Your Teenage Self had it Right (sort of)

When I was in high school, my sense of style was a little all over the place, especially in the beginning, but it was all very me. And that sounds a little ridiculous right? Usually, we look back on high school and think “Wow I looked insane! Why would I wear that/style my hair like that/ do my makeup like that?” And trust me, there are plenty of those moments for me to look at. But starting around my junior year, my sense of style really started to make an appearance. It was less focused on trends and being girly, and more focused on what I wanted to wear and felt good in, which happened to be a lot of more edgy/slightly alternative styles. I streaked my hair blue, I was wearing smokey eyes during the day, studs and rips were on everything, and my combat boots were worn with everything from a dress to jeans. 

Now I am by no means saying that these are all winners and gorgeous stylistic moments. I want to make that clear. But this was the general vibe of high school Madey. The photo farthest to the right with the maroon skit and sweater? That was a cute outfit! And the vibe, if you will, was exactly what I was usually going for: feminine and still a little girly, but with a slight edge, which is what I would love to get back to.

Even into early college when my hair was short and red, the same style ideals stayed the same. And I loved it. I felt like myself and felt like a badass most of the time. I relished that I had a different style than my friends and I felt good being a little different than the other people in my small town. At some point though, I realized I was a little girly, and I enjoyed the femininity of being a woman and wanted to embrace that side of my personality more. My love of ripped jeans, leather jackets, and combat boots stayed, but a lot more florals and color and less makeup joined the conversation as well. 

As a 27-year-old looking at my closet and trying to figure out what to wear for the 1 millionth time, I have realized just how much I miss the edgy/slightly alternative vibe I used to have. 

There have been moments of it of course. I haven’t lost it entirely. But for some reason, I leaned so hard into the girly/feminine of it all, that I let the other part of my style completely slip away from me. Part of this had to do with college and the stress I was constantly under. I was a leggings and hoody girl most days, with one of my many Doc Martens, and my makeup was minimal if at all. And there is nothing wrong with that if that’s how you feel, and that’s what you want! But I was looking through my closet and realized there were a lot of clothes in there that I felt like I had to get because I was the girly girl. I was not the tomboy or whatever anymore, and that reinforced a lot of my wardrobe and my look. But the older I have gotten, the more I have realized that both things can be true. Below I have some inspo photos of the style transformation I want to partake in moving forward this year, and getting back to myself.  

I still like the slightly more feminine and girly elements but I wanted a little extra edge and not your typical girly or alt outfits either. My clothes and style have felt far too boring lately and I want to shake things up and get back into some creative styles. I have always liked combining the more frilly with the more edgy, as well as just kind of elevating my everyday casual attire like the middle photo on the bottom row, or Taylor Swift. Still, very casual everyday outfits I could wear for several reasons, but just a little pop of something extra.

While we all had our moments in high school and college, if you weren’t following trends to a T, you likely were already exploring the style you wanted and felt right to you. Or if you were chasing trends, you can probably pinpoint the outfits that made you feel the most uncomfortable and the ones that you felt like yourself in. Both are very valuable for finding your style as an adult. So don’t be too hard on your teenage self, they knew what they were doing (at least when it comes to fashion).

Madey