boring to badass

Most people who care about fashion even in the slightest talk about it as an art form; a way to express themselves. In fact, when it comes to discussion of school uniforms, this is usually the first argument a student turns to. "How am I supposed to be original/creative/myself if I look like everybody else?" A fair argument, in theory. The fact of the matter is, though, that many people end up looking exactly the same despite their desperate need to be an "individual".

Big trends make this easy. If you walk by a store in the mall and see a totally banging dress, you're not going to overlook it just because the girl down the street has one. At least, I certainly hope you won't. The trick is not to shop in magical places that nobody else knows about, but to use a trend in an original way.

To test this theory, I enlisted the help of my babelicious sister and my trusty SteadyShot digital camera. I took various clothes from my own closet to prove that something widely considered trendy can be worn in an original and interesting way. This is my challenge every morning when I go to war with my closet and I find it difficult to believe that I am the only one.

We'll start with the most basic outfit created in mankind; jean shorts and a basic tee.

As you can see, Erin is wearing probably the most basic tee in the most boring color EVER (beige, or fluorescent beige, a la Joanne from "Precious") along with some semi-cute denim shorts.

In this photo, we took the same shorts from the first picture and actually used them correctly. This happens a lot; people buy things, such as Katy inspired high wasted shorts, and end up using them in a boring way because they don't know exactly how to utilize them. Here, we chose a fairly simple route; brightly colored tank for summer and a hippy inspired crochet vest with a feathered headband to add some real pazzazz to the ensemble. In my personal opinion, fashion is always about risk taking.

In this next photo, we included one of my absolute favorite new trends; the ballerina skirt. I love it for the whimsical factor. Every single time i wear this piece, I feel straight from Alice and Wonderland or one of the many outlandish books I adored growing up.

Clearly, such storybooks were my inspiration for the updated version of the first ensemble. If you are attracted to a piece because of how whimsical it is, why would you not play that up as much as possible? The print in this top is pretty abstract; a good complement to the slightly daring but also solid colored ballerina skirt. Since I'm not personally into rocking the super girly look, I added some kickass black boots and a woven leather belt. The top hat may not be for everyone, but the ridiculousness factor of the whole thing was way too impossible for a die-hard like myself to resist.

Checkered shirts are one of my most beloved things. They are loose, comfortable, and extremely easy to wear. I confess to wearing them just as dully as the photo above on a semi-regular basis, but the important thing is for one to recognize that it is not the only way to wear them.

This outfit screams summer to me. The jean dress, another one of my favorite new things, paired with the light cotton just whispers "easygoing and chill". The same woven leather belt gives the outfit some true definition and shape; something that every girl definitely wants in her wardrobe. As for the absolutely huge flower headband, one must admit that it does add serious individuality to the look, something every fashionista ought to be striving for.

Indian print is flattering in many forms, but this skirt is one of my particular favorites. It's color scheme is just gorgeous and can make just about anyone's tan feel right at home. Paired with this beige shirt though, it's nothing spectacular and nothing to look twice at. And tell me, what good is fashion nobody wants to gape at?

No good at all, I say. This version of the same skirt certainly has the interesting factor. The clashing of prints is something that I am generally apprehensive about. Although I do love the idea, sometimes it just looks so completely tacky that I cannot even pretend to find it beautifully different. The trick that seems to work for me is to keep the patterns similar in both size and color. Here, we have two smaller sized prints with a fair amount of blue and black in both of them. The corresponding dark blue of the blazer ties it all together quite nicely in my opinion; rather than looking entirely outrageous, it comes off as deliciously different. The feather is more of a personal obsession; as you may have noticed, I have quite a fetish for hair accessories.

And so, there you have it, in just four short looks. How to turn something everyone has into something everyone will covet; but no worries, you'll be the only one who has acquired the exact ensemble.

Fair enough, that was ridiculously cheesy. But I'm sure you got the point despite how hard you may have been laughing.

xo,

Elise