How I Embraced My Own Style (and stopped worrying about the haters.)

My mantra: Wear what you love. I'm in love with these dressy shorts! One of my favorite looks for going out.

Personal style has always been a bit controversial. Well, maybe "controversial" is too strong of a word. I'll use "subjective," which often leads to controversy. I've been doing my own thing forever when it comes to style. Sure, there were periods of my life when I conformed to dressing in a way that was expected of me -- and I was miserable. As a kid, I had my own style. My parents didn't dress me in tulle skirts and sneakers so that I'd look haphazardly-charming. No, I favored wearing a dress, pajama pants, sweater, and whatever else I could find at the moment (but all at the same time!) I cannot explain why I did that, but it worked for me. At an early age I was putting on one-girl shows with made up songs, and even commercial breaks. So it's no surprise that as I got older, I favored vintage clothes (back when thrift stores had excellent pieces, not Temu clothing discarded in a closet purge.)

Fast forward. I'm an adult now. When I look back on those moments when I dressed to fill a role in my life, like: the perfect wife, the ambitious marketing person, and even as an interior designer, I realize that was never really me. I was left with a feeling that the kid with the multiple layers, singing and dancing for people, and the 20-something wearing vintage sweaters with a mini skirt, ankle socks, and heels, was really me. So I returned to it. I promise I am only wearing a reasonable number of layers now, but I've embraced dressing to express, not impress. But hey, if anyone is impressed, I totally wouldn't be mad. -Diana