Apparel Oft Proclaims the Man

Well, as is so often the case, Shakespeare was right. What we wear says a huge amount about us. We all speak the language of fashion -- Juicy tracksuit, Abercrombie polo, Nike high tops, LV bag -- they all say something. Some people are more fluent than others, some can spot a Marc by Marc magazine clutch, or a devil-red Louboutin sole and understand what they mean.

Judging a book by it's cover is hard to avoid. However, it also means that we can essentially choose how we're perceived by the world. Like an everyday game of dress up...

Shakespeare knew a thing or two about playing roles - "all the world's a stage", and Viola, the boy dressed as a girl dressed as a boy - and today, studying Hamlet, I played at punk rock.

I was initially reluctant to buy into the leather jacket trend. My lecture theatres are a sea of black pleather. However, I tried one on and I felt... punk. As a short, slight, privately schooled, literary nerd, this jacket was a revelation. My flatmate rightly pointed out that it juxtaposed with everything else in my wardrobe but Miroslava is showing me how to do the leather jacket thing in a non-clichéd way which involves pretty dressed and big scarves.

So, today I'm a pretty punk, but tomorrow I might be an overworked lit student with two papers due and no clean clothes... Who knows! We can't make believe all the time!

Photos from Polyvore and TPF

Polyvore: Jacket, Emu Australia. Tights, Falke. Dress, DVF. Belt, YSL. Shoes, Marc by Marc Jacobs. Scarf, Aubin & Wills.