FashBlog.com

When I went to the store with my son a few days ago, I was surprised to look around and notice that my personal style apparently is becoming more popular. Since the early days of college, I have been into the sort of hippie but academic look that worked for my research and writing lifestyle. My clothes never have been trendy with the mainstream, however, which is perfectly fine with me. Since I was in school and then in the beginnings of my freelance writing career, I have been relegated to purchasing most of my clothes from secondhand shops anyway.

Now, though, it looks as if the oversized sweaters and skirts are coming into style. I saw a number of outfits at a major department store that I definitely would buy were I into purchasing clothes. The best part about these clothes is that they are versatile and incredibly comfortable. I also noticed that the dressed up version of this trend was on a couple of the store displays as well. In college, I would get pinstriped pants or a suit and then dress it down with a white collared shirt and large over shirt. It still looked nice for when I needed to make class presentations, but it was not stuffy and too formal, which I hated.

The key to wearing these clothes and making them work is that you have to feel comfortable with yourself. They are not traditional dress clothes, which my mother loved to remind me constantly, and so you do not blend. The traditional, conservative black or gray suit looks great in part because it is so boring. People who wear these suits blend into corporate environments. The idea is that people see a worker and not the individual, but for people who are more individual and are not interested in being cogs in a work machine, something a little different can be a great way to make a different impression.

When I began my professional career, I worked as a reporter. One of the parts of the job that I really enjoyed was that I was not required to dress any differently. Now, technically I was not supposed to wear jeans (a rule I often broke for nighttime meetings), but I did not have to wear a suit or tailored dress. I always felt that since reporters are supposed to be a bit edgy, the attire fit.

These days I do not buy clothing in stores because of my pregnancy and weight issues. When I got pregnant with my first child, I went out and purchased a basic wardrobe. I got several button-down shirts, a few sweaters, and some pants and khakis. After my son was born, I ran into multiple health problems. My weight was fluctuating so much that I bought a bunch of oversized shirts and pants so that I could wear them whatever my weight was doing. Just when I had the medical problems under control and the weight going down, I found out I was pregnant again. At that point, I pulled out the old maternity clothes, added a few pieces, and here I remain.

After my daughter is born in January, I have every intention of losing all of this weight. The struggle will be a long one, I am sure, but I finally will be able to get into normal clothes. Plus, now I can buy them at regular stores, which will be an interesting change. My anticipation for that time is building now because I should be able to find the clothing I like in stores. I was afraid that I would be forever relegated to buying secondhand or in vintage shops because of my eclectic tastes. Now I am feeling much more excited about the weight changes I see coming.

I am sure these fashions are here for only a season or two. Then they will fade away to the next trend. Still I plan to stock up on what I can while these clothes are in fashion so that I can feel great and look trendy, too, even if it is only temporary and I keep the clothes long after they have gone out of style.