Clothes That Make Me Feel Cooler Than I Really Am

Here is a short list of things that make me feel cooler than I really am: Reading Dazed magazine, scrolling through bruil and van de staaij contemplating subscribing to other alt-“fashion meets culture” zines, using the word “zines”, watching Drag Race, and learning about queer club culture from decades past. The common thread in all these objectively cool acts is, of course, fashion. It’s the overarching theme that runs through everything I do in life and truly my main source of self-perceived “coolness”. As I continue with my No New Clothes pledge I’m shopping considerably less, so I’ve somewhat unintentionally turned to culture consumption as a replacement for the thrill of buying something new. I don’t need to literally shop in order to attain coolness, I can find it elsewhere as I read about fashion, discover new brands with avant-garde or wacky aesthetics, or watch runway after runway on Drag Race where no matter the category, I’m always in awe. All of this new appreciation for consuming “cool” without spending has lead me to further explore my expression of coolness within my own wardrobe. This is what I’m here to disclose to you today. Sometimes my clothes make me feel like a child, a prep school student, or a practising lawyer: All valid aesthetics. But when I want to simply feel a million times cooler than I truly am, these are the items I reach for.

Oversized & Tight as Can Be

I’m having flashbacks to emeroo blog posts of yore when all I ever rambled on about was contrast. In style you need contrast to create interesting outfits, to create intrigue. Though I’m chuckling at my conviction in giving advice despite my modest styling knowledge at the time, I still stand by this concept. Oversized & tight as can be is a perfect example of said contrast. No silhouette brings me cool confidence like a perfect balance of extremely tight and aggressively oversized on my petite frame. Take this look here; I’m feeling sexy and snug in my tube top and vintage leather pencil skirt, but if I left it there I’d not only be cold, but feel far too vulnerable. I don’t mean vulnerable in terms of my exposed skin or choice of traditionally ‘sexy’ fits and fabrics. No, I mean vulnerable in that I’m not fully communicating my own style language. And I can’t stand that. I’m not just the girl who freely wears zebra print. I’m the girl who pairs zebra print with leopard print and I want you to know it! I’ll apply the contrast theory to patterns and colours too. I love when things clash. I also want you to know that I’m wearing these snug garments, along with the XXL jacket I thrifted at the age of 16, purely for my own pleasure. The mixed feeling of tight fabrics against my skin while also hanging loosely around my shoulders and arms is comforting. It communicates, for me, that I’m purely concerning myself with expression of my style, and not worrying about what anyone else may think or prefer.

Shoes that make my feet look Bigfoot-esc

This styling trick connects directly to the last. The contrast of a major shoe size statement and itty bitty everything else communicates such coolness in my eyes. It’s bold and playful and doesn’t take the ‘fashion-ness’ too seriously. I’ll style these monstrous Eytys X H&M combat boots with tights, a mini skirt, and body con turtle neck. These chunky Dr. Martin sandals look insane with a bold sock or stockings and a form fitting knit maxi dress. When I was a teenager I was strangely concerned with appearing to have big feet. My feet needed to look as child like as possible. This must tie into my general insecurity as a young girl wanting to look pretty and dainty but not too innocent at all times because that’s what I was told was desirable. I simply could not be more grateful that I’ve moved away from those warped ideas of femininity to find comfort and confidence through wearing shoes that are not pretty nor dainty. They make my feet look disproportionately large for my body and I think it always elevates the coolness of a look.

Aries Arise

I’m a scorpio. In case you were wondering. But damn it must be fun to be an Aries if the life experiences are at all comparable to the brand. I was thrown into Planet Aries after starting my internship in fashion photo shoot production back in Feb 2019. The incredible team I worked with are all avid Aries lovers, I’m assuming having also been introduced to the brand by our fearless leader, a proud Aries ambassador. The East London brand has the epitome of a cult following. Members of Planet Aries ooze coolness and perfectly sum up the congregation of London youth culture and luxury fashion. Needless to say, I source endless coolness from my modest (but hopefully growing) Aries collection. If you curious about treating yourself, Depop has the most amazing selection of pre-loved Aries. The logo heavy jumper was my first Aries piece and a very kind gift from the Farago Projects team way back in the day. The tie-dye shirt you see here was a treat to myself when I attended the launch party for an Aries X New Balance collaboration. That in itself may be one of the coolest sentences I’ve ever written. My point here is not to seek out sponsored collaboration with Aries (though that would be to-die-for). I wanted to highlight this feeling I get when I wear Aries, but also when I wander in the world of the brand. It’s rare to find a community within a brand that provides such distinct and aspirational style guidance. I highly suggest seeking out your own version of Aries; a brand you can turn to for culture and style whether you buy something or not.

Drop in the comments below the piece in your wardrobe that always makes you feel far cooler than normal. What do you turn to when you need a badass confidence boost? I want to know!

Thanks for reading.

Em