I’m Anand Patel, and as you can see from the title, this is my very first post on CollegeFashionista! I couldn’t be more excited to blog about one of the most exciting parts of life—fashion—or more importantly, style. I say this because style is such an essential part of our daily lives, when we as individuals, with our own thoughts and opinions, are able to overtly express ourselves. With fashion, we are able to speak to the public and tell them so much about ourselves without even saying a single word. We speak simply by wearing certain apparel. It’s not only the way others see us that makes fashion so important, but it’s also about how we see ourselves. If you are confident about how awesome you look wearing that new outfit then you will exude self-confidence, and there’s nothing more attractive than that.
As for myself, I’m currently a junior at Hofstra University in New York with a major in Public Relations and a double minor in Psychology and Spanish. My dream is to go into fashion PR and I’m so lucky to be in the very fashion epicenter that is New York City. I’ve had the fabulous opportunity to work with designers and models from all over the world at Couture Fashion Week, where I met so many amazing people in the fashion industry. I’ve also been blessed to work as a model, where I get to wear some of the most interesting and avante-garde designs that I’ve seen to date. It’s reasonable to say that fashion and style somewhat runs my life. I don’t say this in a superficial way at all, simply realistically and frankly. Let’s be honest, people in general have a tendency to “judge a book by its cover.” It’s not anyone’s fault, it has been hardwired into our brains from childhood. I just like to make sure that when someone does judge me, I look good enough to get a double-take.
I’m originally from Memphis, TN where the fashion scene is less than what I would have wished it to be. Suffice to say, fashion did not seem of importance down South. I went to Memphis University School, an all-boys private high school, where the dress code was absolutely horrific: khakis and polos—that’s it. There was simply no room to have fun with it; however, as we all know, there are many fine lines when it comes to fashion and I would take advantage of every loophole in the dress code. Fashion is a way to express one’s self and I would not have the authority figures keeping that away from me. I was the only openly gay guy at my high school, which was quite an experience but I’ll have you know, I was the most fabulous guy at that school. I became known as “that really well dressed kid” and even made it into the senior superlatives of our yearbook as “most likely to be remembered” and “best dressed.” As much of a nuisance I was to the close-minded faculty and students, I did make school a pretty interesting place. I’m even proud to say I started the trend of wearing scarves and fingerless gloves during the winter months, and brightly colored pants, shorts and polos in the spring. It was pretty fun setting trends, if I may say so myself.
Now I’m finally in New York and couldn’t be happier. I’m finally within the realm of the fashion savvy who wear whatever they want and absolutely own it. I always die a little inside when I see some girl in a stunning pair of heels. I’m just like, “you go girl!” I have the utmost respect for those people who dress up and actually put some thought into it, and the best part is that when I do see what people wear, I can see their personality shining through and therein is the purpose of styling through fashion. Your style is an outward expression of who you are inside, so don’t ever sell yourself short.
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