I have a confession to make. I’ve got a thing for sequins. A thing for rhinestones. Quirky quotes. Glitter. If it sparkles, I love it. There has to be at least three dresses, two sweaters, a vest, a skirt, a shirt, and a pair of shorts covered in sequins. And that’s without actually going to check. This past week, I wore the most adorable bronze sequin shorts from Authentic Icon to class.

But that was an exception. More often than not, when I buy something crazy, something sparkly, it languishes behind chambray button-downs and sensible skirts.
I was running for the bus (in cute little heeled booties) to get to Manhattan last week for the Design Fair, wearing a Chanel-esque black sweater (with chunky appliqued flowers around the collar and matte-finish sequins woven in with the yarn) and a rust-colored faux-suede pencil skirt, and I got at least three strange looks. The bus is less than half a block away from my house. It feels like there’s an unspoken dress code of what’s “cool” where I live. The uniform is basically a pair of Uggs, either (tucked in) sweatpants or skinny jeans, and a brand-name T-shirt with the logo across the chest. I’ve honestly never owned a pair of Uggs, or worn sweatpants and a brand T-shirt like that to go somewhere. To me, it’s almost an insult to the nice stuff I have.
I’ve been told that it’s “weird” to dress up all the time, that there’s “no reason” to wear out my nice things in everyday use, to “save it for something special”. The way I see it, every day is special. Not in that cheesy, “you should be happy because you’re alive” kind of way… but in a way that’s closer to “you woke up this morning, you have these beautiful things, you should use them”. Maybe going to a school with a uniform contributed to this, maybe it’s me buying clothes either secondhand or on sale with money I worked hard for, maybe it’s just because I’d rather stand out for what I wear than look like everyone else. But even though I stepped out of my house feeling fabulous, happy to be finally wearing my sequin shorts, by the time I got to FIT I was pretty self-conscious. I’d never worn them before. Thankfully, my friend Nicole told me they were cute and that made me feel a little better, I still wasn’t fully comfortable. But I made it through the day. And next week, I think I’m breaking out a sequined dress.
“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”
― Coco Chanel

What’s the most outlandish thing you’ve worn? How did you feel in it?

Emily