Style Rebel: Documented by Dad

Like a lot of teens, I liked to rebel with my style. I wore a lot of black while my contemporaries were wearing bright neons, and I decided to wear my black lace-up ankle boots to my high school graduation ceremony. I recall both my grandmothers expressing confusion about my choice and trying to talk me into wearing “nice white pumps.” (Nice white pumps were not in my closet and would never find a place there.) It may be that my parents also talked to me about it, but I don’t have memories of them trying to mettle. What I do recall is the close-up photo my father took of my white graduation gown, black dress, and black boots—and then finding that photo in a frame. Dad has a great sense of humor, and (like my mom) has always been loving and supportive. On the occasion of Father’s Day, this makes me a very lucky girl.

Style Rebel: Boys in Skirts, Girls in Culottes

I loved reading the news story today about a boy who protested his school’s no-shorts dress code by wearing a skirt. When I was inducted into the honor society in high school, I was told that girls were required to wear skirts to the ceremony. That pushed my rebel button—even if I wanted to wear a skirt, there was no way I was going to!—and I set out to find a way to break the sexist rule. (This was the ’80s, not the dark ages.) So I wore culottes—standing with my legs together, it looked like a skirt. They were olive green and corduroy and I thought they were cute (similar in style to the ones in this pattern from an Etsy seller).