A few days ago we took a day trip to Munich (the first one after the Coronavirus madness) and I really wanted to wear something that made me feel good, but was also stylish and “me”. What did I do? I returned to the basics that I love so much: blue jeans, white shirt and a scarf to capture the eye. Later that day, as I was feeling happy with what I was wearing (and that doesn´t happen often), I realized it´s what I´ve liked wearing since … forever. It is my personal style, it´s ME.
It wasn´t easy to come to this conclusion and be comfortable with it. In these times, where social media dictates what we wear, how we feel and what we think, it´s pretty difficult to discover who you really are and what you really like. And that is the easy part, to discover. It then comes the part where maybe the others do not accept you, although diversity is nowadays extremely promoted on social platforms, I feel like now more than ever there is little tolerance for those who are different. I think these are hard times for the quiet ordinary people, as everybody needs to be extraordinary, to shout their ideas and their beliefs out loud and to shame the others that don´t share them.
Before I came to Germany seven and a half years ago, I didn´t think much about these things. At home in Romania I was like everybody else and it was “normal”. As I started to work here I was faced with the fact that I was somehow different, that I looked different and that I mainly saw things differently. Sometimes that was a good thing, I was very creative in solving the problems in a different way, but I also had a few difficulties, mainly because of my appearance. There were quite a few times when my professional abilities were doubted because I wore makeup and a nice pair of shoes (if you´ve ever been to Germany and seen how the people here dress, you will understand why this was a problem). Eventually I´ve found my place here with people who love me as I am, so it´s not all that bad, but in the beginning it was hard for me to adjust.
But not only in the beginning, it took many years in which I tried to somehow fit in and didn´t to realize that I actually don´t need to fit in. I´m different and it´s OK. I realized that in my job it´s actually an advantage to see things differently and not once I was able to solve the problems in a surprising way.
And now back to personal style. For me the way that I dress is the way to show the world who I am. I´m simple and complicated at the same time (and Andrei can confirm). And so I like to wear something that can be dressed up or down, depending on what I need or how I feel that day. Jeans and simple shirts are for me perfect. I´ve always loved shirts (even in high-school I used to wear my fathers white shirts), because the simple at first sight, but there is something about them that´s never THAT simple (just like me 🙂 ). Jeans are up to any occasion, work or free time you can never go wrong with a pair of jeans.
It took me 35 years to get here and a lot of bad choices in fashion and in life. But that´s OK too, that´s how you grow. I´m not perfect and I don´t have to be, I just need to be happy with myself.
On that positive note, I say see you next time!
Yours,
Diana
Be the first to comment on "A Story of Personal Style"