How to actually develop your personal style part 2

Here lies part 2 of my fashion journey, through my adulthood. I highly recommend reading Part 1 if you haven’t, as now I will delve into how my personal style has evolved over my four years at university.

Let’s continue the journey, and hopefully by the end of the blog, you can take over.

University, 2021-2025

first year, 18

University felt like the centre stage, where all my self and physical development in my youth was preparation for.

This ended up being both true and false.

By university, I felt like I had acquired a personal style of sorts, and I felt confident in my abilities to throw on a good fit. However, what I walked into was not exactly what I was expecting.

My early university experience was surrounded by people I shared cultural and ethnic similarities, which made going out really fun and making friends pretty easy. However, I didn’t share many fashion similarities or the exploratory attitude to developing a unique and creative personal style as some of my peers. Sometimes I did feel a little different from my peers, but I liked the idea of standing out, and I often found amusement in comments like:

“This looks really good on you, but I would never wear this. Only you could make this work”

So, although I didn’t have the dominant style of my peers in university, I let it be the thing people remembered me for. However, I did realise my wardrobe was in desperate need of more going-out clothes, as before university, I could count the number of parties I went to on one hand. So many PLT next-day deliveries later, I had day-to-day and clubbing outfits to survive my first year at university.

My fashion sense developed a lot, but in hindsight, I bought a lot of “party” clothes that I don’t see fitting into my current style. Now I really try not to buy new clothes for occasions for two reasons: firstly, to be more environmentally conscious and secondly, to push my creativity and work with the clothes I already have. As I’ve realised, you probably already have a perfect outfit, you just haven’t looked hard enough and styled it effectively to make it different from what you’ve worn before.

Second Year, 19

I call this academic year the dark ages, and many students seem to agree that second year is the worst. I think this because the jump between this and first year is too great to effectively adapt to without losing your mind. Although I was losing my will to live, I didn’t need to look like it, so I kept trying different looks and upgrading my wardrobe every chance I got.

This was also the year I led a fashion section of a showcase at my university, which was one of the most stressful but rewarding things I’ve done. I had to come up with three concepts, four rounds of choreography, style around twenty looks, and create some pieces. I had about 4 months, but it was extremely exhausting, and I struggled to balance my academics. However, it was great for my artistic development, and it made me realise my potential and the impact of my creative lens.

Study Abroad in Hong Kong, 20

This was my favourite university year for obvious reasons. During my study abroad, I got to travel to eight countries, and each time I visited, I brought an item of clothing with me. However, my top two places to shop were Hong Kong and Thailand, as their thrift stores and markets were unlike anything I’d seen before. I was also introduced to Carousell by one of my classmates, which is like a Hong Kong version of Depop/Vinted, but, honestly, better in my opinion. When I go back, that’s the first thing I’m logging into.

So, as a result, my suitcase coming back to the UK was stacked with a bunch of tops, skirts, shorts, bags, belts, hats, shoes, etc.

My exchange was such a fashionable year, as I could wear summer clothes to school, something that, if I did in the UK, I would probably get a cold or side eye. My wardrobe that year was full of miniskirts, shorts, dresses, crop tops, oh, and so much colour and patterns. I basically had a tropical holiday wardrobe where I rarely wore trousers or jackets, and I loved having my legs and arms out most days.

However, the weather in the places I visited was completely different to that in the UK and meant I couldn’t wear most of the clothes when I was back 🙁

Ah, Asia, until we meet again.

Final year, 21

Back to reality.

After a year of fun, I returned to the UK for the final year of my course with a cute new wardrobe. This year was the year my style matured as well as my character. I lived in a two-bedroom flat with my best friend, which was similar to a New York apartment that was 5 doors away from a charity shop.

The day we first visited the flat, I went to this charity shop and picked out the cutest brown wedges for £4. Later, when we moved in, I visited that same charity shop and picked up one of my best finds, a £10 black trench coat with fur. I also picked up a cute pair of black wedged pumps, which were initially not that comfortable, but I forced myself to wear them every day to campus so they could be. These were exactly what I needed for this part of my life; this started the sophistication of Maryam.

This year, I continued to collect a range of items from Leamington Spa, from bags to scarves, skirts, to shoes, etc. I also took part in a few charity shop bar crawls, which were quite fun, and I enjoyed thrifting with others who loved it as well.

At this point, I felt like my wardrobe had most things I needed to create a variety of looks that represented my personality and creativity. All those years in school had not only taught me many life lessons, but also become eras for my self-development and creative expression. Finally, I was able to complete the final task, finding the perfect graduation dress, which I did in my local charity shop!

Now, 22

What’s next?

Well, keep reading my blog to see where my fashion story goes.

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