FASHION ICON: Jenna Lyons
I don’t know about you, but I’m constantly bullied by my mother for the way I choose to dress. Her ideal of beautiful doesn’t really overlap with mine, so we constantly have arguments where she’s like: “Oh dear, you work in fashion and you look like a homeless person” or “Are you sure you want to wear that with those shoes?” or my personal favourite one is “Please throw away those shoes, I’ll buy you new ones, if you can’t afford it”. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my mother, but sometimes she can be a real pain in the a**, if you know what I mean. She’s one of those people who wants to blend in the society, always had a knack for more classy looks and needs the approval of others to make herself happy and I’m the total opposite. I’m what people like to call a rebel. I’ve always wanted to be different than the others, unique, one of a kind. It’s what brings me joy, maybe not so much the “how I look part” but the fun and the creative process while choosing an outfit. I love combining old pieces with new ones, cheap pieces with expensive ones, casual tops with evening maxi dresses. Over the years her opinion was such a hold back, as I was constantly thinking that something is wrong with me for wanting to look different, but when you start to grow personally, as your confidence grows, your quilt disappears and you start to see the world through fresh pair of eyes, YOURS. When you realise this, your outfits become crazy displays of your inner awesomeness and it’s right there babes, where all the magic happens.
You might or might not relate to my problem, but I know one person who does and that’s enough for me. Why, you ask? Because it’s the freaking Jenna Lyons, a woman I’ve developed sort of like a secret girl crush for and have gained an enormous respect after learning that she too was bullied for her creative choices of outfits as a young girl, her gawkiness and health issues. And look where it got her. So today we’re honouring her bubbly personality, uniqueness and resilience, because it’s Jenna Lyon’s world and we’re all just living in it.
SEQUINY QUEEN-Y
While working for J Crew, the brand she single handily made cool, she was responsible for many fashion trends that came out of there. One which stands out though and for sure will become indelible part of her legacy is making sequins work for work. Who would have thought that sparkly sequins could look so stylishly polished combined with a simple white shirt and some jeans? Well, no one, that’s why we have Jenna, to lead the way with sparkly sparkle.
JEWELLERY EXTRAVAGANZA
Did you know that oversized jewellery became a thing few seasons ago because of her? Most of you are probably blissfully unaware of this fact, but her masterfully put together looks with her oversized earrings and chunky necklaces were the reason why so many designers copied the style and for a brief while why this particular look was a trend.
CAS-CLASH-FANCY
One of the billion reasons I love her is the fact that she is mixing fabulous, super fancy maxi dresses and feather skirts with casual white shirts like it’s no big deal and she rocks every single combo. Putting together an haute couture dress or a skirt with simple graphic tee used to be such a big fashion faux pas and than Jenna came and proved us that casual chic doesn’t mean you can’t rock a maxi dress with sneakers. It simply means that putting your personal stamp on every look can do wonders for your style.
LAYERING
Although she’s pretty much responsible for all of the above trends, she’s also responsible for layering. Her geek chic aesthetic mixed with what seems like unmatchable prints makes her the queen of her own little queendom and we’re just mere mortals living in it. With fall season upon us, I’m so looking forward to pairing denim shirt, sweaters and long pleated skirts. Long live the queen!
It’s a commonly known fact that you can alter perception. How people see you is how you want them to see you. You can totally manipulate your look to work in your favor. Jenna Lyons did just that and throughout that process of discovering herself she introduced us to a variety of possibilities we weren’t even aware we had until she decided to wear the outfits that would change the fashion industry forever. Her slick style will for sure be copied for many years, if not even decades to come. She’s living, breathing sensational inspiration to all wonder women out there. So when you observe such an inspiring woman like Jenna Lyons, you get sort of like a tingling sensation that motivates you to get shit done. (Pardon my French, or not, don’t really care). Her attitude towards life is contagious, evidence is shown throughout this article. But seriously though, over the years, this icon of mine has thought me the benefits of accepting myself with all my uniqueness and differences, embrace them and challenge myself each and every day. Who would have thought that through her bold, on point fashion choices she would make such a difference for girls like me?
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