By Sophie Brassey, Third Year, Philosophy
The Croft Magazine // Exploring what defines her personal style, Sophie Brassey reflects on her fashion journey.
When asked to define my style, my mind raced through every outfit I wore this week in an attempt to collate all the looks into one adjective. After flipping through 90s, preppy, streetwear, baggy, chic, gorpcore, I found that there wasn’t a single word; it’s not like I’m a cartoon character putting on the same outfit every day. So, rather than trying to pinpoint what my outfits have in common, I gave thought to the process of how I pick them each morning, and where this started from.
I wore a uniform from the age of 6. Getting dressed throughout school was a repetitive process: shirt, tights, skirt, tie, jumper, and blazer. Secondary school was either spent bundled up in this business attire (I still don’t understand the need for the military-like uniform restrictions) or squeezed into a pair of joni jeans on the weekend. Don’t get me wrong - I still cared about what I wore, but fashion wasn’t something expressive like it is now. Many of my clothes came from Zoella’s ASOS links under her haul videos. Maybe I could put this down to wanting to fit in at the awkward age of 14. Either way, there wasn’t a whole lot going on with my style until I finally left secondary and moved to college.
Year 12 saw some of the most questionable outfits - thinking back to what I wore makes me physically cringe at times. But, without going through that phase of my life, I would not have learnt what works on my body, and what (definitely) doesn't. During these years of college, I discovered the world of Pinterest and the ‘streetwear’ section of the vogue website. I also became obsessed with Haute-Couture and high-end designers (obviously not to buy, just to look at online) - this inadvertently changed my style for the better, and subconsciously I was accumulating all the colours, patterns, and silhouettes I liked on the runway, and working them into my style.
This is where most of my inspiration comes from today - looking at influencers and celebrities wearing high end clothing and figuring out how to replicate that in some way or another. People I watch out for tend to change every six months, but at the moment I have my eye on Ruby Lyn, Bella Hadid, and anyone who makes it onto Vogue’s Streetwear photography collections. If you believe that fashion is a way to express yourself, like I do, then finally feeling happy with my style reflects my feeling more comfortable in myself. The mishmash of styles I find myself wearing day-to-day shows that while I’m still figuring out who I am, I am happy with that. In terms of building a wardrobe I love, I’ll make sure to have basics at all times, blue jeans, baggy black trousers, white and black tops. Every once and a while I'll invest in a statement piece; this month it was a maxi-length tartan skirt. Resisting fast fashion trends has allowed me to appreciate clothing more and figure out how I want to dress. Investing time into the world of fashion, whether it be shopping, looking on social media for inspiration, or reading Harper's Bazaar, and experimenting with what I see, is how I reached my style today.
Featured Image: By Coby Travis Lazaroo
How would you define your personal style?
