Fashion 101: Lesson 2

My name is Jack Sampson, and this is the second installment of the series where I teach you how to develop a personal fashion sense. I am by no means an expert in fashion, nor am I the best dressed person in the world. I am simply someone who is comfortable with how they dress and wishes to help out anybody else who wants to get to that point as well.

If you did not read the first article, I highly urge you to, as it will allow you to better prepare for the rest of your journey into fashion. In it, I gave three simple tasks that you can do: clean out the clothing you do not wear from your closet, find your measurements and find content creators or characters from media who dress in ways that you wish you did.

Ok, boring introduction done. Time to move on to the next step and one of the most important: finding what style suits you best.

Some might be asking themselves, “How do I know if there’s a style that fits me?” The answer is one of the most beautiful parts of fashion: there are so many different styles, some similar, some could not be any more different. The point is that there is such a wide range that one is bound to catch your eye.

The not-so beautiful part of that answer: there are so many different styles that I cannot physically fit them into one article. But this is not a 300-level fashion theory course, so we don’t need to worry about naming every single style in existence. All you need to know is that most of these styles are just different branches of a couple main styles.

The first one we will talk about is probably the most recognizable: Streetwear.

Streetwear is all about maximizing comfort while also looking fresh. Currently, streetwear is all about “the baggy”: oversized shirts and top pieces, baggy pants (normally jeans or cargo pants), and flashy sneakers.

A content creator I personally think does a fantastic job with this style is @k2sneaks on Instagram (85.4k followers) and TikTok (with 484.8k followers). Another creator who creates fantastic streetwear outfits is @s_xx_24 on Instagram (72.5k followers) and @greedglory.1993 on TikTok (9.3k followers).They both provide great examples of how, at least in my opinion, this style can look at its peak. The clothing they wear fits them perfectly and the way they construct their outfits feels like a form of art. I have drawn very heavy influence from both of these creators by referring to outfits of theirs when trying to make my own.

Another major focus of current streetwear is vintage clothing. The faded and distressed look on a lot of clothing, especially pants and t-shirts, can make for an extremely clean looking outfit.

Streetwear is heavily influenced by trends, which come and go in cycles. Currently, we are experiencing a very similar trend that was present in the 90’s, so now there is a large market for vintage clothing. This vintage MV Delaware sweatshirt is an example of the vintage look. Its faded color gives a much different look than the original coloring would have, and its measurements would allow for the desired oversized look. There are also many vendors who sell clothing that is made to look vintage, such as Urban Outfitters.

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The nice thing about streetwear is its widespread presence in pop culture and media, so inspiration will be readily available. Although it is not my main style as of present, I still continue to dress like this occasionally, partially because of the comfort that it gives but mainly because of how fun it is. I definitely urge you to try experimenting with this style!

sampsojw@miamioh.edu