This past week I went to cover an event. One was in Nolita and the other was all the way up town in the Upper East Side (UES). It was a sultry summer night and I was dressed as any fashionista would be: trendy denim shorts, flowy hot pink silk long sleeve shirt and unquestionable platform high heels. For the event in the southern part of the island, my outfit was a perfect fit. My hot pink top blended in fantastically with the array of fluorescent toenails peeking out from the tips of sandals. However traveling uptown was a different story. One can forget how conservative the UES can be.
I arrived at the event uptown to realize it was at a church and with the outfit I had on, it didn’t look as I was wearing any bottoms, as my shirt was just about skimming the hemline of my shorts. Lady GaGa doesn’t like to wear pants, and at this moment in time, it looked as if we shared the same outlook. Everyone else was in conservative summer dresses, pearls and close-toed shoes. I felt like I was in an episode of Gossip Girl minus the attractive cast. The looks I received ranged from disgusted to “who the heck let her in!?” The women could not believe what I was (not) wearing and the men, well lets just say they stared. I stood out from the crowd. For a brief moment I had a flashback of being back in high school and receiving detentions based on the severity of my short hemlines. This time, no one could hassle me, but just look and make whatever assumptions they deemed. It also made me recall some of the other times in my life when I stood out for what I was wearing, for better or worse.
I had applied for a job at a clothing company in Los Angeles. I remember buying a new suit for the interview. I had my YSL heels on and I was ready to go. It was an extremely hot day, one where waterproof mascara will not even stay on. I arrived at the interview, clad head to toe in my suit with collared shirt beneath. The interview ensued and I was sweating more than I could imagine, not from nerves but from the amount of clothing I had on. At the end of the interview, jokes were made as to what I was wearing. Being LA, everyone else in the office had on sundresses and sandals. Standing out 1, sweat marks 2.
Some people want to stand out, some more so than others. To stand out, all you have to do is figure out the general look of what everyone else is going for and then do the exact opposite or take the trends to an extreme. Let’s take Lady GaGa for example. Leggings were in (notice how I used the past tense) for wearing as pants. Shirts were short and minimal coverage was given to the bottom half of the body. A thin layer of synthetic leather was the only thing between you and the seat on the subway. She presumably saw the trend and decided the only thing more extreme than wearing leggings as pants, was not wearing anything on your bottom half at all! Not taking into account her chart topping music, her non-pants look has gained her notoriety, caused quite a stir and leads her to receive much attention. She would agree with me when I say mission accomplished on all fronts with her extreme clothing choices. When looking to make a visual impact, go against the grain. If want to blend in, go ahead and dress like everyone else. If you want to stand out (and I am only talking clothes here), all you have to do is dress the part, own it and go. If you need assistance, I have more than one sequin dress you can borrow.
-Oriana DiNella
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