MAIA WILSON

Elevating your Style for a Fashionable New Year

Posted on December 31, 2014

 

Maia is a freshmen at the University of North Texas and majoring in Fashion Merchandising. She has assisted in fashion shows in the Dallas and Fort Worth area, produced and directed her own fashion show, been a stylist for different events, and created a window display for a local boutique. Besides fashion, Maia loves dancing, movies, and spending time with both her family and friends.

For the New Year let’s start by figuring out who we are. No more dressing to impress other people, but start dressing for your own enjoyment! This past year, I finally discovered that concept firsthand. I would choose my outfits by what other people were wearing or by what I was expected to wear, which mainly were clothes that made me look younger and much more conservative. Not saying that being conservative is a bad thing at all, but it didn’t allow me to truly express myself since I would just choose the skirt because it was long enough and the shirt because it was buttoned up or didn’t show too much skin. At the end of this past summer, while having spent some time at college, I started questioning my fashion style. This led me to realize I really do have the freedom to wear whatever I want and there is no reason to hold back!

This year has been my best year yet when it comes to embracing my individual fashion style. I hope this New Year, you will discover the same! Here are a few tips I have learned from a year full of epiphanies.

Dress to impress, but not to conform. There is a difference between wearing what may sway a person to be influenced by you for whatever reason and wearing what everyone around you is wearing to side with them. You have to realize how important it is to be your own person and show you are your own individual through your clothing.

Don’t ask for people’s opinion, if you don’t really want it. I am one of those shoppers who will ask my mom, sister, and even salesperson what they think of a clothing item before I decide to buy it. I’ve realized though that I only ask them to reaffirm what I already know I want and like. If they said they didn’t like the garment or picked the other option, I would still buy the one I originally wanted. Why I asked for people’s approval, I do not know.

Flattering yourself does matter, but not all the time. I believe this past year there was a big emphasis on oversizing/loose fitting clothing. I mean there were flared pants, huge sweaters and shift dresses. I would wear these types of clothes a lot because they were comfortable, but showing off the body that you have is good sometimes because it shows confidence in who you are. So try wearing a fitted skirt with a huge sweater, dresses with belts, and flared pant with a slimming top. It shows versatility, self-confidence and the fact that you care for your body.

Dress to your mood or to improve it. I know when most people are feeling down, depressed or stressed they choose sweatpants and dark-colored clothing. I have tried to improve this mindset by wearing a bright color or a fun print to work into the outfit to improve my day. After all it is just the morning, so if you’re already in a bad mood without anything positive to start with, the day might be getting worse.

Lastly, like the recent song by Sia,”You’re never fully dressed without a smile,” might be corny, but nobody is impressed with a cute outfit and an angry attitude.
I hope these tips were helpful and you can take something from each of them! Knock out this New Year with a fashionable bang!