STYLE EVOLUTION: What I Wore in High School 1999-2003

I know it's late April when I start seeing the sidewalks of Charleston and Huntington covered in pastel-colored ball gowns and too big tuxedos.

Then, I start thinking back to my prom, and then I start thinking about high school, and then I remember that this year is my 10 year high school reunion. Yikes.

I thought it would be interesting to post a little bit about who my fashion icons were at the time, and what I wore:

Liz Parker from the TV show Roswell | Joey Potter from the TV show Dawson's Creek | Jackie O
Ali MacGraw from the movie Love Story | Everything from the movie Blue Crush

If I were to really describe my fashion sense during high school, I'd describe it as a preppy surfer girl, which more or less equals out to Abercrombie & Fitch, during its heyday. I liked simple clothes that were easy to wear, which I still do. I was also very much into vintage clothing, especially flares from the 1970s. I'm one of six kids, and at the time there were a couple of kids in college and some of us still in prep school so money was pretty tight. I couldn't afford the Abercrombie that everyone else was wearing so when I was stuck shopping at Goodwill for clothes, I decided to really go ahead and embrace vintage.

My mom was another one of my inspirations. My mom grew up in San Fransisco during the 1950s and 1960s. Yes, she hung out at Haight-Ashbury during the Summer of Love. I loved going through the few pictures she had from those times and getting a sense of the styles that people were wearing and then trying to recreate them from the racks at Goodwill. I found the best vintage shop in Huntington around that time, it was just a little hole-in-the-wall by where the Village on Sixth is now located. I had no trouble finding the flares I loved so much there. I got all sorts of jeans, sweaters, and amazing tee shirts from there. It also sold the finest in head shop paraphernalia.

However, there was one little thing to keep in mind about my high school years. I wore a uniform from the age of 6 to the age of 18.

This is based off my senior year. I had to wear khakis or navy blue pants or skirts. We had polo shirts with the school logo on them that came in white or navy, and on cooler days we could wear a plain navy sweatshirt/sweater. My accessories included Wallabee shoes because they are the most comfortable shoe on earth, a yin yang necklace because that was the thing at the time, and I had a giant tote bag that I used instead of a backpack.

Here's what I wore on the weekends:

Flares, camp shirts, and chunky turtlenecks were favorites of mine. For a few years I incorporated a hint of military into my closet because I found some old Army shirts at Goodwill and loved them. There's the obligatory surfer-inspired gear all high school girls wear at one point. I had a crazy collection of messenger bags during high school, I still love them today. For shoes I typically wore my Wallabees from my school uniform, and the original Candie's slides. This was back when they were $50 and sold at Nordstrom instead of Kohl's.

I won't lie, I would still wear 70% of the clothes I owned in high school.

Here's one of my senior portraits:

Sweater? Check. Low-rise flares? Check and check. Converse? Check, check, and check.

A Taste of My Style

There are a ton of style blogs that feature a pretty woman going about her business in New York while wearing a leather mini skirt and a chiffon blouse.  This blog ain't one of them.  Sure, they're great pictures and the way the outfits are styled are interesting and interesting (if you get my drift) but that's just not my style.  The last thing I really want to do--or have time for-- is to pose in the alleyways of downtown Huntington while wearing some sort of weird outfit while my non-existent "photographer" boyfriend takes my picture.  But as a fashion blogger I feel I should be giving you, my reader(s) a taste of what I actually wear.



 

I work in the construction supply/landscaping business.  My clothes get dirty, ripped, and stained on a daily basis.  I do not spend a lot of money on these clothes, because this weekend I'll probably be back at Old Navy getting yet another pair of jeans to replace the ones that got ripped on a forklift (like two weeks ago).  I keep a pair of steel-toed boots in my car in case I  have to visit a job site.  I don't wear a lot of jewelry, mostly due to safety issues.  To keep somewhat stylish I'll wear colorful tees, change around what bracelets I'm wearing, and make sure my makeup and hair looks good.



 

I consider my style colorful and practical.  As much as I love frilly and frou-frou clothing, I wouldn't wear it.  I like to be able to put my clothes on and go about my business without having to keep fussing with them.  This is my basic fall uniform.  Jeans or cords, cardigan, tank or cami, and flats.  I jazz up my outfits with statements necklaces (I have over 20 at least), and my bracelet stacks.  I'll also go a bit more daring with my hair and makeup than my weekday neutrals.

I own three black articles of clothing: a tee, a tank, and a black and white printed cardigan.  To me, black is bland.  It also really washes me out.  So for neutrals, I aim for brown, navy, and I've started to add in gray.  I have dark brown hair and fair skin, so I pick jewel tones because they look best on me.

I wore a prep school uniform until I was 18, and then in college I didn't wear a lot of nice clothes because I was studying Printing Management at WVU Tech.  Printing ink doesn't like to come out of clothes.  I still have a few college tees that have process blue stains on them.  I am probably not as adventurous with my wardrobe as I could be, but it just doesn't fit in with my lifestyle.  If I didn't have to worry about my clothes getting ruined, I'd probably dress like those women running around New York in eight inch heels and a 1k handbag being followed by their "photographer" boyfriend.

Back to School: Target

When I first went off to college so many years ago (okay 2003, and it does seem that long ago), just about everything I bought to head off came from Target.  The Target had just opened up on Rt. 60 in Barboursville, so  I was rather excited about it.  Most of my clothes, all of dorm stuff (which I actually still have...), all came from the giant red bull's eye in the sky. 

I'm still a fan of Target, and I feel it's one of the places where you can get the most bang for your buck.  They usually have a designer collaboration going on, such as this summer's Calypso St. Barth which I was in love with, and Missioni coming up here in September.  Trust me, there will be more on that later. 

