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Adulting 101

Adulting 101

Written by Katrina Garofalo

Adulting is a fairly new, yet very popular, concept that we can all somehow relate to. For most self-diagnosed sufferers it comes in the form of having to make phone calls for appointments or buy your own groceries or figure out how to actually use a washing machine. But, as with all good things in life, there are unique ways in which adulting rears its ugly head. In this case, it’s with clothes. Obviously.

Here’s the situation: You’re getting ready for your day, putting together the look you’ll feel best in, but nothing is going as planned. Somehow your clothes don’t feel like yours. Everything is awry, and it’s as if you’re playing dress up in someone else’s closet. Whether it’s because of a poor shopping decision (think: trend not confidently worn) or because of a new experience (think: newbie at an office job), this awful moment of panic happens at the worst of times.

Miu Miu Cropped Wool Flare Trousers
Miu Miu Fringe Suede Pumps
Topshop Slouchy Double-Breasted Blazer

We think that as we grow up we also grow out of this awkward identity crisis, only for it to strike when we least expect it. And so you end up standing in front of the mirror in a blazer that’s too big and shoes too pointy asking yourself what you’re doing and how you ended up here. Just when you think it can’t get worse, you find out it goes both ways. There are trends these days that lend themselves so well to the life of teenagers—people who can still acceptably “get away” with them. And so you find yourself standing in front of the mirror in a crop top and jeggings asking yourself what you’re doing and how you ended up here.

Truly Madly Deeply Lightning Bolt T-Shirt
Madewell Cali Demi Boot Cropped Jeans

Much of our personalities are discovered through the clothes we wear. There will always be a certain look that each of us are drawn towards for whatever reason, but that look feels like it’s part of us. Like it makes up a chunk of who we are as a person. So when we put on something that we feel is drastically outside of that look, it feels like we’re putting on a costume instead of clothes.

This especially cruel form of adulting is a frequent trouble spot in my own life. Unfortunately, I’m not here with a magical solution to prevent this from ever happening again. However, I have found that getting rid of the idea of designated clothing categories has helped. By wearing things on a regular basis that you would normally save for one of those times that ends in you feeling like a kid playing dressup, you bring them into that comfort-zone look.

Slowly, piece by piece, everything in your closet will start to feel like yours again. And you will have successfully adulted.

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