Coffee House Writers

Top Menu

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Article Categories
    • Creativity
    • Culture
    • Design
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fiction
    • Food
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Home
    • Lifestyle
    • Memories
    • Nonfiction
    • Poetry
    • Politics
    • Relationships
    • Sports
    • Style
    • Technology
    • Travel
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Founder
  • Meet Our Admin
    • Chief Editors
    • Editors
    • Poetry Editors
    • Advertising Team
    • Recruiting Team
  • Testimonials
  • Apply
  • Login

logo

Coffee House Writers

  • Home
  • Article Categories
    • Creativity
    • Culture
    • Design
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fiction
    • Food
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Home
    • Lifestyle
    • Memories
    • Nonfiction
    • Poetry
    • Politics
    • Relationships
    • Sports
    • Style
    • Technology
    • Travel
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Founder
  • Meet Our Admin
    • Chief Editors
    • Editors
    • Poetry Editors
    • Advertising Team
    • Recruiting Team
  • Testimonials
  • Apply
  • Login
  • A Glimpse Within

  • Paradise Falls: Chapter 9

  • Cursed Path

  • The Patient Huntress

  • Dragon’s Tears

  • Star Slippers: Part One

  • Timeworn

  • The Island Flamingo: Chapter 18

  • Picture Perfect

  • Self Allegiance

  • Abstract

  • What Comes Down the Chute

  • Magical Convergences

  • En Medias Res

  • September

  • Back Roads

  • Find Your Passion and do it with Desire and Purpose

  • Turning Forty

  • Sick at Netherfield

  • I’ll Pull One

  • A Piece Of Deadwood

  • The Island Flamingo: Chapter 17

  • Perils of Gaming

  • Paradise Falls: Chapter 8

  • Autumn Whispers

  • The Red Maiden, Part Twenty

  • The Witching Hour

  • Getting Away with Murder

  • The Inhabitants

  • All the Books

FashionLifestyleCultureNonfictionStyleMemories
Home›Fashion›Being “Polished” Does Not Mean Being “Traditional”

Being “Polished” Does Not Mean Being “Traditional”

By Adele Z.
September 14, 2020
786
0
Share:
Rain
Photo by Noah Naf courtesy of Unsplash.

I’ve always been stubborn about most things, but especially when it comes to my clothes. My mom likes to tell the story of the day I rejected her picking out my outfit. For the longest time, mom would dress my sister and me. She would dress us up in matching outfits too. This made her extremely happy. However, one day she was choosing clothes and set them in front of me.

“I do not approve,” I said to her. She swears I said those exact words.

It doesn’t surprise me. Fashion, whether people want to admit it or not, defines one’s identity. And I have always been keen to define my identity through clothes since I was young. First, it was making sure I was not wearing the same clothes as my sister. Then, it was not wearing dresses or pink. You could say I went through my “rebellious phase” in middle school. My mom still had the reigns when it came to final approval of what I wore to school. But I pushed the limits. I cut my hair short. I wanted to get purple highlights, but mom wouldn’t let me. I wore clothes with fairies and skulls. I bought a fake nose ring (and I lost it about a week later). Anything with metal detailing on it was cool. Same with black lace. Band shirts and jeans were a given. I was the epitome of a moody teenager.

As time went on, the phase eased up. I accepted color and more “girly” things like skirts and dresses. But everything still had an edge to it. One skirt, in particular, caused a stir at a family Christmas party. It was a short, black, flouncy skirt that had ribbon detailing on each side. The ribbons laced up and ended in bows. I wore it because I was leaving for my high school friend’s party after the family party. I remember taking off my coat and my uncle looking at me and saying “wow.” And not in a good way.

After I left, other family members asked my mom how she could let me dress like that. She told them, “I pick my battles. I know where she’s going, and I know her friends. If she wants to dress like that when she’s with them, fine.” I am the oldest grandchild, and at the time, was the only teen. Even though my mom defended me, I still felt shamed because I wasn’t acting “ladylike.”

Even after my hair grew out, and my taste in clothes became more mature, I still found ways to keep from feeling boxed in. In college, I began my fascination with tights. During the colder months, I would have a rotation of at least a dozen different styles and colors. My friends loved them and praised me for finding my own style. Fashion is forever about trends. But I found that I could still wear what made me feel happy, without worrying about what was trendy. I still have a large tight collection to this day.

