How to "Get Into" Fashion: Cultivating Your Wardrobe
One thing I see more than anything online is yearning for fashion. I'm sure every weird/alt/??? person can relate to me when I say the interenet used to just make me miserable with how everyone how the most amazing wardrobes and styles and was so beautiful, and I had none of it. Over many, many years, I have left that lifestyle behind and have developed my own taste in fashion, as well as my own unique wadrobe (I will being using this word way too much). To help young alternative newbies, this is my guide.
Step One: Exterminate your Mindset!!! (Chapter 3: How are you? Lesson 3, Yourself)
This is awfully ambitious, but the first step to getting into fashion and being happy with yourself is not related to clothes at all. Every person (including myself) that is unique and happy with their sense of style has ascertained a certain way of viewing fashion as a whole: forget the "yearning to be something." It doesn't matter what clothes you have: you could have Mana-Sama's wardrobe and face and still be miserable if you continue to use social media and let it influence you. I've noticed that every "alternative" person I see how is only playing dress-up with subcultures and labels and fashion.
It sounds like I'm rambling, but I truly believe that completely forgetting this way of life is the only way to be happy with your style. Stop wishing to be something; fashion is a taste you've gained from years of experimenting, researching, and being inpsired. Get the hell off social media. Alternative fashion started out because funky people said "fuck these standards im doing this my own way" and ran with it. That is how fashion was always meant to be approached.
Wardrobe Time!! (Thinking Time ! Listen to the music)
1. Thrift
I know what you're thinking: "oughghh i CANTT thrift bcd reselterrss also NOTHING I WANT IS AT THE THRIFT STORE WAHHH" SHUT UP!!!!! YOU'RE WRONG!!!! If resellers are really going to your thrift store, you'll just have to beat them and look harder for the clothes you want (not to mention, reselling is a very, very nonexistent problem when i comes to clothing ... just buy different clothes)! All my favorite clothes I wear have come from Goodwill. Thrifting is cheap and easy; most "fashion" kids just don't like it because, well, you can't be lazy. Look through all of the racks. Try on the clothes. Be patient (you won't find some entire victorian/trad goth pinterest coord at the thrift. guess what: neither did any of the og goths. look at a pic of siouxsie sioux and embody it), it takes years of thrifting to grow an entire closet (that you'll actually wear). Also, don't expect to find extremely niche genres of clothing at the thrift store. Of course you won't find an entire gothic lolita set: sew it yourself. And that brings us to the next tip!
2. DIY
If you don't want to DIY, you're not alt. That's just a fact. Every subculture originated from kids in their basements sewing and patching up old shit alone. Not to mention, it's hard to break away from our consumerist mindsets in this day in age. DIY doesn't always mean sew your entire wardrobe, it means improvise. Make your own jewelry, use the chains from purses, sew and take in/take out old clothes that don't thrift... some very simple and easy alterations make the biggest difference.
3. Buy Anything (But Only) Things You'll Use
We all know what it's like to look shamefully into the back of our closet and see those overpriced sweaters you never wore. This doesn't have to be the case! If you can learn to accept that you like an article of clothing but will never wear it, you're halfway to having the clothes you want. Stop buying clothes you won't use. At the same time, ONLY buy clothes you KNOW you'll use.
A couple years back, I made a rule for myself: I will only buy clothes/jewelry/decor/anything if it truly stands out to me and/or I desperately want it and already know what I'll do with it. I truly believe this is the key to being happy with your surroundings. Now I'm enveloped in a house and closet filled only with trinkets and accessories that I truly love. The process is slow but will pay off with time. Patience is truly the key to being alternative.
When it comes to clothes and jewelry specifically, this rule is even more helpful if you only buy clothes/accessories if you can plan out several outfits/things to wear it with WHILE you're in the store. I've noticed that I tend to wear items a lot more if I was able to invision an outfit with clothes I already had to go with it.
4. Find Your Niche
It's pretty hard to follow any of the previous tips if you don't know where to start. If you're in the very beginnings of fashion, thrift whatever you might wear and go from there. You have to start somewhere. If you feel better in one style/color of clothing, keep to that. Stick to it. Feel free to experiment, but don't stray too far. Remember that how to present yourself IS an extension of yourself. Personally, I can't wear clothing that isn't black/dark. Something light colors makes me feel absolutely ridiculous.
5. Explore YOURSELF
The biggest mistake I see most fashion newbies make is following those "wardrobe essentials!!!!" videos. DON'T LISTEN TO THEM. At the end, this boils down to step one: eradicate your social media-oriented perspective and follow your own guidelines. Most people online that I've seen talk about fashion are so painfully performative that not even their best guides and tips are of any use. Don't underestimate the power of learning through the internet, however. Read up on fansites and personal blogs that are a couple decades old and you will find so much more/follow creators that are passionate for more vintage approaches to fashion. For exmaple, I love Mallory to pieces. She's dedicated herself to embodying the 80s and she's a huge goth that lives like one from that time would. Her way of life really inspires me.
Speaking of following creators, research old fashion people/musicians! The fastest and best way to learn about your taste in fashion is the learn of people who were crucial and revolutionary to their respective subcultures. Music is a very good way to go about this: alternative fashion is tied closely to subculture. If you participate in the fashion but don't care about the general culture (music, lifestyle, mindset, politics), you're ,,,,well,,,i hate to say this,,,,but not really... alternative at all. Do your research and get passionate. This is a guide about how to cultivate your wardrobe, so I assume you've already done your research and gone through the hoops of learning about the culture of your style.
6. Style!
The most important part of fashion is knowing how to style. It doesn't matter how extraordinary your individual pieces are if you can't doll them up. Never underestimate the power of jewelry, hair, and makeup. Belts, chains, charms, clips, brooches, and the like are very, very important when it comes to fashion. None of my outfits look good without the accessories! Trinkets are vital to the final look!
Makeup and hair is optional (everything is, fashion is your own!), but you have to sort of pick and choose. For exmaple, if you've ever seen pictures of goths in the 80s, they basically looked like everyone else. Their defining feature was typically their teased hair and extravegant makeup. I never style my hair (i work very hard to keep it nice hwoever. on a very strict brush/wash schedule), but it's still very important to a lot of subcultures. Like anything, you can take out or tweak a couple factors, but the general feel should stay the same. I think my very specific haircut kind of makes up for my lack of styling.
Makeup is also very helpful. Of course, I don't want to pressure anyone, but the most dissapointing thing for me to see is people who love fashion but aren't willing to even experiment with makeup. It doesn't matter if you go for a natural/masculine look, makeup helps tremendously. You can choose to just smooth out your face or add darker shadows to your bones if you want to: PLEASE GIVE IT A TRY! I suck at makeup and I always do a full look with it!!! Mallory (the goth girl i linked) has stated before that she's not very good at makeup either, yet she still always does her makeup because it's a core part of goth fashion!
7. HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your style is YOURS!!! PLAY AROUND!!! ENJOY YOURSELF!!! Don't approach this in a business way, just be yourself and explore. You'll have fond memories of these times.
Special thanks to Buck-Tick for writing Check Up and giving me the opportunity to spinkle its lyrics throughout the song.
This site was coded by hand with much love and tears. Thanks so much for stopping by! Don't forget your umbrella on the way out. ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