Personal style is — as the name suggests — a look distinctive to a particular person.
It’s a signature 'fit often so individual that it and the person are almost indivisible. It can connote something noticeable. For example, wearing jeans every day isn't a look, but maybe pairing those LOEWE frog slippers with a, say, $800 Prada tank top, and a teenie Miu Miu belt skirt could well be considered a look.
Dressing how you see fit is important nowadays, not least for the likes of Billie Eilish who (once again) had to take to social media over the weekend of May 27 to respond to increased criticism surrounding her personal style.
Since bursting onto the scene back in 2016 aged just 15, Eilish has become known for both her music and her unique personal style: unconventional, baggy silhouettes, sneakers, oversized jackets, and track suits.
In an interview with Highsnobiety last year, Eilish described style as “a deeply personal” and “intimate experience”.
In fact, Eilish's is a look so unique to her that an ensemble of hers could well be recognized as one of her ‘fits without her even wearing it.
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Yet, following a decision to "expand her style of dress" in 2021 — one that saw her attend this year's Met Gala wearing a black laced number by Simone Rocha (but then attend an afterparty in an oversized hoodie and a backwards cap) — her fashion choices are again coming under fire.
“I spent the first five years of my career getting absolutely obliterated by you fools for being boyish and dressing how I did (and) constantly being told I’d be hotter if I acted like a woman," the Highsnobiety cover star penned on Instagram.
"Now when I feel comfortable enough to wear anything remotely feminine or fitting, I changed and am a sellout."
"Did you know that women are multifaceted? Shocking right? Believe it or not women can be interested in multiple things. Let women exist!” she added.
As Eilish notes, this isn't the first time her choice of clothing has been discussed. Back in 2019, aged 17, the singer – who at the time had already achieved an acclaimed debut EP, a sold-out global tour, and more than 3 million monthly streams on Spotify – appeared in a Calvin Klein ad discussing her style.
"I never want the world to know everything about me,” she said at the time. “I mean, that's why I wear big, baggy clothes. Nobody can have an opinion because they haven't seen what's underneath, you know?”
For Eilish, the way she looks is important. "When I meet people who don’t care about clothing — what they wear and how they wear it — it boggles my mind,” she said in the same Highsnobiety interview last year.
Personal style is, by its very nature, a choice. Even so, Eilish is continually judged for her decisions. As a fan of both her music and, even more so, her style, I can only she keeps dressing how she sees fit and at the same time giving the haters the big middle finger they deserve.
