Fashion styles can determine certain aspects of one’s identity. A clean, posh style is viewed as sophisticated and softer. At the same time, bohemian and edgy fashion choices show a free-spirited lifestyle filled with carefree decisions and a rebellious spirit.

Cinema & Television Arts (CTVA) Screenwriting major, Bella Blake, uses fashion to boost her own confidence. Blake explained that it meshes well when asked about how screenwriting influences her style choices.

“Honestly, I think fashion and film tie [well] together,” said Blake. “When I’m writing, I also think about what my character would normally wear to a coffee shop or hanging out with friends.”

According to Blake, fashion is a form of self-expression with no rules as long as she feels comfortable with what she is wearing. This could mean layering a black with white bow stitching knitted sweater from Urban Outfitters over a monotone brown and charcoal striped shirt from the trendy boutique Brandy Melville.

“However you feel– like joy– you express that through color or texture,” Blake said.

According to the Leher School of Design in India, one of the few schools that include self-expression in its curriculum believe that how people dress is a form of liberty that creates avenues of self-expression that would be difficult to display otherwise. When someone dresses in something that makes them feel good, it can significantly change their moods.

Clothing choices tell people how someone feels without saying a single word, according to an article from Deutsche Welle. An example of this would be seeing a friend who typically wears bright and warm clothes showing up to school in muted and dull colors, a possible indication that they’re sad or anxious.

“In my first [outfit], it’s definitely comforting, and I wanted to show that,” Blake said.

The first outfit Blake wore during her photoshoot was a mixture of thrifted goods from Buffalo Exchange and Goodwill, including a beige, gray, black and burnt orange striped sweater, brown suede and mesh sneakers with blue-denim low-rise Levi’s jeans.

When talking about her outfits, Blake stated that thrifting is her preferred shopping choice instead of buying stuff from the mall.

“Everything I wear is secondhand, and I think it’s important because I want to support small businesses and [not have clothes] thrown in landfills,” Blake said.

According to the University of Colorado Boulder, Americans dispose of around 13 million tons of clothing annually. Making clothes can take a lot of water, with a single pair of jeans using about 1,800 gallons in the manufacturing and cotton growth processes. Thrifting reduces the resources used to make clothes due to the decreased demand for new products.

Thrifting allows Blake to seek vintage pieces to add to her closet. Blake uses Pinterest to create a mood board dedicated to her next shopping haul, where she can narrow down specific articles of clothing.

“I’m looking for certain textures like velvet or corduroy pieces,” Blake said.

Blake thanks her mother for inspiring her to seek vintage clothing.

“In middle school and high school, I kind of gave up [dressing up] because I would only wear hoodies and sweats,” Blake said. “I started to feel a connection with how my mom dressed, which was vintage and used that to help me find my sense of style.”

Blake continued to find communities on Instagram dedicated to styles from the 60s and 70s, which motivated her to start thrifting.

It wasn’t until recently that Blake began drawing inspiration from the 90s, which is reflected in her second outfit. The washed-out brown jeans from Wild Fable represent the grunge era of rock’ n’ roll, but they are tamed by a western-style belt from Urban Outfitters. The outfit is completed with the knitted sweater mentioned earlier.

“It’s different from how my friends dress since some of them are more reserved.”

According to Blake, some people believe that they need to wear high-end brand names to dress fashionably, but Blake thinks wearing high-end clothing is not the only way to dress fashionably.

“Personally, I was never drawn into designer [clothing],” said Blake. “And that stigma shouldn’t sway you to not dress how you’d like.”

At the end of the day, Blake encourages people not to resist following trends and to remain as original as possible. For people like Blake, fashion is an emotional connection that lights a ‘fire of excitement inside.’

“You don’t have to wear streetwear, you can mix-and-match,” said Blake. “Just because you’re not wearing something trendy doesn’t mean you’re missing out.”