I am so pleased to present our Summer intern, Makeda Roney’s first column post. I was very excited to hear her perspective as a teenager and as a dancer. I did not give her a topic instead encouraged her to write about what she felt, what was on her mind, what excited, worried or irritated her. So her she is asking a question that women and men alike ask themselves at the turning of every season, “How do I wear that?” Without further ado I give you Ms. Makeda Roney!

Fashion and style is one of my secret obsessions (I guess it’s not a secret anymore). I love looking for or buying clothes and shoes online. I also like looking at fashion magazines and fashion TV shows like “What not to wear” on TLC because I like to see what the media has to say about the Latest Fashion trends. The other day I was surfing Teen Vogue’s website and came upon their “Ultimate summer style” column. They had nice ideas and really cute summer clothing that I would love to buy, like different patterned denim shorts, summer dresses, bikini’s and sunglasses,

but as I continued to look it got my “thinking box” (aka my brain) going. “What if people have a totally different style? Do they have “ultimate summer style” too? Or is there only one way to look “good?” These fashion magazines show us what they consider is the way to dress, which can be helpful, but what about those of us out there who have different tastes? Or what if what they suggest doesn’t look good on us?

The “Ultimate Summer Style” section on Teen Vogue’s website, also made me think about how many different body types there are, yet fashion feature styles that onlylook good on one type of body; skinny and no curves. What about the rest of us? What about those out there that have all the lovely curves? Why can’t they tell me what latest fashion would look good on me and make me feel good?

Personally I am thin but I have curves and there are some suggested looks that I look really nice in and feel good in but there are many that I try and they just don’t fit right since I am not tall and long. That makes me feel annoyed because I would really like to wear some of those things, but I feel like I wouldn’t look nice in it. So I always end up creating my own look that fits my body type but still is fashionable so it’s my own look.

I like having my own style, but I do have to say that fashion magazines and the style trends from my generation greatly influences how I dress. If there is a style that is not “in”, I probably wouldn’t wear it j because I would feel weird walking around in something nobody wears. I sometimes find myself on the train looking at people and making comments in my head on what each person is wearing. Usually the people that I consider who look “bad” are the people who have a “different” style unlike the trends in fashion magazines or a different way of putting their looks together that I’m not used to because its not “in”. Now, I know that if I am thinking this way, there are probably many people out there thinking the same way about me. Which takes me back to the thinking box: “Are some people pressured to have to dress the way the media tells us to? What if they don’t want to dress that way? Then do they get penalized for having a different style? What happens to their self-esteem? Self-confidence?”

The fashion world has their idea of how everybody should dress and look, which is great, but we are the people buying the clothes. We should find a way to feel good about who we are and what we choose to wear and not be worried about whether we fit into the fads. When I dress, I don’t worry about what is in style. I just worry about what makes me feel good and what looks good on my body. As I said before, the “in style trends” definitely influence how I dress, however I take those trends and fit them into my style, so that I feel good about myself, how I look and my body. Maybe we should consider that the fashion world and media’s idea is only *one idea out of many it’s not the be all end all. Maybe we should open our minds past “Experts” and appreciate l that people who don’t fit into the ideal can look good, and have style and feel great about themselves. I am saying “maybe” because these are only my thoughts and I am not sure if it’s way to go or the key to the solution. I’m just saying, It’s just something to think about.

MR