On Wednesday, I tweeted a silly "dilemma" about nail polish.
I do stuff like this all the time.
I have a huge collection of earrings, most of which are wacky. I have a zillion pairs of sunglasses that are metallic and/or multicolored and/or tacky. My "usual" is probably technically a "statement piece" or some sort of other fashion terminology I'm vaguely familiar with.
For my new apartment in Colorado, I bought a green couch. It is awesome. My dad thinks it's a little much but he doesn't live here so it doesn't really matter if he likes it. I like it.
I have a brightly polka-dotted duvet cover and purple bedsheets. Hanging over my bed is some neon green plastic wall art that my mom bought me at the Container Store because she knew I'd want it. At first I didn't really understand the purpose of it, but we hung it on the wall and it looks awesome and neon.
I bought a metallic gold backpack the other day for absolutely no reason. I ended up taking it on the summer trip and it has become a staple in my life. I use it to carry my laptop to and from the office. Duh.
I have zebra-print seat covers in my car that Fletcher's mom bought me ages ago -- they are awesome. My car is covered in bumper stickers expressing a wide array of my loud opinions. If I had a trademark, the bumper stickers would probably be it.
I was shopping yesterday and there was this whole rack of brightly colored jeans, some with floral or animal patterns, others just jewel toned awesomeness. [I didn't buy any because they were full price and I just wait for the clearance rack at Target on things like that; you get so much more bang for your buck if you can wait a week or two.] But there were two women roughly my age (maybe a little younger) who were also admiring these jeans. One said to the other, "Ugh, I wish I could pull off wearing pants like this. So. Cute." And the other was like, "I know, that would be so fun. Look at these purple ones!"
I don't understand this phenomenon. I hear it all the time.
Umm, you can wear whatever you want. Isn't that the point? The purple pants exist for the sole purpose of you wearing them. If you like them, and they fit on your body, and you can afford them, those are the ONLY criteria for clothing purchases. There's no panel that determines if you're cool enough to wear something. YOU ARE THAT PANEL.
Not everyone has to wear wacky things. That's my personality and so I do it because I want to. Sometimes, I wear neutral colors and plain jeans and flip flops -- that's allowed, also. But I have never been in a clothing store, seen something I'd like to wear, and thought I wasn't capable. [Whether or not it is manufactured in my size is a whole separate blog post.]
If you show up to work/class/church/brunch in bright purple pants and you are smiling because you love them, people are going to say, "You look great!" not "Whoa, those pants are a little too interesting for you to be wearing them!"
I mean, if your friends tell you that you shouldn't be wearing what you're wearing, umm, why are they doing that and why are they your friends? However, if you show up in something inappropriate for the occasion (like, if you show up in your new purple jeans to a formal event) I'm going to side with your friends. But in all other circumstances, YOU are the one who decides what you can and can't "pull off."
That term is even lame, because to pull off something means that you got away with it, like that it shouldn't have happened but you made it work. I don't think that's what's happening when you wear your new favorite purple pants. You are you. What you wear is simply a reflection of how you want to interact with the world. It's under your control.
As a wise man once said, "Be who you is, not who you ain't. When you is you who you ain't, you ain't who you is."
The age-old dilemma: professional, neutral nail polish for first Sunday of internship? Or neon so they know who they're getting? :)My brother and another friend both responded with "duh, neon!" because they know me very well. And, characteristically, I went with neon green. A bunch of ladies at church commented on my neon green fingernails the next day, which is awesome. Being yourself is always the right choice.
— Casey Kloehn (@casey_sunshine) August 15, 2012
I do stuff like this all the time.
I have a huge collection of earrings, most of which are wacky. I have a zillion pairs of sunglasses that are metallic and/or multicolored and/or tacky. My "usual" is probably technically a "statement piece" or some sort of other fashion terminology I'm vaguely familiar with.
For my new apartment in Colorado, I bought a green couch. It is awesome. My dad thinks it's a little much but he doesn't live here so it doesn't really matter if he likes it. I like it.
I have a brightly polka-dotted duvet cover and purple bedsheets. Hanging over my bed is some neon green plastic wall art that my mom bought me at the Container Store because she knew I'd want it. At first I didn't really understand the purpose of it, but we hung it on the wall and it looks awesome and neon.
I bought a metallic gold backpack the other day for absolutely no reason. I ended up taking it on the summer trip and it has become a staple in my life. I use it to carry my laptop to and from the office. Duh.
I have zebra-print seat covers in my car that Fletcher's mom bought me ages ago -- they are awesome. My car is covered in bumper stickers expressing a wide array of my loud opinions. If I had a trademark, the bumper stickers would probably be it.
I was shopping yesterday and there was this whole rack of brightly colored jeans, some with floral or animal patterns, others just jewel toned awesomeness. [I didn't buy any because they were full price and I just wait for the clearance rack at Target on things like that; you get so much more bang for your buck if you can wait a week or two.] But there were two women roughly my age (maybe a little younger) who were also admiring these jeans. One said to the other, "Ugh, I wish I could pull off wearing pants like this. So. Cute." And the other was like, "I know, that would be so fun. Look at these purple ones!"
I don't understand this phenomenon. I hear it all the time.
Umm, you can wear whatever you want. Isn't that the point? The purple pants exist for the sole purpose of you wearing them. If you like them, and they fit on your body, and you can afford them, those are the ONLY criteria for clothing purchases. There's no panel that determines if you're cool enough to wear something. YOU ARE THAT PANEL.
Not everyone has to wear wacky things. That's my personality and so I do it because I want to. Sometimes, I wear neutral colors and plain jeans and flip flops -- that's allowed, also. But I have never been in a clothing store, seen something I'd like to wear, and thought I wasn't capable. [Whether or not it is manufactured in my size is a whole separate blog post.]
If you show up to work/class/church/brunch in bright purple pants and you are smiling because you love them, people are going to say, "You look great!" not "Whoa, those pants are a little too interesting for you to be wearing them!"
I mean, if your friends tell you that you shouldn't be wearing what you're wearing, umm, why are they doing that and why are they your friends? However, if you show up in something inappropriate for the occasion (like, if you show up in your new purple jeans to a formal event) I'm going to side with your friends. But in all other circumstances, YOU are the one who decides what you can and can't "pull off."
That term is even lame, because to pull off something means that you got away with it, like that it shouldn't have happened but you made it work. I don't think that's what's happening when you wear your new favorite purple pants. You are you. What you wear is simply a reflection of how you want to interact with the world. It's under your control.
As a wise man once said, "Be who you is, not who you ain't. When you is you who you ain't, you ain't who you is."