Europe in 5
Just one month ago, I returned from my semester abroad in England… but I’m not sure that the semester abroad has left me. Since visiting Spain with my family when I was 15, I dreamed about living in the UK or Europe while in university. During the second semester of my third year, our beloved IPO Department at Queen’s placed me at the University of Warwick - a 55 minute train ride to London. I had to pack my whole life in a single suitcase, and pray it fit within the Air Canada guidelines. “What if I leave behind something that I will want later on?”... “Well, I have to take all my basic pieces, it’s just unsustainable to have to rebuy certain things when I’m away!”... “All of my outfits have to be perfect, do you see the way they dress over there?”
While packing was my first hurdle, touching down in the UK and learning the social fashion norms became my second. While my dedication to a capsule wardrobe had never failed me in the past, the sea of Burberry wool coats and Acne Studios scarves taunted me with their effortless perfection. Living through the English winter (one that was far rainier, but had no snow!), I gained a better sense of the expectations regarding outfits at my host university. But, I also gained more perspective into how I can both aspire to and achieve my most expressive self.
Have I always been dressing for me, or have I, in part, been looking for approval from others? A fully loaded question with a very simple answer: I have always dressed for myself, but anyone saying that they do not care about fashion or style because they don’t care about their appearance is lying. I care about the clothes I put on my body because I care about the way that others perceive me. And I care about how others perceive me because I genuinely care about others. While that may sound complicated, I firmly believe that creating a more empathetic world stems from a point of self love, and if you don’t care about yourself, how can you be expected to care about others?
And so, I found that the trends of European fashion combined with my silly little inner-debate of the role of fashion in all our lives fit into my head in five ways, these turning into the top five things that I learned about fashion, both objectively and personally, while studying abroad.
5. Function over fashion (for the most part)
If you are uncomfortable in your clothes, then those clothes are not meant for you. Simple as that. Be it low-rise jeans or micro-bags, certain trends are not meant for everyone (emphasis on the low-rise jeans). Travelling is a huge balance of finding utility throughout fashion - because while Audrey Peters can wear Chanel flats to walk around Paris, my platform converse seemed more fitting for me.
4. People are going to look at you
I’m not sure if it was the Canadian accent or the leather fanny pack across my pantsuit, but I found that Europeans love to people watch - and so do I! I found my biggest outfit inspirations from sitting in cafés and staring at the glamour that walked past me. But the thing is, it didn’t matter if I dressed in a Canadian tuxedo or a black silk midi dress, people love to stare. So don’t be shy to take the 0.5 selfie of your fit.
3. Express yourself, in every mood
For every trip, I tried to pack as concisely as I could. This meant planning my outfits in advance, and taking into account both the weather and the vibes (very important). While most Europeans tend to prefer clean lines and tailored looks, it doesn’t make you stick out like a sore thumb to wear ripped jeans. I learned that while I may not typically opt for the tye-dye maxi dress while going for a walk in Toronto, that same dress would be perfectly expressive for a sunny day in Madrid. Expressing myself as whatever version of me that I felt like that day led to an important step in leaning into new things, which often seems daunting when it comes to fashion. Finding the balance between new trends and your comfort level is important for self-expression, and allows for confidence to build towards trying even more new things.
2. Your favourites are your favourites for a reason, so trust your instinct!
With that being said, I am not going to immediately jump from aesthetic to aesthetic, especially when on a limited suitcase budget. Learning about what suits your needs for a given day of travelling is entirely necessary for having a great ‘fit day. I tried my best to try one new thing every trip, be it a new style of accessory or a new food. So if you know you’ll feel better in biker shorts and a tank while exploring a city instead of copying that influencer’s mini dress and floppy hat, then stick to what feels right - but also don’t feel shy to test out something outside of your comfort zone.
1. In the end, no one cares about what you’re wearing, so always wear what you love
I had to learn that I was my biggest critic when it came to fashion. While I don’t think this will ever stop, I think that the most important styling and overall fashion tips I took from my semester abroad were ones that I learned as I watched people in cafés: never be afraid to look like myself, however that may differ from day to day. This may look like following trends to a T, but it may also look like sweats on sweats with a denim minibag.
When I got off the plane at Pearson, I did so with the newfound knowledge that I thoroughly care about what I look like, and I don’t care if others find that weird. This change in attitude came from knowing that people were looking at me, but ultimately weren’t criticising the way I chose to express myself. While I am most definitely still a perfectionist, I don’t feel the need to portray myself as such through every outfit, as there are so many more things I would rather express through my clothes. And come fall, you will definitely catch me in Kingston wearing all my favourite exchange finds. Or maybe you won’t, but that will be up to me.