The Winning Essay! " I am the Girl who Normally Rocks the Natural Look" by Kelly Geeslin

I'm so super sorry for the delay guys, I wanted to time this for exactly when the mag came out. But- life got in the way :) Here you go!

I am a girl who normally rocks the natural look. I figure that God made me this way, so people should appreciate how God made me, however; this is not to say that I don’t have an appreciation for fashion. I remember when I was a little girl that I would go through my mom’s things, trying on her high heels, her hats, her makeup…I loved trying on different shades of Mom’s lipsticks and blushes. I remember being enchanted by light pink shine lip gloss. I remember experimenting with all the colors of makeup, smearing ridiculous amounts all over my face. I was probably never closer to being a part of high fashion than when I was five. Well, Picasso did say, “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” I remember doing my hair however I pleased, trying combinations of braids and barrettes and rubber bands. We all have been there. Remember that time when you were a kid and you first tried to cut your own hair to demoralizing results? Think of all the times you have mixed and matched clothes in your closet, experimenting with the final look of the outfit.
I see fashion as a medium of art. What other medium involves color, design, and perspectives more? People say a lot by what they wear. Fashion is often an expression of many parts of a person’s personality and psyche. It sends a message of how they are feeling that day, how they perceive themselves, and how they want other people to perceive them. You know how certain clothes make you feel more “you”? That old T-shirt you’ve had forever, the new pair of shoes that seem to be just your style, the perfectly-colored outfit that seems to reflect your exact mood or motivation for the day?
I believe in fashion as expression, as appreciation of beauty, and as creativity and creation. A fashion can have many benefits for the wearer: It can help to give the wearer a sense of confidence, give them a competitive advantage, or simply help keep you looking good and dry in a sudden downpour. Fashion can help express an emotion or send a message. At the same time, an attitude can also help express a fashion. A modest confidence can help you to rock out an unusual style and make it work. People can often see your positive perception of the fashion through the attitude you express.
Beauty is something that can be both naturally perceived and also something that can merit further study and understanding. Fashion should be something that is enjoyed. The second that some kind of joy is not found in fashion, it loses its original intrinsic value and becomes simply an industry. There is a lot to be appreciated about the simple joy and fun that can be found in fashion and style. A certain fashion or style can relate a person to a particular culture, environment, or individual. There is a certain intellectual nature involved with fashion. Fashion is something that can be seen and enjoyed without understanding but that also has deeper meanings to be discovered in its design and use.
Fashion as a part of art is constantly being created and recreated. And why wouldn’t it be? People naturally need newness to grow. They create to express, to learn, to grow. So, not to show any disrespect to Oscar Wilde, but fashion and art then does have a function and a purpose because that beauty and expression do things for the mind and the soul (and in the case of fashion often for the body as well!)
 

Thank you so much to Kelly Geeslin for a lovely and thoughtful insight into fashion.