Fashion, will forever be my first love. The affair began in the early 2000’s as I sat in my bedroom watching Mary-Kate and Ashley movies over and over again. They were always gushing over the latest fashion, and showing off their unique personal styles. Mary-Kate: tom-boy and edgy. Ashley: girly and soft. The chunky shoes, hair berets, and baby tee’s dazzled me from the beginning. I’d watch memorized by what everyone was wearing, rather than the story line itself. To witness the perfect outfit set my heart a blaze. Like whiskey to an alcoholic was like fashion to my young soul. For every birthday when asked what I wanted I’d just reply “FASHION!” with stars glittering in my eyes. On my 4th birthday I opened up a box with a glorious corduroy jacket that was vertically stripped with a sort of Scooby Doo like, color scheme. Slime green, turquoises, and violet. The cuffs were lined with white fur, and they came with matching pants. Oh, the thrill. I’d wear it everywhere. When complimented on my new threads I’d strike a proud pose, and simply say “It’s fashion.”

Today’s popular fashion trends send me into a bit on a depression sometimes. Everybody dresses like they want to look the same. Personal style dwindling before my eyes as I walk into bars, and I can’t tell anybody apart. Are you afraid to stand out in a crowd full of sheep? Afraid of the fox maybe? Self-judgement can eat away at you, if you let it. I guess the internet sets the stage for what’s in style, and people who get paid to post picture of their brand deals. Monochromatic nudes, everywhere I look. The mantra seems to be, if you go with something neutral then you can still look good without standing out too much. But, in my eyes your personal style should be a statement. It’s a form of self expression. Tell me who you are by the way you put yourself together everyday. Or maybe it’s the person you want to be. Don’t fall into the deep gray pit of the overly produced, and over-branded. The airbrushed, and the squeaky clean. I’m sick of our perfectionist culture and everyone trying to look like Instagram models. Individualism is power, baby.

I think the reason why I’m enthralled with the early’s 2000’s fashion scene is because authentic personal style in pop culture, was still alive. Y2K – a brand new start. Grasping onto the new century and destroying the old ways. It granted the freedom to be something different. The rules didn’t exist yet. You look back at some old pictures from this era and laugh at yourself. What the hell was I thinking wearing a skirt over jeans? All those baby tee’s with giant hot pink sparkly letter’s that spelled out “DRAMA QUEEN”. JUICY Sweatsuits. Tinted sunglasses decked out in rhinestones. Layers on layers on layers. The fashion atrocities that arose in the 2000’s are a grand symbol of people just trying to figure it out. It was raw style. Maybe at times it did look as though you took all the colors of paint, and mixed them all together making it a terrible poop color that nobody likes. We were all just guessing what looked good, and that in itself shows off a powerful statement. This is me, and this is what I want to wear. Celebrities would show up to red carpets in their street clothes! Spaghetti strap tank tops, low rise jeans, and sneakers. They wore whatever they wanted, showed up messy, and it was fucking awesome.

A quote from Paris Hilton, the true 2000’s fashion legend, caught my eye the other day. “Be like a diamond, precious and rare. Not a stone found everywhere.” So, you put on something that’s speaking to you in the moment. An accessory, or clothing item. If you think to yourself, maybe I should change I don’t know how it looks on me, that’s your sign to walk out the door right now. Don’t question it anymore, you look fabulous darling.