When I think about fashion,
I didn't always, though.
Before I knew that fashion was a "thing", the idea that my clothes could "talk" was foreign to me.
But once realizing that what I wore was being regarded as a conscious decision on my part, everything changed.

Before I knew that fashion was a "thing", the idea that my clothes could "talk" was foreign to me.
But once realizing that what I wore was being regarded as a conscious decision on my part, everything changed.

I can vividly remember the one day after orchestra practice (violins whatwhattt), that one girl walked up to me and said casually near our violin-sized lockers,
"Oh Gabby - only you could pull that off".
A pair of sweatpants and a tighter-fitting white tee.
That's it.
I was literally dumbfounded - so absolutely confused about why anything that I had on would be considered unfathomable by another. Why would "only [I]" be able to pull that off?
What made this outfit any different than anyone else's?
What made this outfit any different than anyone else's?
That was the moment that I understood the ability of clothing to relay a level of confidence.
A level of intangible cool.

Not the kind of cool that came with having the exact same shirt as that one blonde skinny strangely high-pitched relatively popular girl,
but a different kind of inimitable cool.
A level of intangible cool.

Not the kind of cool that came with having the exact same shirt as that one blonde skinny strangely high-pitched relatively popular girl,
but a different kind of inimitable cool.
Maybe everyone thought that I was especially adventurous with my sartorial selections? Maybe I looked apathetically confident enough to be feared to all those who thought that "only [I] could pull that off".
Or maybe they just thought that I was very,
very,
poorly dressed.
Either way. They thought something.
And so at that moment - clothing stopped being what I used to dress myself,
and it started being what I used to represent myself.
Anyone else have a similar moment?
Cheers.
it's funny...when i was younger, and less outspoken, i was this super shy wallflower. but somehow, that didn't translate into the clothing choices i made. i remember knee high socks back in junior year and i won 'most unusual' in the superlatives for the yearbook that year. needless to say, i got more attention than a shy girl really wanted, but yes....long story longer...clothing totally speaks for you.
ReplyDeleteby the way. violin player, too. from the age of 6 until my sophomore year.
xo
n
i get that same phrase about 5 times a day from my friends...its weird to think that someone else wouldn't have put the same items together....but then again thats what sets you apart....and makes you awesome ;)
ReplyDeletebrooke @ tigers dont lose sleep
I never really had a moment like that but I love your story :). Loving this look too! You are stunning
ReplyDeleteThe Koalafornian x
My mother had that moment...age 70.
ReplyDeleteSomeone told her as she wore her Eileen Fisher sweater to the bridge club that they loved her 'quirky' style.
She was as nonplussed as you were...