Holding a Grunge*

*I'm sorry.

When I was 10 at the height of the 90's I had a CD where the singer was decked out in ripped knee jeans, a brown flannel button up, and those construction worker boots that got to be a big deal. I was sold. My parents had bought my sisters and I a pair of said boots for hiking and I started rocking them with my little girl's lace edged socks. My dad thought it was hilarious. 

I somehow procured (possibly through witchcraft because I'm not sure how my mother permitted it) a similar flannel button up and I played in my jeans extra hard until the knees gave out. That was my short foray into Grunge. 

Hat- Me Made

Jacket- Walmart (gulp)

Dress- Old Navy

Tights- Target

Boots- Target

Bangle- Vintage

Truth be told in '97 I was a 10 year-old homeschooled kid who's parents hadn't quite figured out the sham of the whole "modesty" thing yet, and who barely caught onto the whole Grunge thing towards the end of the trend. I had no clue who Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain were, and I couldn't have identified any of the music of the genre. It's not like I really had a great grasp on the whole Grunge thing. I don't really remember seeing people wear it much (though I do remember some pretty amazing nods to grunge courtesy of the American Girl catalog's clothing section). But for some reason or other it has always been sort of dear to my heart. I find it, like the 70's, charming and cool without trying. Call it childhood romanticism, but I've always been a fan. 

As I mentioned here, I've been struggling with this idea I have in my head of the kind of clothes I want to wear. They encompass a lot of different styles I like, including a nod to Grunge, and the thing I'm finding challenging is figuring out how to balance my more romantic tastes with the more, for lack of a better word, ugly tastes. Does this look capture what I want? Not entirely, but it's a step in the right direction. But it also got me thinking about fashion blogging and why I feel that a majority of bloggers out there are in sort of a schlump. A lot of us started way back when, and we were younger, certain clothes were more available, and there were no rules. It was fun and we discovered a lot of other people who shared our love of certain styles, but everyone did their own thing.

But then we got "branded" and suddenly stuck in a certain classification. The Vintage Style Bloggers, The Trendy Style Bloggers, The DIY Style Bloggers, etc. When you brand your clothing choices, you become very limited. I love Vintage clothes, adore them! But they're harder to find now, especially in my size and when you do find them the prices have been inflated. Also, I don't really want to look like I walked out of a 40's, or 50's or 60's Sears catalog. For some that is them, but it's not me. I'm a flip-flopper. I like one decade one minute and another the next. I like some trends, and I am still secretly hoping I'm a Mermaid-Fairy-Unicorn. And I like Brown Boots. Since I started blogging 5 years ago ( dear god!) I have changed a lot as far as my tastes, and my lifestyle, and even the dreams I have for the future. I still like a lot of (and maybe all) the things I liked in 2008, but I've grown. I've delved deeper into some interests, and let others take a break. Same goes for my style. Furthermore, the audience I had back in 2008 were all different people then, and while some of them might still be around, not all of them will be interested in my blog still. And all of that is A-OK. People change, life goes on, and we'll figure it out. This isn't something I realized until very recently, but it's been incredibly freeing. I want this blog to be fun again. I want my clothing to be fun again. And this outfit was fun, and I felt really great in it. And that is what I miss about fashion blogging. 

No more boxes, just Me.

And now for my brooding Grunge Solo Album ("Alone on a Dirt Road") Cover: