How Traveling Effected My Style

Through the years I have done my fair share of living in different countries. Because I never stayed in a country for longer than 4 years (2 on average), the way I was raised and influenced by my surrounding environment changed. A lot.

The countries I lived in were very different from one another, therefore I developed a very generic style which changed every time I moved. This was very difficult as with a constantly changing environment I was never able to stay stuck on something long enough to improve it. This has left me with lots of funny outfits I look back on and wonder who let me wear that. But also, a very large array of photographic evidence to show my style development.

I’m not going to go into the years where I had my mom dress me – and that’s a whole other comical article – but I’ll just jump right into the outfits I adored to wear.

Also, excuse the quality of some of these photos, they are taken from my mom’s Facebook. And we will know Facebook photo quality.

2013-2014

I think an acceptable time to start this off is when I started to try and get creative with my clothes and all I knew were the clothes I had. And these were the clothes my mom would buy for me. I was 12-13 don’t judge. This is honestly quite a laugh. It’s funny to see how I started off and what I thought was “fashionable”. And although it might not seem like it, I was always really into fashion.

I had to dig so deep to find these photos, and I think it’s safe to say they should probably have stayed hidden.

The bright colors and crazy socks were my statement pieces. I remember thinking I was rocking all my outfits because I stood out. Maybe standing out wasn’t such a good thing those days. Also can we just talk about how everything is pretty much color coordinated. There are moments where I looked like a green highlighter.

I have seen worse so I cannot be too upset. It’s amazing for me to see, for the first time really, how much my style evolved through the years.

2015-2019

The next stage to my style development was during high school. After, once again, having moved to a completely different country, with a completely different culture, I began exploring. At first I picked up on the trends of what I would see people wear. For example, the infamous elephant pants that we all had 10 pairs of in our closet. Then, I found my style and stuck with it. With the fear of being judged and of experimenting, I can now say my style was rather … basic.

The way people would dress in Thailand was very relaxed. No one cared what you’d wear and honestly we all had very similar styles and clothes. To give you an idea, we used to go to school (we had to wear a uniform) with slides and socks. And it was a trend in the international school world. Our everyday fit when hanging out was sweatpants and slides, not even shoes. It was very nice but it didn’t allow me to be bold and try new things because I was so accustomed to it.

2020-2021

This was a years where my style change a lot. I first started off with the same style as 2019, but then I met someone who helped me change. I went from basic fashion, to more street style. I loved it. I have my boyfriend to thank me for that. He is really into street style and gave me inspiration on new outfits. He would take me shopping and would tell me what things would look good on me. His hoodies actually became an essential part of my every day dress code. His hoodies are now my hoodies too, and not in a “I’m your girlfriend and I just want to wear your clothes” sort of way. He was the reason why I drastically changed my style and dress the way I do today.

This was also the time where I started taking fashion more seriously and overall cared a lot more about what I would wear. One of the things I value the most is how much more confident I became and how much more creative I was able to become.

Keep in mind, in Amsterdam street wear is what you see most of. People don’t care to dress up too much during the day. And rather, also because of the cold temperatures, comfort takes priority over style. Hoodies and jeans is really the way to go.

2022

In January 2022 I moved to Paris. This is where I really found myself and my style. It really came naturally to me. I still carry the street wear from time to time. But now, blazers, trendy tops, and pant suits became a staple in my wardrobe. When I moved to Paris I got a lot of inspiration from my surrounding. What you wear is very valued in Paris, even to the point where you get looks if you wear sweatpants to go grocery shopping. Which was a big change from Thailand and Amsterdam.

Become more aware of how I dressed came naturally, and without even noticing, my style had a complete 180. Now I am as confident as I can be and I love the style I present myself in. Social media has also helped with this big shift. Following influencers who’s style I love, and even those who live in Paris all help with getting ideas and becoming more creative.

I intend to keep this style when I move back to Amsterdam, and if people do not understand it… so be it.