Wearing what you want

Over the years I've gone through my fair share of 'phases' with fashion and it's equally as amusing as it is horrifying looking back at photos of myself from about five years old to just recently at fifteen or sixteen and thinking 'why on earth did I wear that?'. It's a question I will no doubt be asking myself in the years to come, looking at various photos and memorabilia from now and the years to follow. I consider myself very lucky with the way in which I was able to present myself and my 'fashion sense' (or lack thereof) throughout my life so far, and despite thinking about how weird some of the outfits I've seemingly thrown together in the past are, one thing I have noticed is that I am always wearing what I want, within reason of course. 

Photo taken from my Instagram- @maddiejaydee

As a person that's always worn things I personally like, I never really considered the way in which many people don't actually get to wear what they like simply because they're shy or embarrassed or scared of what others might think. It breaks my heart knowing that when I see a flouncy floral dress I will happily throw it on without a second thought when someone who loves that very same dress won't wear it because it's slightly out of their 'norm', or is worried about they way in which it will be perceived by the people they know- that being their parents, peers, friends, etc. 

Obviously, I have no control over your life or the way in which you choose to present yourself (and no one should be telling you how to dress anyway) but I really want to tell people to wear whatever the hell they feel like wearing, with the exception of particular events such as funerals, weddings, visiting various religious sites, etc. You want to wear that black bra under that sheer top that will more than likely cause old men to glower despite the fact that they have no say in they way you dress? DO IT! You want to wear that beautiful pink dress despite constantly being stereotyped as a 'tomboy'? DO IT! You want to wear teeny tiny booty shorts and an adorable little crop top? DO IT! 

Basically all I'm trying to say is that no matter how scared you may be by people and their ridiculous attitude to the way other people dress, you should wear whatever you want regardless of their reactions. Sure, it may take you months of prancing around in the mirror at home before you actually decide to wear an outfit out, but I can assure you- wearing what you want is very freeing and incredibly satisfying. Gaining confidence to wear what you want will take time but be patient with yourself and one day you will be able to look back and think about how happy you were wearing that outfit (no matter how horrid you think it may be now) or how proud of yourself you are for eventually stepping out of your comfort zone (not that comfort zones are a bad thing, but stepping outside of a comfort zone you've drawn for yourself because of other people's reaction to something as simple as the fabric everyone wears to cover up our bits and pieces really couldn't be a bad thing). 

Of course you may run into horrible people that will mutter various 'degrading' complaints at you, but you can take that all in your stride. Wearing a sheer top with a visible bra underneath is not slutty or disgusting or offensive (what kind of an insult is 'slutty' anyway? Stay away from anyone who participates in 'slut'-shaming, we should all be free to sexually express ourselves), there is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing teeny tiny hot pants and a crop top, there is definitely nothing wrong with wearing a dress on those days when you just want to feel pretty, there is nothing wrong with dressing in a way that 'does not suit' your body type (people's opinion on what suits different body types annoy me to no end) and there is never anything wrong with dressing in a way that is not considered 'normal' for your gender- who cares about gender norms nowadays anyway? 

I doubt this will be all that helpful and I'm sure there are many posts similar to this floating around the internet, but I wanted to express my feelings on the subject of 'fashion policing' and hopefully I've gotten my message across! 

Thank you for reading, love from Maddie xo

p.s, Sorry for the lack of posts recently, Tayla has been incredibly busy and I've been incredibly lazy and uninspired!