"welcome to college"

college started at move-in, which was exactly a week and one day ago.

so far? it's been interesting, and i can say that because, unlike high school, my judgement hasn't been crowded by the expectations i see in movies and in pop culture. it's just... been. i've met cool people, i've met girls who play dumb, i've met girls who drink until they black out every night. i've met stupid boys, boys with tattoos and big muscles, boys whose clothes are oddly color-coordinated. i auditioned for choir on a whim, i listened to the same playlist over and over again, i went without showering, i went without air conditioning. i showed up to a class 15 minutes late because i got the timing messed up.

i wondered if i was doing the right thing- should i be socializing right now? should i be working out? partying?

then the judgement of my own interests became apparent: who decides what's cool or what i should be doing? WHO SAYS IM NOT PERFECT? (Thanks, Selena.)

Gloria

Hello, new but sure to be faithful readers! It is I, your humble fashion correspondent, Catie. I'm sitting in the slowly fading light of the sun, aided by the air conditioning blowing subtly overhead and spurred on by "Horses," a Patti Smith classic- in other words, I am enjoying all the entitlements living in suburbia brings with.

Over the past year or so I've been documenting outfits I find noteworthy or at least a little interesting. My thoughts in the shower as of late (remember that as my great friend Mina once told me, all great thinking occurs in the bathroom) have been revolving around how to present these outfit photos. Luckily, I have no frickin' idea, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the shitstorm of outfits and inspirations about to parade your way.

sunglasses: forever 21, jacket: thrifted, skirt worn as dress: mom's, belt: thrifted, shirt:kohl's, shoes: forever 21

inspiration came mainly in the form of pictures like these, little girls in pink dreaming of future pageant days, wearing red lipstick and high heels. some desert vibes were manifested in the red suede fringed jacket, and ideas of iconography, although not obviously present, are lingering.

Intro Post!

Hey guys and gals- welcome to the first ever post of my first ever fashion blog! I hope you will note the purposeful stylization of my blog header: yes, that title was left uncapitalized because I am ~INDIEpendent~ and not because I am a lazy sloth.

I want to talk a little (more) about the title of my blog, and why I chose it. Titling and naming anything is a difficult task- so remember the half-hour you spent trying to title your fifth-grade poem the next time you feel compelled to roll your eyes at one more "Untitled No. 33" at the Met- but, I digress. In all honesty, I didn't spend that much time trying to name this blog. I chose a title and went with it- which may be the reason why this blog will be renamed or completely extinct within the span of the next week. Anyway, what all of this is trying to say is that I came up with a title I thought represented me (and here's why):

The development of my sense of style and interest in fashion over the past year has had me wondering whether or not I should create a style blog. Admittedly, I know more about fashion than most, but I'm still a novice and by no means an insider when it comes to high fashion (which means, sadly, that I can't hook you up with Uncle Karl [Yes, Karl Lagerfeld- no, not that kind of hook-up]). The way I dress is different than anyone I know, but I still don't think that's a reason to document the outfits I wear everyday. Creating a blog, to me, requires a certain amount of confidence (chutzpah?) that what you have to say (or wear) matters: to other people, mostly, if your principal concern is creating a dialogue about fashion and meeting other people who share your interest. And while I would love to meet other people who share my interest, I've created this blog because I honestly feel that I need an outlet to drool over new collections, laud praise on eye-catching street style, and, yes, showcase the random shit I throw together and wear around town. In a nutshell: this blog is for me and only me, and if you happen to like it- cheers, love! :)

Now, onto the actual dissection of my blog title.

My mom, while I love her dearly, can't understand my need to wear bowties-(lady BOWners, according to the lovely Leandra Medine, aka themanrepeller)cum-sequined jackets to scholarship ceremonies and other less-dressy events a high schooler would attend. To her, I always appear overdressed, hence the first half of the title.

Under-exposed refers to both my still-wanting knowledge of fashion and culture and the status of my blog and my person as a fashionista. I'm a nobody in the fashion world right now, and hey, maybe that's where I'll stay! I have no idea where the future will take me.

First, a little bit about me. I'm a recent high school graduate from the Madison, Wisconsin area (yay cheese! boo scott walker) and I'm attending UW-Madison in the fall. In addition to fashion, I'm interested in feminism, art, film, music and culture in general.

Annd that concludes my introductory post, folks.

Tah-tah for now,

Catie