Have you ever had a fashion-related epiphany / breakthrough? And if so, what was it?

Sometimes I reflect back on myself between the ages of 14 and 18 and I feel so sad for past me and I wish I could tell her to fuck it, and to be herself (myself?).

I didn't have a lot of confidence and my parents were always trying to force me to dress how they wanted me to, as opposed to the things I did actually feel comfortable in (jeans, Converse or Vans, band tshrits and hoodies). My everyday dress was very inoffensive but I felt comfortable and 'unnoticeable' in it. I was always so afraid to be noticed for either copying the cool girls by accident or being seen as 'trying too hard'.

A little before I turned 17, I met my boyfriend. At that point I was quite okay with my style, feeling a bit more confident as we were all getting out of that teenager mindset and I'd discovered that by dressing as I felt good and being myself, I was actually making friends and I even had a guy or two interested in me! Holy shit! When I got together with him, I started to put too much effort into trying to dress like I thought he'd like me to, and the type of girls he generally crushed on. Just to clarify - he never told me he didn't like my clothes or I should dress different. It was stupid teenage me thinking that's what I needed to do. I think this carried on until I was about 20.

Then I gained a lot of weight and I've somehow blocked this part of my life out of my brain so much I can't even recall what I wore day to day really...

Now at the age of 25, for the past year and a half, I've been losing weight, got super active, and most importantly, been dressing how I want to, in things that flatter me and that make me happy and confident. I'm still with the same boyfriend, he's awesome, super supportive and likes the majority of my wardrobe. And the things he doesn't like - he likes how good I feel in the things! For example he's not quite sure on culottes yet but he can appreciate my outfit when I wear them and knows that even if he doesn't really like them, tough shit. I'm happy we've both grown since we met and that he loves me for me as a whole - not me if I dressed according to the clothes he likes. On a side note, I can't wait to show him my new Birks that I got over the weekend in the sales. I'm sure he'll DESPISE them :)

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