Our Hometown Styles: Rekindling a Kind of London
Growing up in London, my favourite thing to do was people watch, which has since then sparked a lifelong obsession with fashion. In London, experimentation and individuality are key: street style is bold and meant to stand out, to the extent that no one will bat an eye at even the most outlandish of style combinations. (My neighbour regularly walks around with two blue macaws on each shoulder, but this arouses only minimal curiosity). The city’s many contradictions are reflected in the myriad of styles and trends spotted on the street. London doesn’t have a distinct ‘look’ in the way that a Google of Parisian or Scandi style would offer; no, London fashion is a little harder to pin down.
For me, this resulted in a series of now rather tragic experimental phases which I have since scrubbed from my photo history, enabled by my job at a secondhand clothing store where I had first pick of the bargain bin. Highlights include a zebra-print tiered skirt straight from the 80s, a denim child’s waistcoat that Xtina might have rocked, and a pair of cherry red cowboy boots, often all as a part of the same outfit.
In my late teens, amidst typical teenage angst and cripplingly low self-esteem, I fell out of love with fashion. Whereas before I’d relished every opportunity to stand out, suddenly I just wanted to blend into the background, and my cherry red cowboy boots, previously so beloved, didn’t exactly fit with that goal. As a result, when I wasn’t wearing straight sportswear, I fell into a routine of leggings and oversized sweatshirts. It wasn’t until I came to St Andrews that I began to remember exactly what I had once loved about clothes.
On paper, London and St Andrews could not be more different, yet in both I’ve found the same celebration of individuality and personality in fashion. I’ve found the freedom to experiment and rekindle my passion for fashion as a tool for self-expression. I dress up every morning to go to Pret (as a self-respecting St Andrews student, I heavily abuse my coffee subscription) and find myself taking inspiration from outfits I see on my way to the library. St Andrews gave me the opportunity to remember exactly what I had loved about fashion as a younger girl, which led me here to Concrete Catwalk to share it.