Growing up I always had one fear: that one day I would have to wear women’s clothing. I’d walk past department store racks and business casual specialty stores shielding my face from the view of matching sweater sets and pantsuit options with zero personality and little sex appeal (to say the least). Those were the times when I wanted to live in my strawberry red jumper and clear jelly shoes until I kicked the bucket.
Nearly twenty-one years of life has taught me that this is an incredibly irrational fear. I’ve learned to grow with my style. Getting older doesn’t mean getting boring—in any aspect of life. Fashion knows no limits so why should it ever know age?
This is my third time around with CollegeFashionista and I can already see how my style has grown through these past few months alone. What my style has not done, however, is become the dull and boring adult style I dreaded. Looking to style inspiration from “older” magazines like Vogue, NYLON and Marie Claire has taught me that with a pop of color and a touch of flair any outfit can be tweaked just enough to showcase your unique style.
My all time favorite outfit topper is a nice, sleek jacket. Layering is a full-proof method to shaking up less exciting basic pieces. Spice up a simple, black mock-neck dress with a patterned jacket and voilà! Your look is still tailored and sophisticated, but you added a bit of your own personality layer by layer.
Shoes also are a safe bet when it comes to jazzing up your outfit. As new styles come and go, shoes make it easy to be trendy but never tacky when playing up with the hippest styles. Right now I am OBSESSED with platform sandals. Strappy shoes in general are hot right now, but pumping things up a notch in these bad boys keeps my feet and my heart happy as I strut my confident, mature look in style.
Growing up is a part of life. With each and every year, you should always become more yourself, fun and experienced—note that I did not include boring). People who think dressing more mature means dressing with less flair are missing out big time. I would like to think that my personal style only gets better with age.
