my personal statement of purpose:
my interest in fashion began in high school. actually, maybe it dates back even further than that: clothes dominated my sketchbooks all throughout elementary and middle school- tragic attempts at uniforms for my potential girl power band or simply the most rad concepts for slumber party outfits, complete with fuzzy slippers and popcorn, so that i could be sure to be the center of attention. the key word here is tragic- i failed to actually “pull off” any of these looks successfully and spent the majority of my horrifyingly awkward pre-teen and teenaged years desperately seeking some form of style that just made sense.
high school dress code: this was the catalyst. it seems like an oxymoron, a strict Catholic high school dress code acting as the diving board needed for my impending sploosh into the fashion pool, if you will. but with nothing to wear but black and khaki pants and collared shirts, one as fiercely independent as myself had to find a way to stand out. I started pouring through Teen Vogue and Seventeen magazines, studying them intensely, clipping them like a madwoman and taping them anywhere there was a hard surface in my home. These would be my guides for the next few years. And, suddenly, when I was about 16, I felt it click. For the first time in my life, I got it. I understood coordinating and contrasting colors. I understood the balance of accessorizing. It started out slow and not too daring, but I was beginning to feel completely pulled together.
but about this time, i was beginning to discover a few other fashion outlets as well. my grandmother had and has always been a bargain hunter, which is a bit of an understatement. her home has always been filled with decades worth of clothing, jewelry, toys, and home goods- and that collection grew almost daily. i began to get wise about my purchasing habits and starting finding a great thrill in the hunt for good bargains, just like my grandmother. the best bargain of all was being able to borrow from her own collection: jewelry that was over 30 or 50 years old, belts that were popular in the 50s. i was also heavily involved in theater throughout high school and i began to see a lot of similarities between those costumes that i wore for shows and the clothes that i was being drawn to.
i have always loved playing dress up, even more so the older i get. i find that the more often i take inventory of my clothes, the more inspiration i get and the easier it is for me to put together outfits. being in costume for stage productions is playing dress-up: the garments are speaking to the personality, social and economic status of the character.
then college. college almost implies “experimental” and my fashion progression during my collegiate years was nothing short of that. i spent my first semester continuing many of the same patterns i did all throughout high school. but then it got boring. and i found that i needed to do something more. i needed something louder. so i continued to read through magazines but i searched for every thrift store in the county that i could, and would still make trips back home to borrow things from my Grandmother. by the end of my 2nd year of college, i had tried so many styles of clothes that i didn’t seem to have a “style” anymore. i didn’t fit into any category. by my 3rd year, i realized the beauty of the state i was in: i could wake up every single morning and do something different. and, sure, “be someone different”. but the truth is that i wasn’t ever a different person. i was just revealing another facet of my personality through my clothes. if i was feeling bold and over-the-top, i might wear a full-out dixie ruffled dress with cowboy boots, or my polka-dotted 80s dress that my roommate fiercely hated. if i was feeling girly, a silk slip with a cardigan. or if i was feeling like a punk, a hoodie with leggings and my baller tennis shoes. there was absolutely no limit to what i could do or create.
i began to get more involved in costumes and i found that vintage clothing consumed me. i no longer poured through magazines to stay up on what “the trends” were. because trends are a hoax. who has the authority to claim what is trendy and what will be popular for a set length of time? it’s all popular again 10 years later anyway. so just consider yourself always ahead of the game. but i kept looking for inspiration and i found it everywhere: traveling abroad, looking in catalogs for indie clothing companies, from old sewing patterns, from designing costumes at school, from shopping for vintage clothes any spare moment i got, and from my increasing interest in photography.
this summer, i’ve been working with a living art museum to organize their extensive wardrobe. but by being in an artistic atmosphere, i’ve begun questioning my purpose in the fashion world and my obsession with it. (if you’ve skipped all of the above, here’s where you should start reading again…)
i realized a few things:
1. the most obvious: clothing is a form of self-expression. as overrated as this phrase is, we underestimate the meaning sometimes, I think.
2. my independence and individuality is integral to who i am and is only growing in intensity as i get older. with that comes more confidence to wear what i want, say what i think, and act on the emotions or impulses that i feel are good and just.
3. my fascination with secondhand clothing can be traced back to their rich history. each garment tells a story and it’s up to us to determine it. simultaneously, we can utilize these clothes to tell our own story, in the present, one that is unfolding every day.
4. fashion is not even skin deep. it is even more superficial than our own flesh. in other words, it should be considered as such. my clothes speak to who i am as an individual, as a human- fashion is a way of pulling you in deeper, of setting up an intrigue to get to know an individual on that deeper level.
4. the world of fashion needs a wake-up call. society, in general, could use a wake-up call. we need to begin questioning what we know to be “normal” or part of “the status quo”. why do we consider “ugly” or “ridiculous” clothing choices to be disdainful or worthy of sneers? we need to challenge ourselves and our society to question why we know things to be the way they are: everything is relative.
and it is with all of this in mind that i plan to do my part in shaking things up.
what the future holds:
I am finishing my last year at college. During that time, I will have an opportunity to expand my costume design portfolio, my photography portfolio, my leadership experience and (hopefully) my study abroad experiences.
Immediately after graduation, I’d like to move to a bigger city and find an internship or a job with an organization whose mission statement is similar to mine: using fashion to express individuality, being confident and comfortable in your own skin, and embracing your own unique self.
promotional pieces
This video was created by two of my dear friends who happen to be alumni of my university. I was brought on to their promotional project as a costume designer.
