CC&TheBear: Cristy - child style icon of the late 80s and early 90s

I was very clear on the way on wanted to look and how I wanted to present myself as a child. I didn’t necessarily make all the right decisions, but the point is that I made those decisions. I didn’t let my friends or parents influence what I wore or how I wore it. So, if you’re anything like me and are looking to emulate my childhood flare for all things fashion, then you need to follow a few simple rules.

Accessories make the outfit

From the time I could move my arms in a controlled enough manner to put stuff on my head, I knew hats were going to be my thing. It didn’t matter if the object placed on top of my cranium was actually a hat or if it was simply something that I could manage to balance on my head/wrap around my head, to me it was a hat.

Here’s a ton of pictures of me wearing hats:

It’s funny how things change as you grow up. I stopped wearing hats altogether when I was in my teen years. But I recently started sporting beanies fairly often in the winter months. And I just bought a new hat…and my mom made me about a billion beanies! I think I’m past the point of wearing basketball hoops around my head though.

Statement pieces

Before I started 1^st grade in Washington State, we did the standard school year clothes shopping trip. I think my mullet was gone by this point. In Utah (where I had given myself a mullet) we had ‘year round” school which has a lot more breaks, but no huge summer break. So when we moved to Washington, which has the standard school setup, the school year hadn’t yet started and we got to start up the school year again. It was at this point that I decided that cowboy boots was the look for me. I picked out my one pair of everyday shoes with pride. My mom warned me that I’d have to wear the white cowboy boots every day, so I needed make sure I really liked them. I really liked them. There was no question in my mind about what shoes I was going to leave the store with. I don’t think they ever caught on, but I was happy with my choice every time I slid my foot into my pair of white, fringed, cowboy boots.

I don’t have a picture of the cowboy boots, but here’s a picture of me with one sock on:

(It’s definitely not my birthday.)

And here’s a picture of me with a construction helmet on my head.

Here the statement I’m making is: “I like chocolate!”

Create a unique look

I had a look that was so uniquely Cristy that it required my mom to go into school to get the okay from my teachers. I liked wearing tights as pants. Clearly I was ahead of my time – now we have the leggings. I also liked to wear sweatshirts as dresses. Again, I’m ahead of my time – sweater dresses. I remember one morning arguing with my mom and throwing a tantrum over whether or not I could wear a sweater/legging combo to school. She agreed to allow it if my teacher said it was okay. Luckily for me, my teacher was on board.

I regularly went to school looking like this:

My mom has told me that sometimes it was just easier to let me dress like a crazy person than argue with me. If the outfit was appropriate enough to be worn in public and I was happy with it, then I was often allowed to wear it. I had a unique flare for fashion. I liked to combine polka dots with stripes, red with yellow with blue with pink, gloves with scarves, tights with shorts, etc. Although I was completely comfortable with the way I was presenting myself to the world, my parents were actually aware of social norms. Before we had moved to Washington, my mom attended a parent teacher conference and my teacher brought up my unique style. My mom explained that I was very vocal about what I wore and she went along with it because it made me happy. My teacher then informed her that some of the other little girls in my class had picked up on my style and were beginning to come to school dressed as absurdly as I was. Apparently the schizophrenic clown look was taking off! The other parents had become concerned about the new style and had talked to the teacher who explained that it was my doing and it would pass – for the other children at least.

Market your look

I had a monopoly on stick on earrings in 1^st and 2^nd grade. I would bring in sheets of the treasure and ration it out during recess. This didn’t lead to any monetary gains for me since I wasn’t selling them. What it did do was encourage all the little girls at my school to approach me and acknowledge what I was wearing. This gave me the opportunity to influence the other children to follow my lead in the fashion department. I think the cowboy boots went wonderfully with the stick on earrings.

So there you have it. With a few easy steps you too can become a style icon.