Fashion Diaries

“Should I or Shouldn’t I?”

Courtney Salinger

There comes a time when a fashionista has to make a very important decision. A decision that involves life or death, richer or poorer and full or hungry, all leading up to the thought of: “should I buy or shouldn’t I buy?”

Right now, I’m at a loss for words. I spent the last few days savoring over the cutest pair of denim booties from one of my favorite online retailers, only to realize that I was wasting my time. I never bought the boots! All those man hours spent searching the website, checking to see if the online retailer had my shoe size, zooming in on every picture and focusing on every angle, thinking about ways to wear the booties, looking at how I would incorporate them into my outfits and eyeballing every detail that the booties had to offer. Guys, here me out here though. It wasn’t completely a waste of time because I learned something very important in the end analysis. I learned that there’s a time and place for everything, even when it comes to purchasing items.

Right now, I’m in college. I have to think about a new semester of course fees, buying books, and other costly essentials a college student endures. Before I can think about buying super cute booties, I need to look at the bigger picture and put money into things that are going to help me succeed. I have my whole life to buy different fashion accessories. Focusing on the present and getting my degree is what’s at the top of my priorities. Don’t get me wrong, the booties would have totally complimented me and would help make any of my outfits that much cuter, but there will be others.

When it came to making my decision; “should I or shouldn’t I buy the booties?” I almost lost myself and was about to cave in. But then I thought, this is my moment to be strong. I am going to save my money for school, and if the booties are meant to be, maybe I will have some spare cash in the future to spend on and I will think of those babies. Until then, I’m going to focus on building my empire, starting with my education.

Fashion Vibin’

Courtney Salinger

Fashion is like a window to one’s soul. As we choose outfits to wear and show off to the world, we are also choosing what vibes we want people to perceive us with. Fashion is all about expressing yourself. The moment you buy those brand new threads and wear them out and about, you are telling a story. You are telling the world who you are, where you came from, and where you are going. Every outfit has a story. Here is mine…

While thinking about what I want to wear for the day, I ask myself: “Do I want to feel strong? Do I want to feel girly and cute? Do I want to feel classy and sophisticated? Do I want to feel casual and relaxed? Or maybe I want to show off all these things at once” I think about where I came from, who I want to be, who I am, and what I want to be perceived with. We all have different sides to our personalities. We all have goals and dreams. A past, present and a future. “What part of my inner self do I want to present?”

As I think about it, wearing clothes is like wearing your heart on your sleeve, literally. Specific clothing articles represent key aspects of your heart’s desires, wants, needs, loves, and feelings.

When choosing my ootd, I try on a couple different things that suggest different vibes. For example, I try on things that show my athletic side, like tanks and leggings. Or, I’ll try on a dress to show off my girly side. Whatever I wake up to and feel comfortable in, I will wear for the day. Sometimes I will show off a mix of my personalities. For example, I will try on a tank with the leggings, but decide that I feel more comfortable in a skirt instead of leggings. Therefore, I’m mixing athletic and girly vibes, athletic from the tank and girly from the skirt.

Overall, ensemble vibin’ can be very broad, yet symbolizes specific aspects of an individual’s personality. When choosing different outfits to wear for the day, think about how you want to be characterized. Vibes are impressions. But, most importantly vibes tell a story. Happy ootd choosing!

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Courtney Salinger

I found myself casually searching the web, looking at social media updates, emails, and the latest fashion trends. I began to look at my favorite fashion store websites. I wasn’t expecting to find anything at all until my eyes pondered over this gorgeous piece of aquatic delight known to man, a blue/green sequined black bikini! Here’s what happened…

I was just searching the web, you know, checking some emails, looking at some classes to take at school, and stumbling upon a few fashion websites. I reached Forever 21, as usual, I checked to see what the new arrivals entailed. Upon looking at what my beloved favorite clothing store had to offer, I stopped at this gorgeous bikini that right then and there, I decided I needed to buy! I ran over to my wallet and grabbed my credit card. Guilt started to rush through my thoughts as if I had just experienced a sugar high. I started to look around my room and looked at everything that I had recently bought (makeup, clothes, jewelry, you feel me). I began to go through my bikinis and saw that I already have more than I needed. And then it hit me! I realized I couldn’t buy this beautifully, sparkly, piece of fashionable swim wear delight. Instead, I sat there, dwelling on how this bikini would have looked on me; how it would’ve looked in selfies, how it would’ve looked while lying in a lounge chair by the pool, how it would’ve looked with makeup on to match it, how it would’ve looked on the beach, how it would’ve looked in some jean shorts and lace crop top, and so on. I had to except the cold hard truth and finally say it out loud. “I am a shopaholic… I am addicted to shopping and it needs to stop!” In that moment, I realized that a single bikini isn’t worth my future. I’m not willing to risk everything that I have worked for just to experience a little slice of happiness that I will possibly get bored with after wearing it once. I have come to my senses and realized that I should be saving my money for other things.

From there on after, I need to dedicate myself to only buy the necessities and only occasionally splurge. As it is my promise to myself to save up for my goals as my future depends on it.

The moral of the story for all my fashionistas out there is that you can’t buy every piece of clothing in sight. Be as picky with shopping for clothes as you are when you’re ordering food in a restaurant. You might be craving a lot of dishes, but your stomach can only hold so much. Just like how you want to buy multiple outfits, but your money isn’t endless.