My style journey

As a young impressionable teenager, I always felt pressured, via social media, to already have a good sense of style as soon as I expressed an interest in fashion, and I would frequently scroll Instagram and Pinterest feeling utterly lost as I tried to navigate how these influencers styled their outfits and most importantly, where they got their clothes from. 

Looking back, I have come to realize that at the tender age of 16, I simply didn't have the knowledge, much less the funds, to create these amazing outfits I was tortured with through my phone screen. I hadn't even realized that all of these incredible, unique pieces existed beyond ASOS and Topman (not that there's anything wrong with either). However, as the months and years passed, I eventually started to get a sense of what kind of clothes I really liked to wear and this only heightened as became more experimental.

So for today's blog post, I'll be taking you through my personal style evolution and showing you that when it comes to fashion, everybody has their questionable phases. 

Here we see 18-year-old me sporting Topman jeans, an Urban Outfitters oversized hoodie, Zara trainers, and an ancient-looking fanny pack. This is around the time I had discovered the joys of oversized clothing and was only just beginning to understand what colors suited me.

At this point in my life, I was also slightly scared of wearing crazy colours and patterns since, like many other people my age, I was terrified of what people would think and say, but fortunately this wouldn't last much longer as I would soon be freed from the restrictions of formal education and secondary school gossip.

Fast forward just under a year, to when I was just under a month shy of 19 and I was several weeks into my first year of uni. I had recently bought my first pair of Buffalo London platform sneakers and I was only just starting to go all out with my outfits (or "fits" for the cool people). Part of my motivation was largely due to my amazing friend Bee as pictured on my left. As people of a slightly more niche style, we naturally bounced off each other and continued to develop our individual senses of style. Looking back, I have Bee to thank for finding the confidence to really embrace my personal style.

Since then, I have continued to explore fashion and even now my style is still evolving and changing, it seems every day I'm wanting to completely change my aesthetic which financially, isn't always possible.

 

Flowerboy

In today's post, I wanted to share a project I'm really proud of. This photoshoot was one of the final pieces. of work I did for my first year of uni in my Design and Visual Communications module. Working in magazines and photoshoots is something I've taken an interest in since I started taking outfit shots for my Instagram and now that I've had a go at creating a concept and photoshoot, it's definitely an area I could imagine myself working in.

 

In this photoshoot, I really wanted to show my personality and to show that femininity in boys is nothing to be ashamed of. I've naturally been more feminine for as long as I can remember and I wasn't always proud of it, but in recent years I've really embraced it, (mostly because I had no other choice) which has been hugely liberating. I like to think that this photoshoot is a visual demonstration of that and looking at the results,  it actually makes me glad that I'm not the average masculine man because my life has become so much more fun! In many ways, I feel bad for some guys my age because they are often pressured into acting, speaking, and generally behaving in a certain way that isn't reflective of who they really are. I want this photoshoot to be one of many steps taken to normalize femininity in men and thankfully it isn't the only one!

On social media we see a lot more boys wearing makeup and pushing the boundaries of menswear and womenswear. For example, we see celebrities such as Ezra Miller and Harry Styles wearing stereotypically feminine clothes and have been a huge impact on the world of men's fashion and limitations it previously had.

WELCOME!

First of all, I'd like to give a massive welcome to whoever has clicked on this blog, and thank you for showing an interest!

I'm a 21-year-old fashion student from Kent and I decided to start this blog during the Covid-19 pandemic; partly because I had nothing else to do and because I wanted to share my love for fashion with the world!

Fashion has always been an interest for me, but only in recent years has it become a huge part of who I am and how I express myself. What I put on my back really helped me become more confident and was a huge factor in becoming comfortable with being a part of the LGBT+ community.

The purpose of this blog is for me to showcase everything I love about fashion and to hopefully find some kindred spirits who love fashion as much as I do!

Hope you enjoy,

Hugo

xxx