Nothing makes me feel the generation gap/reminds me I’m not “youth culture” anymore than Alight.com. Even Alloy doesn’t make me feel so distant – perhaps because they sell T-shirts for bands that I’ve heard of and listened to in my teen years.
While I still admit some confusion to some of the pieces they release – they tend to be just a bit louder, or tighter, or flashier than what I’m personally inclined towards – I can see trends in them, flashing by at the pace of Natural Born Killers. Even though many of the pieces were actually last year’s Torrid or Svoboda or whatever other designer, there’s something utterly now about them, a “hurry up and wear me before I expire” feel to some of these pieces.
So in my most recent exploration, I picked a few pieces that, in an alternate universe, I myself might wear – assuming in the alternate universe I’m in my late teens and early 20s, and unlike that period in my life, I actually have the money required to buy new clothing.
First, I know I’d wear the high-waisted jean. I’m a sucker for buttons. They’re shiny, and they somehow look both official and rebellious here. Also, I’m very self-conscious about flashing my middle at anyone even though it still happens more than I’d like, thanks to many laundry accidents in my household.
OK, I’d wear this dress in any case – I like the waist definition, and I share the model’s general chest shape.
I’ve seen girls wear this. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Clearly, the more be-besomed among us would find this problematic, but at the same time, I can see myself lured by a low-self esteem day into wearing this over jeans over palazzo pants just for the illusion of comfort.
Still, I’m 32 – what’s appropriate for me to wear now that I’m old enough to be sexy is probably less sexy than stuff for the kids that are still too young to be sexy.
