Fashion Beyond Abercrombie & Fitch (or How to Develop Your Own Style)
Today I want to talk about something that I see in girls who are just out of high school all the time – thinking that they love “fashion” when really the mass-market retail world has blinded them to what real style is all about.
This is something I like to call “The A&F Trap.”
That’s how I was for part of my high school years: oblivious to real style and just buying up whatever I saw in A&F stores.
Sure, I thought I looked cute and fashionable then, and got some compliments on my clothes. But now when I look back, I realize how constrained and totally boring my style was!
Of course it’s fun to feel like you fit in, as if that moose-embroidered henley you’re wearing makes you a tiny bit cooler somehow. At the same time, it’s much more rewarding to find your own sense of style, mixing and matching different labels, styles, trends and ideas to create something that’s uniquely YOU!
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Why Real Style Is Better
Take it from me: as nice as it is to be complimented on your straight-off-the-mannequin outfit, it’s so much better when someone compliments you on a look that you worked to put together yourself with pieces from all over the place. That way, you know they’re complimenting your unique style and eye for fashion, not the “fashion” know-how of some merchandiser in an A&F store.
It’s Not Just A&F
Not that there’s anything really wrong with good old A&F: they do have some cute stuff at times! In fact, I swear by their basic tanks because they’re long and stretchy. BUT… it’s not the end-all be-all of fashion and style!
Really, I’m not trying to knock Abercrombie. It’s just an example of a brand that sucks people in. If you wear nothing but AE, GAP or J Crew, this applies to you too.
