Mad for Plaid

I’m sure most of you can remember back to the 90s (or maybe it was even in the 80s) when oversize plaid button downs were commonly paired with Dr. Martens and worn as the uniform of the everyday teenager. This era in fashion was known as “grunge”. Just as with virtually every trend, plaid is back hot and heavy this season, but in a whole new way. How, over the course of just 20 years, has this iconic checkered print gone from sloppy to neat and pulled-together? To be completely honest with you, for a long time I was actually a bit frightened of plaid. “It will make me look fat,” and “I hate seeming sloppy,” I reasoned with myself. However, as I began to see more and more of this particular trend popping up everywhere from Teen Vogue to American Eagle to kids at my school, I felt myself being strangely drawn to it. Once I stopped coming up with reasons NOT to like it, I decided to try on my first plaid piece. It was a button-down, nipped-waist, ruffled-neck shirt from American Eagle…and I instantly loved it! Over the years, plaid has made its way from the streets to fashion houses, and can now take on almost any identity, from preppy to even (gasp!) high-fashion. For me, this transformation symbolizes something greater; a “never say never” attitude when it comes to fashion. Just because there’s a look out there that you absolutely hate, don’t just look past it. In a few years it may have evolved into something that looks absolutely stunning on you. Who knows? Soon we all may be wearing harem pants to school.

A Colorful World

Remember the good old days back in preschool when your mom would dress you in the morning? You’d always have on a pretty dress, bow in your hair, Mary Janes, and, of course, tights. Then you grew up a little bit and got to about 5th grade. By that time, everyone wearing tights was just a baby. Jeans were the “cool” thing to wear, but if you absolutely had to wear a dress, you most definitely did not put tights with it. This is how I was, anyway, which was why I was surprised when I began to, well…like the new trend of tights. As a dancer, it’s definitely an understatement to say that I feel comfortable in tights. In fact, I feel quite at home in them. However, it was always a bit of a strange concept to me; wearing them without a leotard and ballet shoes. As it happens, my newfound love for tights in everyday life began when I attended my uncle’s funeral. I’ve been very lucky in my life, and this was only the third funeral I’d ever been to. However, that caused quite a quandary when choosing what to wear. After trying on outfit after outfit in my room for hours, I finally decided upon a black-and-white skirt, basic black tee, black kitten heel pumps, and black Capezio tights. I actually thought I looked quite chic. Keeping my legs covered was new to me, though, and I swore I’d stick to black. None of those crazy colors for me. I truly believed this would work…that is, until I came upon a pair of argyle (yes, argyle) tights in a recent issue of Lucky magazine. Somehow, they managed to be chic and playful at the same time. I am now on a search to find the best argyle, lace, colored, and any other kind of tights I can. Needless to say, I don’t think this is only a love affair. It seems to be for life.

Blogging Experiment

Ok, so...hello, everybody! This is my first time blogging so just bear with me. As an aspiring fashion journalist I thought it would be a fun and productive activity to blog about my favorite thing in the world: fashion! As I have quite a busy scheduele, this will not be an everyday thing. However, I will try to get on at least once a week to update this and inform you of new trends, fashion events, and things that inspire me. My goal is simply to install in you the same passion for style that I have. And, since this blog is all about fashion, I thought it might be helpful to let you know some of my style prefrences.
-Favorite brands=Juicy Couture, Bestey Johnson, Lucky Brand Jeans
-Favorite stores for cheap, everyday style=American Eagle, Forever 21, H&M, Charlotte Russe
-Favorite department stores=Macy's, Target (hey, who doesn't love a good bargain?), Barney's
If anybody has anything they would like to see me write about, just comment! ;)