high school do you think are your worst? Well, I don't think I made ANY "fashion" decisions, per se, when I was... um, ever, actually. Since I always felt ridiculously large (false) as a youngster, I just wanted to look not huge and didn't try to replicate anyone's "looks," except maybe Bill Cosby's sweaters. And I hate that I still think "Cosby sweater" when I see one, because I LOVE THEM STILL. John Boyega wore one on the cover of People Magazine recently, and I think we should call them Boyega sweaters now. (I know, he's not incredibly tactful at times. Grace on that one. I get it.)

Anyhoo, maybe it's because my family didn't have a lot of money, so we were pretty utilitarian about clothes? Or maybe it was because, again, the plus size clothes movement just had not gotten started in earnest so I didn't have a lot of choices. You can definitely look at old pictures and say, "80s!" but that was because... that's what they sold in stores at that time. And I was definitely a "buy the first thing that fits" gal, ask my mom, rather than a "let's shop all day until I create the perfect outfit for me."

I will say that the one thing I think we ALL wonder about the late 80s and early 90s is: bangs. You didn't have to have money to have big bangs. White Rain cost $.94 a bottle, and so even when you went through ONE BOTTLE A WEEK, it wasn't super expensive. Why did we do this? Who can say.

But you know what hair trend I think we'll look back on later and wonder, "Why?" The partial bun top knot. I do it, and I think it's cute as heck.

This is (k)not nearly as smack-dab on top of the head as I sometimes wear it. This young lady to whom I refer on YouTube also does this, and often accents it with what looks like a quarter-size bandana. And I love it! But I also feel like it's weird, and in 20 years, our kids and maybe grandkids will look at the pictures and wonder, "Why did we do this?" and "Why did you do that?" What is it about having a tiny cinnamon roll on your noggin that seemed like a viable look to you?

Then again, if I have my way, the concept of fashion and looking "nice" or "hip" or "hot" or whatever will have been totally demolished by then, and everyone can wear whatever they want and not feel self-conscious nor will anyone judge anyone else's choices with what they do with their bodies, and all the wars will end, and everyone will just bake brownies to share with their neighbors. If that happens, just remember that we vision-casted it first right here.

Nowadays, even with my ability to choose clothes that are more plentiful and varied, I don't really feel like I have a "style." I just get things I think are cute and that I won't have to fuss with, and that's it.

On a related note, I've been going to a lot of open houses lately. I enjoy keeping up with what real estate in our neighborhood is doing, and any time a house goes up then on the market, if it's open, we go tour it. What seems to be the deal right now is sealed concrete flooring (not stained; just the normal grey concrete color), black or slate cabinets, and light fixtures that look like recycled bottles, even if they aren't. The upper floors are mostly dark wood or laminate, with wet areas having black and white or something in-between tile, either mosaic or subway.

Clearly, this kind of blank slate is the deal and lots of people demand it. I understand minimalism but also think the interiors feel kind of cold, even when they're staged with furniture. Maybe earth-toned neutrals are just as blah, but at least they feel warmer to me. And I'm sorry, but I love carpet. I know it's bad for my allergies and you just cannot keep it clean. I know the cats are bound and determined to destroy it. I LOVE cool area rugs, too... but it's cheaper to carpet a room than to buy one or two good-sized nice area rugs, and then you have to pull them up and vacuum under the edges or they're pretty gross, as well.

So once again, I have zero sense of any particular style, but I know what I like. Our house is packed with garbage, basically. Gloriously colorful garbage that we got handed down or bought second-hand. There is nary a headboard in the building. I'm a cheapskate and the only "furniture" in which I have invested has been the outdoor structures we have (playscape, storage shed, pigeon loft, and solar panels). I do like the aesthetics of our kitchen chairs, but they're intentionally mismatched and inexpensive, and when one breaks, I can replace it without much concern.

Oh, and I bought a fake plant at IKEA yesterday to fill a "wtf" niche beside our fireplace in the living room. It was twice the price of a real plant, but with the cats, our odds seemed better with this thing. I know enough to know that fake plants are widely panned by people who have taste, but... *shrug*.

I know what I like, and I can look at a professionally-designed interior and think, "That looks really nice," but I don't know the names or origins of styles, and I don't think I'd be able to (or want to?) recreate them on my own.

Maybe that's just a thing: not having a sense of style and kind of just being fine with whatever. Like some people can camp and just not be bothered by the elements. Or some people can eat anything, even if it's cold food that's supposed to be hot or really too-old snack cakes (looking at James). I recognize when people look put together, and think it'd probably be cool to look so nice, but also... I love Crocs (way pre-VSCO, so I think we should credit ME and my tenacious fandom with forcing them into pop culture). And I love buying 3 shirts for $25. Or mattresses for $300. So maybe being fashionable just isn't in my future.