Finding My Personal Style Through Challenging Fashion Rules

I used to cling to fashion rules. I loved them so much that I created a book of fashion don’ts when I was in middle school. As a current lover of , I am ashamed to admit that following fashion rules was ever part of my past. But to be fair, I was only 12.

I was bullied a lot when I was younger and I internalized a lot of it. My personal style was the only thing that I felt really confident about and I think “the rules” were my way of showing just how much I knew about fashion: no socks with sandals, no dresses with sneakers, etc. I felt like I had something to prove.

But even though I knew the rules, I was never really following them. Why? Because I was a fat teen who still dressed how she wanted. I wear bright colors and prints. I wore pleather and short skirts. I broke the biggest plus size fashion rule of all: I refused to hide.

I don’t hide my body. I don’t dress for my “shape.” I wear what I want and it looks how it looks on my body because there’s nothing wrong with my body. I don’t shop exclusively for plus size women’s clothes. This shirt is from the men’s section. This jacket is actually a vintage size medium robe.

And just to really stick it to my former rule book, I wore socks with sandals. Big thank you to for helping inspire this look and push me to go back to my fashion roots of rule-breaking. Check out the outfit details and more images below!

Floral Robe, Vintage
Brooklyn Nets T-Shirt, Forever 21 ()
, c/o Rainbow
Pink Fishnet Socks, La Moda ()
Gold Platforms, Boohoo (

What are the fashion rules you once believed? How do you break them now? Let me know in the comments below!