How would you describe your sense of style?
Personally I aim for looking like a badass every time I walk in the door… Some people might misinterpret that as emo or goth, but I just want to look like I can beat your ass. I tend to wear leather a lot and you might see me wear red a lot too, it’s my favorite color. But I do try to experiment with other colors too.
Who inspires this badass look?
It’s kind of weird, I actually looked up to my mom and she doesn't really consider herself a fashionista. She tends to wear more relaxed clothing, but she’ll put, like, skulls [on her sports cars]. I also got it from my dad who’s more of a snappy dresser, he would wear like the Jordans and all that. I like the clothing from anime because they have a really unique style. Yeah... and Madonna's pretty cool.
Besides looking badass, how else do you decide what clothes to buy?
Red is my first indicator, and something that has a design or something because, honestly, everyone wears like basic ass clothes—it's like, okay, but where are the buttons? Where are the zippers at? Where is the cool little design? So I basically look for something that stands out. I don’t wear what everyone else wants [me to], I only try to wear what’s my style.
Do you feel any different when you wear clothes that other people make you wear?
It really depends, if I'm wearing a dress [that my mom made me wear] I might feel a little bit different because like, I guess in a way I feel more proper or I feel like I have to stand a certain way. I think the only time I [wore a] dress but also felt like [I had] a badass thing going on is when I wore a black leather dress to my friends cotillion. So even though the dresses may look really pretty, it still looks like me.
Do you think gender norms have affected the way you dress at all?
I think [the only times it’s affected me is when people say] you're showing too much skin or things like that. This is one time, I think I was like 14, I was wearing shorts and thigh high socks and my mom straight up told me “you look like a slut.” My 14 year old ass was thinking, what are you talking about? I'm just dressing how I want to look, you know? But I know that at the time my mom didn't mean it, It's been a long time since that and she's more little more open to [me wearing clothes that show more skin]. There was a time though, when I was in preschool I was wearing pants and a shirt and then my dad said, you look like a boy. I felt insecure for a second [and] I thought, okay, maybe I need to get more clothes. I'm still trying to figure out [what’s okay for me to show off] because I actually don't really show off a lot other than my legs. So I've been experimenting with that here.
Has your style changed a lot since you were younger?
I know when I was in elementary I went from tomboy to girly to emo and scene to goth. Then it went to a good balance of [all of them] because I remember in fifth grade my friend [asked me what my style was] and I told her a bunch of labels like emo, scene, goth, tomboy, girly I hit all of those, so it's like I might as well be like Gorillaz and make my own genre, you know?
Are you more comfortable in the clothes you wear now?
My main struggle with [finding clothes that fit] is when there are clothes made for girls with bigger boobs—that sucks. Like I was looking at a swimsuit that I have, but it's made for girls that have that extra oomph there. So I don't know how to work with these Fuji apples. It would be great to look like Tyra Banks, you know, but I have what I have. But when I look at models, even mannequins, their bellies are so freakin small, they look flat, they don't have that little bulge thing going on. I would tell my mom at a very young age “ma I don't look like her.” My mom would tell me “Robin, your belly is supposed to look that way.” I get that but even now I'm so confused because I see girls with flat bellies and I'm like, are you actually toned or just tucking it in. It's still kind of confusing to me. I mean, I know that my body's natural, and [I know] how clothes are designed, [it seems like they were] made too tight for you. And it's not actually complimenting your body but maybe highlighting what you want to tuck in or whatever, that's not okay. That just means that the person who made that clothing didn't do a good job, because I think that the clothing you wear should make you feel comfortable with yourself right? And it really shouldn't force your body to adapt to the clothes because the clothing is just a cloth. You do whatever the fuck you want with your body, your body is the way it is.
Do you have anything you’d say to others struggling with wearing what they want?
I guess like just feel free to keep experimenting with clothes. It's okay to show off or to not show off your skin. I know we kind of think of freedom of expression as just showing off your skin but like I said, it's okay for you to cover it up if you want it. Just do it for the sake of you not because of anyone else.