Figuring it out

Beauty is a knowledge. It's something that you can learn. Knowing what looks good on you and how others might react.

For example, empire waists look good on me because I am skinny and my figure gets lost under clothes sometimes. The gathering under my bust gives me definition. Tops with pintucking do the same for me, which is why my recent purchases of the green wool vest and APC top were successful.

My education in fashion started only a few years ago, relatively speaking. I think most girls start thinking about clothes in middle school. Probably earlier, these days. But I think that's maybe why so many of them make the mistake of dressing for vanished youthful figures. Or else they dress for the whims of adolescent boys.

V informed me that clothes do matter. I was under the impression, until grad school, that people would be able to see through to the "real" me. But when I wore something more feminine, prettier, in fact, people did treat me differently. They were nicer to me, which was disappointing in a way.

It was when I started my first professional job and was living on my own that I started to really take an interest in my appearance (I was always interested in fashion as something creative, beautiful, and unattainable). Another friend advised me to take out a subscription to Lucky, and so I did. I also started observing, trying things out, and making mistakes.