FEATURE | STYLE
Written by Matt Bullock (they/them) | @mbb_247 | Contributing Writer
Clothes, if you really think about it, are kind of a funny thing. At the end of the day, they are just a couple of pieces of material stitched together that we put on our bodies to keep warm.
But they are a lot more than that. Clothes are a form of self-expression. They say a lot about us from our culture to hobbies and interests. Take traditional clothing such as kimonos in Japan to kilts in Scotland, but even something as simple as a band tee or a sports jersey can tell you about a person.
I am someone who defaulted to wearing band-tees and sports jerseys but have found my style moving away from those as I expanded my wardrobe. Don’t get me wrong I’ll still rock one, I just have more options now.
A big issue with changing styles is it can hit the wallet a bit hard, especially for students who don’t have a lot of money to begin with. My solution is to develop a capsule wardrobe, essentially a small selection of clothes that you can mix and match, giving you many options for a minimal cost.
1st C: Colour
A pop of colour is an easy way to dress up an outfit and can be as simple as wearing a bright-coloured tee. I especially like adding a pop of colour to my everyday outfits to make it look more interesting. I tend to wear brighter colours in the summer while saving darker colours for winter. However, there is no real hard and fast rule for this.
2nd C: Collar
I think some people see buttoning up a shirt as a chore, but it doesn’t have to be. Adding a collared shirt rather than a tee elevates your look from being purely casual to more formal. You can also lean towards something more casual by leaving the shirt unbuttoned and wearing a tee underneath. Personally, this is my go-to outfit when I want to dress up but still have a casual look.
3rd C: Co-Ord
Accessorizing is an easy way to dress up an outfit. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t really do this one anymore, due to the fact my watch’s batteries died but unlike my watch, this tip still works. Adding accessories to your outfit is a nice way to pull it all together. Accessories don’t even need to be anything too out there, a watch, necklace, rings or a belt will do the trick.
4th C: Confidence
My last tip is honestly the most important one. It’s the thing you should always try to bring with every outfit and that’s confidence. Now I know “Just be confident” is perhaps the worst advice because it is very much a case of “easier said than done” but if you have enough confidence, you can really pull off anything.
Confidence is something that I have personally struggled with. It’s difficult to wear something risky out in public if you're scared of what people might think. As I’ve started wanting to express my gender identity through my fashion the thing that has always held me back is worrying about what strangers might say or do while I’m in public. So, I get it, but there are steps that we can take to make it less scary. The best way I think is to have a support group around you if you are going out and are worried about other people’s reactions. There’s a reason why the cliche “safety in numbers” exists.
At the end of the day, clothes are just pieces of cloth so wear what you want and have fun. Life is too short to worry about some snide-ass looking down their nose at you because you’ve broken some fashion rule.
P.S. Yes, I am aware of the irony of writing an entire piece about style tips only to say it doesn’t even matter, but hopefully, you found this somewhat entertaining.
