Taaaaaavz

FROM HER BLOG, THE STYLE ROOKIE

Tavi Gevinson needs no introduction (but if you do click this and this). I CANNOT WAIT TO GET MY HANDS ON HER NEW BOOK. I've never been her biggest fan when she first rose to prominence (her attending NYFW with a giant bow on her head was most memorable, along with spiteful comments from her jealous and much older fashion editors, around 2009). She was a true fashion blogger wunderkind: I admired the eloquence in which she discussed her hobbies, her adorable obsessiveness for the little things, her taste for quirky vintage clothing and could most definite relate to her finding inspiration in esoteric films. A pre-teen with great taste, who did not mindlessly follow mainstream pop culture? Two thumbs up for me. 

And yet in spite of all that, ultimately we did not share the same aesthetic. She liked to pile accessories on, dye her hair in a multitude of colours, indulging in all things 90s, while I like to keep things simple and relaxed. Tomboy style, you know? ;) But to each their own, and it was fine by me. This is probably the best explanation as to why I stopped reading her blog/paying attention to whatever she was doing. Then a year ago, when news came out that she was starting her own magazine, I finally revisited her blog to go check it out. "Rookie" was AWESOME. Tavi had transcended the rank of being just another fashion blogger who made it big to fashion week, into making her own magazine and rejecting the fashion élite establishment (can't find her blog post on it, but it's there!!!). There was a lot of good material, from different artists and writers, some of whom I already know like Jenny from Fashion For Writers. Intelligent, funny, raw and honest, it would have been the magazine of my dreams if I was a young teenage girl all over again. Having unfortunately missed the Sassy boat, all I had back in my pre-teen days were Seventeen and Teen Vogue. Those two weren't terrible (and Teen Vogue had pretty good styling then), but it wasn't enough, which was why as soon as I got into boarding school, I would spend all my allowance at Border's buying i-D, Lula, Vogue Paris and Pop etc. 

As much as I enjoyed the eye candy and much needed inspiration from those magazines, now that I think about it, it wasn't wholly appropriate in that I never got to develop my style organically. I had jumped from wearing pieces found from my mum's wardrobe to coveting to the latest pieces by Proenza Schouler (I still do) and Givenchy (remember the leather pants?!). Though I still went through periods of time where I would get strange looks from fellow classmates who simply didn't "get" my outfits, I never really went through those awkward teenage years wearing tacky Forever 21 clothes, experiment with cheap drugstore makeup, that kinda thing. Things that people would usually tried to avoid, but I felt I grew up a little too fast by starting to run before I really knew how to walk. Perhaps it's only because I write this with much nostalgia, all too aware that my opportunities to fully experiment is growing to an end. I know that I'm still very young in the grand scheme of things, however knowing that my future career would probably require conservative dress, there will be little (if at all) allowance for more crazy playful outfits. 

This explains why I like to read Rookie so much, as I live vicariously through their various fashion experiments and seasonal transformations. And this also why even though I disapprove of my young sister's eclectic fashion choices, I still agree to accompany her to the mall.