Hollywood just told Wonder Woman’s origin story, and I want to share mine because I can’t relive my awkward youth enough! Here’s how I got the “style” I have today:
I’ve been strange since childhood (surprise!) My erotic sketches and vaguely antisocial disposition were apparently not the credentials needed for entry into exclusive playground clubs. I appreciated what made me different—or, at the very least, I didn’t question it; it was my identity—but it wasn’t rewarded by my peers. Consequently, and maybe defensively, I developed my style in high school to appeal to mainstream and eccentric appetites alike. I could stay true to myself while blending in with (or at least flying under the radar of) “normal” kids.
Maintaining this dichotomy was vital to my survival as a tender adolescent. The normal clothes I wore made the quirky additions to my outfits more palatable to “basic” populations, and contrastingly, the normal elements less unsavory to weirder ones. That’s what I told myself, anyway.
I’ve been strange since childhood (surprise!) My erotic sketches and vaguely antisocial disposition were apparently not the credentials needed for entry into exclusive playground clubs. I appreciated what made me different—or, at the very least, I didn’t question it; it was my identity—but it wasn’t rewarded by my peers. Consequently, and maybe defensively, I developed my style in high school to appeal to mainstream and eccentric appetites alike. I could stay true to myself while blending in with (or at least flying under the radar of) “normal” kids.
Maintaining this dichotomy was vital to my survival as a tender adolescent. The normal clothes I wore made the quirky additions to my outfits more palatable to “basic” populations, and contrastingly, the normal elements less unsavory to weirder ones. That’s what I told myself, anyway.
I’ve kept this interplay of Yin and Yang into adulthood because, if my clothes have a voice, they say this: if I introduce strange ideas in a familiar package, people will listen to what I have to say—and it kind of works.
They also say “Here's an outfit equally useful for dazzling onlookers from the dance floor as it is for stewing in angst.”
My look has unconsciously become my diplomatic platform. Or has my diplomatic platform become my look? Maybe, as style and personality do, the two grow inextricably together.
Although I’ve established that I can relate to most groups of people, I don’t know that I want to. It may be a valuable skill to possess but I, all too aware of my own mortality, want to spend my time on people who tread a similar path. I side firmly with the weirdos and I’d like to make sure my clothes reflect that. See you out there, freaks.
My look has unconsciously become my diplomatic platform. Or has my diplomatic platform become my look? Maybe, as style and personality do, the two grow inextricably together.
Although I’ve established that I can relate to most groups of people, I don’t know that I want to. It may be a valuable skill to possess but I, all too aware of my own mortality, want to spend my time on people who tread a similar path. I side firmly with the weirdos and I’d like to make sure my clothes reflect that. See you out there, freaks.