Each time I wear either this jacket or these shoes I get a variety of comments — some positive, some negative. For example, a boy once said to me in reference to this outerwear, “why on earth did you buy that?” Ok, a few things here. One: I can’t believe a guy actually said “why on earth” — I feel like only people who say “geez” or “golly” or “soda pop” say that.  Two: do you really want me to explain why I bought this jacket? Because it’s a pretty uninteresting, anti-climatic story. So, I simply responded with “because it’s awesome” and walked away. (Jerk.)

Now, when I was younger (ages 5-24) a comment like that would have sent me to Insecure City where people hide in corners and try to blend in with the walls. But as I’ve matoooooored (that’s “matured” with an obnoxious accent), I’ve grown to care less and less about what people think in regards to my sartorial choices. Much like the belief that most people would rather be overdressed than under, I would rather dress like myself than try to blend in with the vanillas of the world. This is starting to sound like a preachy post, and though that wasn’t my initial intention I’m going to roll with it. You see I’m under the belief that if you feel like your look is a little on the “is this appropriate?” side then you should definitely wear it. So I leave you with this: should someone question your outfit or comment on its ridiculousness, tell them it’s awesome and walk away. (Cause they’re a jerk.)

William Rast jacket (similar here) | Splendid shirt | Moschino skirt | Tibi clutch | Burberry wedges | Ray-Ban sunglasses

// photos by Emily Malan