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Embracing Femininity: a pivotal point in my style

My goodness, this dress!!! 
Dress: E.F.L.A 

Good evening folks! I hope you're all well. Today I had intended on publishing a blog post (which will now be up on Wednesday) called 'how to make each day an adventure,' but instead let's discuss a particular style adventure I'm embarking on. A pivotal point, if you will, and the beginning of an exploration of femininity (yes, I am a little scared, but it's all very exciting!).   

A little while ago I wrote a post entitled 'Style Paralysis: How to get out of a style rut' and you guys seemed to really like it. So, I wanted to share a little bit of what coming out of that rut has looked like for me: the resolution of paralysis (the movement maybe?). 

Peace and love!

It began with a dress. 

I found this dress in a vintage/designer charity shop a week or so ago, and it ignited a flame deep within me - I want to be feminine, I want to be pretty, and that's okay. As Tavi Gevinson once said (in a random youtube video I found down a youtube rabbit hole): 'I think I'm ready to be pretty now'.

<Insert red dress pic number 2 here>

However, it's more complex than that, as things often are. As a female-bodied human with somewhere-between-male-and-female-mind, identifying as non-binary and preferring they/them pronouns, I've found expressing my feminine qualities a road filled with trials and tribulations. I was living in fear of my stereotypical 'girlish' qualities. Would wearing a dress render my non-binary identity unbelievable? Would having long hair immediately raise questions about the validity of my preferred pronouns? 

These fears chased me for years, until I eventually reconciled my gender expression and love for clothes: how a person chooses to dress and how they express themselves does not dictate (or give permission for people to question) their gender identity. 

What you wear does not have to entirely encapsulate who you are as a person! It is an often ambiguous message sent to the world about how you're feeling that day and what you just simply felt like wearing. It does not have to define you! 


Florals for Spring? Groundbreaking...
I bloody love this dress!
Dress: Cacharel  

Personal style can exist in many forms, as an armour; a series of messages about who you are and what you value; a creative outlet; an expression of mood. But it can simply be an area for experimentation. 

I recently read an article in Oh Comely about dressing up and I couldn't have agreed with it more; clothing should be fun and something we enjoy, rather than just cloth on our backs. It should make us feel confident, powerful, happy. And dresses do just that for me. 



I have therefore made the decision that I will not be afraid of dressing girlishly, I will not let societal stereotypes stop me from wearing e
xactly what I want and I will embrace my female-body, while maintaining a somewhere-in-between worldview.

Let the era of dresses begin! 

Thank you for reading this untimely ramble. You're all so fabulous and I appreciate you taking the time to read my little ditties. 

Find me on Instagram @jumper.dweller 

Louise <3 

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