I'mari Avey, INTJ fashion blogger, wearing preppy punk, photo 1. Photo Credit: Mechelle Avey. Spring Fashion: Prepping for Punk. Alwaysuttori.com

Spring Fashion: Prepping for Punk

It’s a new month and a new fashion theme. This month, we will be highlighting the contrast between romance and punk fashion. In my mind, it’s an interesting contrast that plays to the INTJ’s love of paradoxes. Look at it this way: the INTJ, though quiet, is the opposite of malleable. Instead, they are individualistic. Some might call it rebellion, but INTJs are rarely rebels without a cause.  This individuality means that standardized, one-size fits all fashion is the last thing an INTJ wants, unless they’re looking for a practical uniform. Yet, trying to pin down a specific fashion style for INTJs can be difficult because INTJ fashion is a study in contrasts—individual, but utilitarian; idealistic, but practical; rebellious, but romantic.

With these contrasts in mind, on Mondays we will share romantic looks; then on Thursdays, with a few changes, a punk-inspired counterpart. The really exciting thing about this theme is that we will reuse shared elements between the two looks, demonstrating how the same item of clothing can give a completely different feeling to fashion, which also means fashion can be more affordable, as well as both practical and individualistic. I know that fashion isn’t the INTJ’s strongest point, so I hope that this month’s looks will be helpful to those interested in studying style.

Let’s talk about today’s look. This look, preppy punk, is the only one that doesn’t have a romantic counterpart because the start of March fell in the middle of the week. When you view this look, it may seem more like preppy school girl, than punk. After all, there’s no grunge, no ripped stockings, or black lipstick. The reason for this is that, just as the above quote by Billie Joe Armstrong shows, punk isn’t a costume. It’s not about being grungy, or deconstructed. I love grungy punk, but instead of aping it exactly, I wanted to create a punk inspiration with prepster appeal. I wanted to show that punk has incarnations, and if we stay within the lines, the lines become a barrier to expressing intent. The prep appeal is evident, but what makes it punk? The punk is in the details, and more importantly, it comes from the fact that this is an outfit made up of pieces that shouldn’t go together, but do.  First, the shorts — the material in the front is herringbone. In contrast, the half skirt, along with the back of the skorts, is constructed from punkish studded black leather. What??? Herringbone is typically a suiting fabric. To honor the suit aspect, I paired the skorts with a menswear-inspired white blouse, and then contrasted that with a casual slogan sweater. Instead of sandals or pumps, the black booties mimic the prep standard of black Oxfords, often worn with business suits and/or school prep uniforms. And, there you have it, an outfit of opposites and contrasts, punkish and prep, a paradox made of things that should not work together, but somehow do.  I’m looking forward to the punk looks this month because there’s nothing so fun as breaking stereotypes and fashion rules. Doing so with this outfit was a fun challenge.

Oh, For Fashion’s Sake!

Shirt: Forever21

Sweater: Romeo and Juliet Couture

Skort: Zara (By the way, you’ve probably seen many incarnations of this skort, because it sold out from Zara 3x).

Shoes: Asos

I'mari Avey, INTJ fashion blogger, wearing preppy punk, photo 3. Photo Credit: Mechelle Avey. Spring Fashion: Prepping for Punk. Alwaysuttori.com
I'mari Avey, INTJ fashion blogger, wearing preppy punk, photo 2. Photo Credit: Mechelle Avey. Spring Fashion: Prepping for Punk. Alwaysuttori.com

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