From No Swag To Some Swag: A Lazy Girl’s Personal Style Story
Written by Sharon Hamza
I had no passion for fashion, so sorry to Cloe, Jade, Yasmin, and Sasha.
To be honest, I’ve never had a real idea about how to dress for myself. I mean, what does that even mean, right?
From the ages of eleven to sixteen, I was heavily influenced by the general consensus on what is considered cool and trendy at school. I never dressed for myself because I didn’t see clothes as an extension of me. More like something I put on me, but I was okay with that because I had no energy to care, until it dawned on me that I had NO swag. I felt a sudden urge to find my swag, my personal style. However, there was a slight problem: the desire to change without the drive to do it had been a large thorn in my side for a long time.
I won’t say that others haven’t inspired me in my own styling decisions. Living in a world of colour is such a privilege, and I’m so grateful to have grown up on the MovieStarPlanet, Stardoll and Style Boutique side of it. And yet, despite seeing and loving the glamour and fantasy, the hardest part was seeing myself in it. I recognised ball, but could only watch courtside.
To me, swag had to be complete and cohesive, like all the pieces in a carefully constructed puzzle coming together to create something special. What I didn’t realise is that puzzles aren’t meant to be solved fast and in one go. I felt discouraged by my lack of fashion inventory; unlike my VIP status on MSP, I didn’t think I had the tools necessary to have a sense of style.
I floated in the space between wanting to have amazing fashion and being okay with the bland and boring. Finally, around the age of eighteen, I discovered Vinted.
At first, it wasn’t anything groundbreaking, just a regular clothing app. Then I saw this absolutely stunning pair of Victoria Beckham x Rock Republic denim jeans, and I mean, they were really gorg. Once I saw the crown emblem embroidered into the back pockets, my finger jumped to press the buy now button.
I thought to myself,“ Huh. That was weird, I actually quite liked that.”
And then it happened again. Another pair of jeans, this time unlabeled with buttoned back pockets and a whole bunch of faux zippers.
Without realising it, that dormant part of me had finally woken up, the part that actually cared and wanted to experiment with fashion. I started picking pieces not because they were cool to other people, but because they made me feel something.
“I started picking pieces not because they were cool to other people, but because they made me feel something.”
Somewhere along the line, I realised inspiration wasn’t meant to be copied line for line. Instead of trying to become the person in the photo, I started paying attention to what parts of the outfit actually resonated with me. That’s when things shifted. I stopped chasing aesthetics I didn’t even like and started building one that quietly felt like home.
So what does dressing for myself mean now? To me, it means being okay with the same five shirts and two jeans from a decade ago, but also not being afraid to yearn for what I once thought was out of reach.
Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t bought anything from Vinted, or anywhere else, in quite a while. I’m still working on the energy thing, but at least I have a little more swag than I did at sixteen.
