Thursday Trend: All That Sparkles

Trust me when I say this: I have no clue how to be trendy. If you don’t want to take my word for it, you should talk to my best friend. We met the first day of Freshman year and have been relatively attached to each other ever since. It wasn’t one of those “We hung out off and on and then slowly our friendship developed things” – it’s the platonic equivalent of love at first sight. We used to compare notes on poetry and boys; but when it came to fashion, I definitely took a back seat. Eventually, and somewhat jokingly, she told me “Amanda, if you don’t match…we can’t sit together at lunch.” She may as well have said “…and on Wednesdays, we wear pink.” but last time I checked I didn’t live in a movie.

Joke or not, what she said definitely nestled itself somewhere deep in my brain because now that I’m older (and somewhat wiser) from my nail polish to the trim on my boots, I match all the damn time. The downside of trying to fit the trends and be relatively on top of being a 21st century chic chick is in my early 20s, I spent a rather ridiculous amount of time, money and or energy trying to fit the latest “trends”; trends from the magazines, movies and runway that honestly have little to no place in my closet.

So I took a step back to re-evaluate who I wanted to be, and the type of young lady I’d like to evolve into. Sounds silly, but (a) there’s absolutely nothing wrong with dressing for success – be it career-wise or personal; and (b) it becomes a positive feedback loop! A while back, I wanted to streamline my growth – I wanted to feel sexier, more mature, more sophisticated – so that’s how I started dressing. Low and behold, the fashion must have seeped into my pores and into my veins, because while I looked the part I acted the part! It’s a glorious cycle that I’m glad I discovered.

I think what strikes me is the originality of the items that I love – if I’ve seen it duplicated, I’m already over it before it hits my closet. But every now and again, I seem to get these genius – and very specific – cravings for fashion and as of late, jewlery. Sometimes, its for a delicate necklace in a specific metallic shade – and other times I get my mind set on clothing in daring, yet possible, colors. I used to go shopping often – maybe a little too often – and what I’ve found, especially on Melrose, is that most shops are carbon copies of the others. But a few, like Essex, have a great turnover for new threads and necklaces. One of my favorite finds that I mentioned briefly yesterday is the Melrose Trading Post; it’s a great (and incredibly inexpensive) place to check out handcrafted jewelry and vintage duds. Last, but definitely not least, don’t forget about my favorite treasure chest – your local discount stores! What’s being another season behind the trends if you don’t even follow them, right?! So, let’s get down to it – these are a few of my favorite blings.