My Story!

At a Walla Walla modesty fashion show
I hosted as a 13-year-old!

For as long as I can remember, I have loved fashion--clothing, shoes, everything! The only problem is that I was never the right size for them! As a kindergartener, the glamorous plastic bangles that came with clip-on earrings in a board set from the local supermarket never fit onto my chubby wrists, and those clip-on earrings hurt! Who invented those torture devices?! And forget all the stylish pants other kids were wearing, even as a toddler I was just the wrong body type, tights were a much better fit--and I had some pretty cool tights as a toddler, if I may say so myself!

I think I spent a majority of my childhood in mostly hand-me-down outfits from my older sister, who, by the way, was much more slenderly built as a tween than I was! In fact, when I was ten I was already wearing the same colorful polos she had worn as a young teenager, and they were actually too short for me. The problem wasn't that we couldn't afford new clothes--not at all! The clothes in our local stores just didn't fit any better than the hand-me-downs (and the ones that did I outgrew in a month. Okay, maybe seven). Compounding the problem: I was raised by a scientist. 

Yes, my mom was (and still is) a brilliant biology-loving woman, who taught swimming lessons and preschooler gymnastics while I was growing up so she could spend more time with my siblings and me. If I ever had a question about why swimming pools used chlorine, why some flowers grew back every year but not others, or why water only turns into ice on top the pond, she was my lady! She had an answer for every question and often a DIY science experiment to demonstrate (fun fact, I had my own worm farm in first grade). But when it came to fashion she, like a lot of moms out there--especially in the dark ages of dial-up internet, before style blogging and store reviews were a thing--didn't know the answers. She could often tell if something didn't fit correctly, but she wasn't 100% sure what a good fit did look like.

Now, let me clear something up. Do all scientists struggle with fashion? Absolutely not! (As is gorgeously demonstrated by icons such as Hedi Lemarr, or rocket scientists like Olympia Lepoint.) But do all moms struggle at least a little with helping their daughters find the perfect fit and style? Yes. Do all women and girls of every age group under the sun struggle at least a little bit with finding the perfect fit and style in general? Yes. Struggling is a part of life, and the fact clothing trends come and go at a rate of about every three months does not help out one bit. So that's why I've started this blog! Hopefully, you, you amazing, beautiful tween, can start to struggle a little less and start to feel a lot more confident in your wardrobe decisions and yourself. 

Maybe you're here because your mom just isn't into fashion or you live with a single dad who doesn't know anything about this either. Maybe, like me, you aren't built like the mannequins clothing companies are designing jeans for! Maybe you're in a foster care situation right now and could honestly use some hardcore, girl-to-girl fashion advice, or maybe you just have no idea where to even start when it comes to getting dressed and fashion really just isn't your thing--that's okay! I will do my best to help out everyone as much as I possibly can! --And if you really feel like you are a hopeless case when it comes to clothing, chin up! My mom is now one of the most fashionable women I know--it just took a few years of coaching!

Comments are always welcome on this blog, and advice is very appreciated! I may be 22, but there's still a lot you can teach me about what it's like to be a tween in the year 2018. <3