In a sea of sameness, have the nerve to be judged for person you are, not who you think you should be.
You treat your style like it belongs to a character; someone that only lives in your imagination.
You fill your closet with items you don’t wear, and wonder who stares back at you through the mirror.
Understand: Buying something is not the plunge, wearing it is.
The water doesnt get any warmer the longer you wait.
Be misunderstood
Stop over-explaining, stop over-curating. No logo, core or trend is more ‘you’ than you. This idea that we can only define ourselves through constant consumption, constant checking, following, purchasing, is meaningless. You are not an item. You’re outsourcing your identity for mass appeal.
Don’t round out the edges of your personality to be more palatable for others. If they cut their tongue on your plate of offerings, let them bleed. You have no gods! You have no masters! Sit comfortably in the waters of yourself, imagine new and different ways to appear, to behave, to become. The endless opportunities every single day that your free will allows.
Be ugly
CRAVE SOMETHING MORE THAN THE BEAUTY OTHERS SEEK. Being ugly is the greatest gift you can give yourself. Purposely try to look ugly. THIS is when your style is really going to start expanding because youre going to see something that no one else has. Try something new. Mix things together youre convinced would never go. Wear something you swear would only look good on someone else. Mess it up, tear it down, try again.
Bury the idea that other people should like how you look deep into the frozen ground, hold a funeral for all of the times youve been so cruel to yourself you depended on the validation from others. Other people are nothing. You, my magnificent friend, are everything.
trip and fall
Fail, fail often. Trip while youre sprinting ,and fall so hard your palms bleed. Stare directly in the sun and let the spotted vision blind you to the obstacles in your path. Lick your wounds with neosporin, smack on your dressings with pride.
Abandon the foolish notion that perfection is desirable, and end your ruminations about others. Try something new, something different, not for the sake of pride or glory but for the understanding that each time you fail, your brain rewards you with elasticity. Become proud of your own evolution, bear witness to the magnificent creations you summon into reality.
Long live the individual, with choices strange and chic! Long live the beauty in imperfection, the utmost glory of expressing our human soul!
You are not a misfit toy. You are haute couture, one of a kind. And there is no higher purpose than to bring your imagination to life.
With great personal aesthetic,
Alexandra Diana, The A List
Brilliant take on the "buying vs wearing" gap. I had this exact problem with a jacket I kept in the closet for like 8 months cause I was worried about looking pretentious. The "purposely try to look ugly" part actually flips the whole validation-seeking thing on its head, if nobodys approval matters then the only person left to please is yourself.