Why You Should Wear What You Want

Especially if it involves cute animal prints.

This post is inspired by an old story of mine. A few years ago, possibly four or five years, when I was in high school, me and a friend spent a lot of our free time browsing the shops after school. One day, we went into an Etam store (it is a French brand, but still linked here if you are curious). I found the most adorable long-sleeved shirt. It was soft, cream-coloured, and best of all: it has tiny sausage dogs all over it. Now, I swooned over the shirt, but as I showed it enthusiastically to my friend, she said it was kind of ridiculous. Don’t worry, she’s great though and I am happy to say we are still friends to this day (and she still questions my fashion choices from time to time.)

For a few weeks, I debated whether I should get the shirt or not. My heart said yes, my friend’s advice was no. I ended up never getting the shirt. And as sad as it may be, I still think about this cute little sausage dog shirt from time to time, mentally slapping myself for not getting it because I would still love it today.

I wanted it, it made me happy, and these I think are pretty good reasons to wear something. That it makes me feel happy and confident.

So when I saw this cute pug blouse in Bershka, I fell in love instantly. I mean, tiny little pugs hiding behind the stripes of the shirt and showing their butts, what else could I ask for? So I decided to get it straight away. However, as I was trying it out, I thought about the pros and cons (well, more the cons) of wearing this shirt. Am I too old to wear a shirt with pugs on? Will I look silly? Will it clash with my usual style?

Then I checked myself and realised that the second-thoughts I had were nonsensical. I was held back by what others might think about what I wear – which, in my book, is the silliest thing to worry about. We feel our most confident when we wear outfits we like, that bring out our identity and allow us to express ourselves. The way we dress can be part of who we are. So, as we should never be afraid to show our personality and our true selves to those we interact with, we should never refrain from wearing the clothes we enjoy, and that would make us comfortable and happy. I smile every time I see this little shirt, and will keep wearing it. So if you like wearing all the colours of the rainbow, do it. If you want to wear all black all the time, go ahead. And if you like shirts with quirky animals all over, wear them too. We would twin and that would be awesome.