The Best Fashion Advice I Ever Received Came From My Grandmother

The fashion advice my 85-year-old grandmother gave me actually turned out to be a life lesson. This woman is part of the reason why I started Styling Self-Expression. Growing up, I gazed in awe at all of her outfits like they were straight out of a movie. She always styled herself in pieces that unapologetically reflected exactly who she was. We could have been going to the supermarket, and still her outfit was always exquisite. Everything she has taught me about fashion has inspired me so much that I want to do the same for my readers. I would not be who I am today without my grandmother educating me on the deeper meaning of fashion. For the majority of my adolescence, I had looked towards others' styles for inspiration on how I should dress. Whether it was through my favorite characters in films, my grandmother, or my friends, I had made it a habit to make my style a reflection of theirs. I styled myself to fit in with the people I admired, as I had understood fashion as merely one of the aesthetics of life, which is the case for most. When I had asked her the secret to dressing just like her, I was surprised to see she was dissatisfied with my question. She asked me why I would ever want to have a style that is a reflection of someone else's identity, and not my own. At the time, I was a younger version of myself who definitely did not yet understand fashion the way I do now, so I did not quite understand what she meant. She goes on to explain that if she had adopted a style like her grandmother's, she would have never become who she is. The confidence that she naturally radiates comes from styling pieces that communicate all the parts of her that make her who she is. She favors bright colors and abstract patterns because they represent her eccentricity. You would be able to understand her before you even have a conversation with her. She made me realize nobody can find themselves by wearing styles that reflect parts of other people.