Does your fashion express your personality?
Every day, when you walk through the halls of Minnehaha Academy, the students are dressed in unique outfits that express who they are as people. Ranging from luxurious casual clothing to business-esque formal wear, with each outfit comes a unique expression.
Self-expression can mean something different to everyone and typically is visually shown through clothing, makeup, accessories, or whatever else you want it to be.
When asked about the topic of how self-expression is unique to her, Annelise Pratt, first year says,”I style [myself] more than I style for others,” Olivia Simmons, second year says “I really love arts, such as writing and painting, so I think that my style is just another way to express myself when I’m not doing those arts.”
Most common styles of aesthetic expression are coquette and cottagecore, which have a softer mood to their appearance. Whereas the grunge and goth aesthetics have a more edgy appeal to them. There are even internet-born aesthetics which means that they originate from online platforms. Examples of this style is Y2K and cyberpunk.
Simmons describes her aesthetic as “Folky and Flowy, and other times it’s very city-girl-esque,”
Most people’s stylistic choices are found through social media, such as Pinterest or TikTok. Sometimes they can just be randomly stumbled upon. You can even have people or things that give you inspiration on aesthetic choices. Pratt’s influence was her sister.
“My sister was a big influence on me, she has a very large wardrobe,“ Pratt said. She would even steal her clothes from said wardrobe to “experiment with them to see what goes with what.”
Sometimes by embracing a style, you can make it part of your personality. Whether that’s by using style to exemplify who you are, or your style just becomes part of who you are by association.
With this, can come societal pressures that you want to meet. Many people with distinct styles have adapted it to their character and don’t know how to get rid of that aspect of their lives.
This can result in having anxiety about changing aesthetics if that is something that you’d want to do.
Simmons faces pressures “Sometimes, because I feel a little off without [my accessories].”
Stylistic choices can also be used to show off your mood. “I think that my personality shows through some of my outfits.” Pratt said. “ Like if I’m happy I’ll wear really bright colors, whereas if I’m sad I’ll wear sweatpants and a hoodie.”
So with all of that information in mind, when you pick out an outfit in the morning ask yourself if it expresses who you are as a person. And when you look around at Minnehaha Academy students walking the hallways, make sure to acknowledge their stylistic choices, because most of the time it can say a lot about who they want to express themselves as and how they want to embrace it.