But before I get even further off track, here are the sets for Target:

Polyvore set here.

When I first saw this skirt, all I could think of was how perfect it would be for fall.  I added cute red flats (which would go great with the J. Crew shirt from yesterday), a simple brown bag, and a red scarf.  Even though the scarf, shoes, and skirt aren't all the same shade of red, they're in the same family, which will allow you to get away with wearing them all together.  I added a simple teal tee to keep everything too matchy-matchy.  It's a bit unexpected, and teal is hot for this fall.  Had I paired this skirt with a neutral shirt, I probably would have taken away the scarf as it would have been too much red.  But adding this shirt in a complementary color, you can go further with accessories.  A purple shirt would also work, as would yellow or a bright colbalt blue.

Polyvore set here.

Also hot this fall? Colorblocking.  I chose this great colorblocked dress as it's not only on trend, but is also a basic classic dress.  I love the pink and dark green for the fall.  A simple woven wedge and tortishell jewelry just make this so simple and wearable for a lot of people.  Like the skirt from yesterday, this will also be great with tights and a flat boot. 

Sephora Coming to Charleston & Other Mall News

Yesterday's announcement of White House|Black Market coming to Huntington hasn't been the only retail news in West Virginia as of late.  Last week, the Charleston Town Center announced that anchor store JC Penney's was getting ready for a multi-million dollar renovation.  According to to the Charleston Daily Mail, the renovations will be from "top to bottom" and will include a Sephora Inside JC Penney.  It should be no surprise to anyone that I am a huge Sephora fan, so I'm more than excited to hear about this addition to the Charleston Town Center.  A few years ago, JC Penney started to remodel its stores, and one of the first ones they did was at the Ashland Town Center, which also included a Sephora.  Ashland is maybe 20-ish minutes from Huntington, and the mall there really isn't worth writing home about.  At the time, the renovation seemed basically to showcase the American Living line, a sort of preppy-Americana brand. That same section now showcases the women's lingere...to show how well the American Living brand is doing.  I'm more or less expecting the Charleston store to look very similar to the Ashland store. 

While the JC Penney remodel is set in stone, I've heard a rumor that Forever 21 is looking to move in the Charleston Town Center.  Personally, I'd rather have a Forever 21 in Huntington than White House|Black Market.  For those who aren't familiar with Forever 21, it's a flash fashion store, meaning the stuff you saw on the catwalk two weeks ago will be in store this weekend.  Prices are dirt cheap, but the quality is dirt cheap as well.  You do get what you pay for: a cute dress that will last this season and that's it.  They do carry a pretty good plus size line called Faith 21.  All of the Forever 21 stores I have been in are huge, and I'm not 100% sure of where there might be that size available in the CTC.  There's the old Steve & Barry's location on the east side of the mall, but it's been split into two different stores. One side is an inflatable bounce house place where you can hold a party, the other sells crap out of distribution catalogs, like fiber optic angel statues.  I don't know what the leases are on those stores, but that's the only place I can think of where Forever 21 would want to move into.

The Huntington Mall is getting ready to do a multi-million dollar renovation in honor of its 30th anniversary.  Basically, skylights are being put in, new flooring installed, remodeling the joke of a food court, and some other odds and ends.  However, they are also going to put in two new stores.  While I haven't heard any rumors of what might be going in those, I imagine it's not going to be anything to get excited over.   Just throwing this out there, but I foresee a Talbot's Women and Petite.  There's already a Talbot's there, and it doesn't carry the plus size or petite clothes.  

My little sister asked me last night what other stores I could see moving into downtown Huntington after White House|Black Market.  Off the top of my head...Urban Outfitters, and that's only if WH|BM does well.  I think between Marshall, high schoolers, and people in the 24-40 age bracket there's enough population and interest to support an UO.  Like Forever 21, most Urban Outfitters are fairly large stores.  Most of the space in Pullman Square and across the street on Third Avenue is occupied.  There's not enough draw to bring people to Fourth Avenue, and obviously location is key.

White House|Black Market Coming to Huntington!

About a month ago, I posted a list of stores or brands that I'd love to see come to West Virginia.  While it's not one of my top picks, White House|Black Market is a welcome addition to downtown Huntington.  It's not going in Pullman Square though, but at 905 Third Avenue.  This is what use to be the 9th St. Plaza, right next to the AT&T Store and facing the patio of the Marshall Hall of Fame Cafe.  The building was most recently an upscale kid's clothing store--or for longtime residents of Huntington--the former Bowinkle's restaurant. 

I miss Bowinkle's.  Not only was the food good, it was very affordable.  You can't eat downtown and drop fewer than $10 on a meal.  I don't even what to think about eating out with kids costs these days.  I may be a bit biased, though, because Bowinkle's was my first job.

Ahem, back to White House|Black Market.  As the store's name might suggest, a majority of the clothing and accessories are in black and white. Sure, there's some neutrals mixed in, along with a color or two, but the store looks and feels like a P. Diddy theme party.  The best way I can best describe the clothes is a mix between Ann Taylor Loft and Macy's INC line. 

The only reason I don't see WH|BM doing well are the price points.  WH|BM is pricey, at least by West Virginia standards.  Expect a dress--even a basic jersey dress--to cost around $100.  Shoes also average $100.  I can definitely see lots of Marshall students shopping at WH|BM, and between them and the small-ish professional population, the store might be able to survive. 

Here are some dresses I'd love to get in my closet:

Mosiac Print Chemise, $98

Blue Floral Print Sheath Dress, $168

I am excited, though.  No word yet on when White House|Black Market will open, but according to WSAZ.com, the company said "soon."