The beginnings of a fashion sense

When I was about 9, I remember my 15-year-old neighbor wearing oversize wool sweaters that went almost down to her knees. I didn’t really understand why she wore those huge sweaters–I didn’t think they looked particularly good, and they also didn’t seem very practical. But I did understand that she was making a fashion statement. To me, she was sending the message that she was beautiful in her ugly sweaters, that she was subversive and rebellious, that she was expressing emotions through her clothing, and that she was in on a secret that I hadn’t yet discovered.