University Fashion and Beauty

The 2011 version of what
I would have worn in college.

In retrospect, it perfectly worked out that none of the "cute" boys I liked and pined over back in college found me attractive—maybe because I looked like them and dressed like them.

I fondly refer to my college days as the time when I had fashion amnesia. (I pointed out my penchant for t-shirts and shorts back then in my "Blast from the past" and "Short Shorts" posts.) As a tween, I pretty much was as prissy as the next Selena-Gomez-Justin-Bieber follower if it were 2011 back in the late eighties/early nineties, but for some reason, by the time my college years rolled around, I had no semblance of fashion nor concept of beauty (I do remember purchasing one tube of lipstick in my junior year. I still remember what it was: Revlon Raisin Rage…so maybe I did have the makings of a beauty editor).

It would take a magazine internship, an editor promotion, and a makeover to snap me back to the kikay youngster I once was. One of my early purchases at this new stage was a pair of turquoise BCBG pointy mules from DSW (back when BCBG shoes weren't as readily available online) that I wore to one of the Seventeen anniversary parties. This is why when the whole magazine thing happened, university friends were baffled by my so-called "transformation," whereas my co-Sweet Valley Twins cohorts were probably just as surprised at how I managed to even start looking like a boy.

And, going back to those college guys, all the platonic friendships and unrequited crushes gave me enough time to climb, go to the beach and road trips, and make great friends—both male and female. If I had snagged a boyfriend back then, I would've been too distracted by the serious emotional involvement to create awesome memories of those carefree years.

Suffice it to say, I was finally asked out by good-on-paper boys during those early years as a magazine editor. True, it was fun and exciting, but now that I think about it, it was ironic because I was still the same person from college who wore t-shirts and Birkenstocks to class. Is it because of clothes that I attracted class clowns and geeks instead of frat guys, jocks, and politicians' sons? (On another note, those nerdy types turned out to be great career men and responsible partners later on.)

Fast forward to 2004, when I met the man who would become my husband, it was time for yet another makeover: I'd gained a lot of weight and was in the middle of trying to shed it all off. Simply put, I met my husband when I was fat, and no amount of beauty or fashion could have covered up all of it. That, too, surprisingly worked out. And, that's the subject of another blog post.

Image courtesy of Bluefly.com.