After college, I was getting ready for my first job interview. I wanted to wear suit pants. But women are expected to wear skirts because it’s “traditional.” I still shake my head when I hear this. I wore pants. Since then, I have worn skirts for other interviews. But I wore them because they made me feel good, not because I felt I had to.

In my thirty-two years of being on this Earth, I have learned a few things. I don’t know everything, and I never will. But I know this: You are not required to fit anybody’s standards but your own. I have never felt more confident in my outfit choices than I do now. I gave up following the rules a long time ago. The only thing that matters is that you are defining you. People can sense confidence. If you walk into an interview wearing confidence and pants, they will notice the confidence first.

TagsnonfictiontraditionStyleAdeleclothesconfidenceidentity
Previous Article

The Story Behind “My Brothers’ Crossing”

Next Article

Running Home: Leaps of Faith

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Adele Z.

I'm an aspiring non-fiction writer. I'm also working on a certification in the wine world. I'm hoping to write about food, wine, and traveling as a profession one day.

Related articles More from author

  • A Coronavirus rapid antigen test
    CultureLifestyleNonfictionHealthPolitics

    Covid-19: A Stubborn Enemy

    June 27, 2022
    By Rachel Du Mont-Greenlee
  • Red tree shaped like a heart
    FamilyRelationshipsMemoriesNonfiction

    A Letter To My Friend, Amy…

    July 27, 2020
    By Sylvia Stein
  • A woman's reflection
    CreativityFamilyRelationshipsMemoriesNonfiction

    Dear Past Me. . .

    June 14, 2021
    By Ellie Jacobson
  • FamilyEnvironmentRelationshipsHomeNonfictionCulture

    I’m The Favorite, And I Can Prove It

    May 25, 2020
    By Lisa Post
  • TravelEntertainmentCultureMysteryCreativityEnvironmentRelationshipsFiction

    The Island Flamingo: Chapter 7

    February 7, 2022
    By Adriana Philips
  • Ace of Spades Lighter
    CultureLifestyleNonfictionMediaRomanceFamilyRelationshipsMemoriesEnvironment

    The ‘A’ Is Not For Ally

    September 13, 2021
    By Lorelei

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You may be interested

  • American solider
    RelationshipsPoetryRomance

    My American Soldier

  • CultureCreativityEnvironmentFamilyPoetry

    Fade To Black

  • Moon over brick wall & brick building
    CreativityRelationshipsFictionEnvironmentTravelCulture

    The Tourists

Timeline

  • October 2, 2023

    A Glimpse Within

  • October 2, 2023

    Paradise Falls: Chapter 9

  • October 2, 2023

    Cursed Path

  • October 2, 2023

    The Patient Huntress

  • October 2, 2023

    Dragon’s Tears

Latest Comments

  • A Piece of Deadwood, is in this Week’s Coffee House Writers Magazine – Ivor.Plumber/Poet
    on
    September 18, 2023
    […] Hello dear readers and followers, I am now writing for “Coffee House Writers” magazine on ...

    A Piece Of Deadwood

  • Cast In Marble (is up at Coffee House Writers Magazine) – Ivor.Plumber/Poet
    on
    September 8, 2023
    […] Hello dear readers and followers, as you may know, I now write for “Coffee House ...

    Cast In Marble

  • In This Limbo, (at Coffee House Writers) – Ivor.Plumber/Poet
    on
    September 8, 2023
    […] https://coffeehousewriters.com/in-this-limbo/ […]

    In This Limbo

  • A Day At The Race, (is up at Coffee House Writers Magazine) – Ivor.Plumber/Poet
    on
    September 8, 2023
    […] Hello dear readers and followers, as you may know, I now write for “Coffee House ...

    A Day At The Races

  • A Welcoming Roar, is up at Coffee House Writers Magazine – Ivor.Plumber/Poet
    on
    September 6, 2023
    […] Hello dear readers and followers, I now write for “Coffee House Writers” magazine on a ...

    A Welcoming Roar

Find us on Facebook

About us

  • coffeehousewriters3@gmail.com

Follow us

© Copyright 2018-2023 Coffee House Writers. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s administrator and owner is strictly prohibited.