When I first started to really develop
a sense of style, I had a tendency to ransack thrift stores for
anything that looked remotely like what I wanted, regardless of fit
or color. This worked out better than one might think it would, but
after a few years I started to put more effort into building a
practical wardrobe where I only wore exactly what I like, had
something to wear for every occasion, and where everything matched
everything else (or at least could go into multiple outfits.)
I'm almost there now. My lust for more
clothes is beginning to settle down and turn itself into creative
motivation, and my laundry pile is pretty much a huge pile of black
with a few white and jewel-tone garments. Which works--I like black.
I don't struggle much to put together decent outfits--if I wanted, I
could fairly easily toss together an okay outfit at the last second
every morning (except that would take too much precious time that
could be better spent sleeping or scrolling through Tumblr, so I
don't o__o). This is nice.
Now that color isn't an obstacle and
everything fits decently, it becomes more obvious that some of my
garments simply don't work together because of style. On the one
hand, I like rippy ragged things with holes and fishnet. Sometimes
goth- and punk-influenced, sometimes just ragged looking. Decay is
pretty. Cotton is comfortable. Put enough ragged edges together and
it starts to look like some sort of gutter finery, or armor,
depending on one's taste. It suits me.
But my black cords and pyramid stud
belt simply don't go with my blouses. Or the oxford shirt. Which
brings me to the other side--clean, elegant perfection (or as close
as I can damn well get) with a pretty massive lolita streak. The
decadence and childishness from that look adds up to an eccentric
feel that I find quite pleasing when it doesn't look contrived or
overly feminine ("is there any other kind of lolita?"
you scoff--I mean the difference
between black a-line skirts with ruffles and lacy pink cupcake-shaped
jumperskirts, of course.) The childishness also allows me a way to
play with looks that are considered especially feminine or masculine
while still feeling androgynous--ouji doesn't exactly look anywhere
near manly even if it is "boystyle", and if your shoulders
aren't exceptionally wide you can hide all kinds of features under
typical lolita silhouettes. Sure, it'll probably still get
read as female by others, but it doesn't *feel* overly feminine to
me.
There is of course some middle ground.
For example, the short pants I use for ouji outfits also look good
with mesh shirts. And I have a wonderful black turtleneck that goes
with pretty much everything. What usually results from this middle
ground is monochromatic preppy-casual sort of outfits, with the
occasional outfit bordering on punk lolita.
Actually it all blends together fairly
well. Just enough variety so I don't get bored. If I was more of a
minimalist when it came to my wardrobe maybe they'd all go together.
Wool trousers, black cords, black leather belt, black docs (of a
laceless variety that I actually haven't managed to acquire yet),
sweater vest, white oxford, tie, blazer, coat, beret, and a mess of
various long- and short-sleeved black knit shirts.
... I'd get bored of looking like a
classy ninja no matter how easy dressing became. Guess everything
doesn't have to match everything else XD.
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