The Evolution of My Style: a Hilarious Retrospective

Everyone's style changes over time - it's part of growing up. That doesn't make looking back any less funny, though! Any of my family members could tell you that as a child, "dress" was not in my vocabulary. I was all basketball shorts and Life is Good t-shirts, and almost everything I owned had puppies or neon peace signs on it. And as I got older, it didn't get much better - like many of you, I went through the standard "emo" phase and straight into "scenester" territory. All of this is terribly embarrassing, but entirely hilarious. I decided to surf through my old photos and give you guys all a good laugh as I examined how my style evolved into what it is today.

Too Cool for Elementary School

(Super flattering pictures courtesy of my dad's Facebook. Unsuspecting family members have been cropped out to spare dignity)

Hobbies: Pretending to be Harry Potter characters, reading Meg Cabot, obsessively playing Neopets
My style: "Literally just rolled out of bed" chic
Signature pieces: Tye-dye Hawaiian Spongebob shirt, flare jeans from Limited Too with the American flag screenprinted on them
Favorite accessories: Animal jewelry (not much changes in a decade, apparently), jelly bracelets, scrunchies with peace signs on them
Preferred hairstyle: Ridiculously severe ponytail

Preteen Angst

(This one picture kind of says it all)

Hobbies: Going to concerts, scrolling through the Fall Out Boy message boards, dramatically Livejournal-ing about my feelings
My style: Some combination of "lazy suburbanite" meets "misunderstood emo"
Signature pieces: Hot Topic Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends hoodie, 50 shades of black men's band t-shirts, beat-up Converse with the toes signed by a now-irrelevant metal band
Favorite accessories: The paper bracelets they give you at concerts (see above), skull necklaces
Preferred hairstyle: The classic "brush-and-go"

Aspiring Scene Queen

Hobbies: Pretending to know more about bands than you, taking Myspace selfies, not going outside, denying the fact I needed glasses
My style: "Human Highlighter"
Signature pieces: White bandana, Vans slip-ons in a rainbow of colors and patterns, ill-fitting skinny jeans
Favorite accessories: Plastic necklaces with diamonds on them, black eyeliner expertly matched with dark brown eyeshadow
Preferred hairstyle: Stubby pigtails and greasy bangs

The In-Betweener

Hobbies: "Photography," complaining about my minimum wage job, stressing about college from freshman year of high school onward
My style: "Half-Hearted Preppy" meets "Leftover Relics From the Scene Era"
Signature pieces: Like, 3 whole shirts from Urban Outfitters, assorted Hollister sweatshirts, Nike Dunks, skinny jeans
Favorite accessories: Weird half-smile half-scowl (pictured), ridiculously oversized purses
Preferred hairstyle: Straightened in the front, couldn't be bothered to fix the back, paired with super trendy overgrown bangs

50's American Girl Doll

I think my style evolved into something resembling what it is today right around the summer after high school, when I dyed my hair red. My mother likes to call it "I Love Lucy," but I once described it to a friend as "50's American Girl Doll" with touches of "Librarian Chic"   and I'm sticking to it. It's a little bit girly, a little bit loud, and a little bit classic. There are a lot of polka dots, gauzy tops, and floral prints to be found in my wardrobe. I have a whole drawer full of tights and my dorm closet is actually overflowing with fit-and-flare dresses. 10 year old me might be a bit horrified, but I think it suits me just fine.

I hope you enjoyed this incredibly embarrassing portal to the past - it was a lot of fun for me to put together. I'd love to see some of your style relics!