Which era to wear today?

Consider the evolution of the fashion world: for many years, it was a limited choice between a pant, shirt or dress with divisive lines that confined people by gender (pants for boys, dresses for girls), class (hence the saying “fit for a queen”), and social association (but who says a girly girl can’t wear combat boots?). In contrast, today’s more adventurous fashion world allows individuals to essentially choose a character from their closet to channel according to mood or situation.

From ’70s psychedelic floral prints and round-framed sunnies to ’90s Keds and overalls, decade after decade, creative ways to dress have been passed down. They are all available today, which leaves room to embody whatever “character” in life you choose to be. Hippies can be hippies, tomboys can be tomboys, preps can be preps, and rock stars can be rock stars. Moreover, one person can be all four in one day, dressing according to mood or situation.

Chic displays in retail stores’ glass windows around the world consist of decades of humankind’s creative use of cloth and color to decorate our bodies in various forms of attire. Yesterday’s trends and overnight fashion fevers have transformed into style archetypes that have proven over time to be additions to the fashion vault from which people can pull pieces that help to express their unique style. From ruffles to fringe to lace and leather, each time period has contributed a vibe, look and attitude to this vault of all things fashion.

With all these choices, stepping into a closet full of threads to get dressed in the morning can be a lot more difficult or a lot more fun. Retailers and designers are constantly spewing out new collections and, on top of that, magazines advise you to purchase the “must haves” of the season if you want to be stylish. Of course, depending too much on the latest trend or what that girl is wearing will get you caught in a whirlwind of discontent with a starving bank account. For sanity’s sake, style should reflect you as an individual. As stated by Coco Chanel in The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World’s Most Elegant Woman, “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.”