Imagine you are strolling through the local fair. You no longer care about the rides and the ferris wheel kind of scares you. The food is still good but you can only pick your favorite (which is the funnel cake, of course). You think that the fair might be a fun occasion for people to dress up but when you look through the crowds of people walking by, you realize that it's kind of not. At least not for the people in your small town in middleofnowhere, Illinois. Just picture ill fitting clothes paired with the most random, statement pieces. Lots of cowboy boots, Harley Davidson, Graphic tees, etc., that if styled differently could seriously make some fire fits. Like I kind of want to raid these people closets just to see what random cool ass clothing items that they have hiding in a storage bin. All of that said, I don't mean to be judgmental but rather observant.
It's really not the norm here to be "fashionable" or to seem like you care very much about your presentation. Especially if you use your clothing as a form of expression and dress eclectically. Even just dressing up in general, wearing a dress to a sports game can get you some weird looks. Maxi skirts are generally reserved for the extremely religious. If you wear Harley Davidson and don't own a bike you are a poser. And cowboy boots are for the farmers and the folk who blast country music driving around in their diesel trucks. Unfortunately I love to incorporate maxi skirts, Harley Davidson, and cowboy boots into my style with absolutely none of the culture. One time I was at work wearing my oversized Harley tee and a middle aged man asked me, "are you a biker bitch?" And I responded "no, but my dad is." And I don't know why I felt the need to try even the slightest bit to justify my style to this random middle aged dude. I guess it comes down to the midwest not really being a place where you can comfortably dress differently.
So here lies the biggest question, do I actually enjoy aspects of midwestern fashion or do I just like to incorporate aspects of it into my personal style to try and pass as a conforming human in a weird small town?
