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StyleLikeU Mean it.


When you see someone walking down the street with an insane, crazy, interesting, intriguing, style to them do you ever wonder why they chose the certain pieces they did? Or if that style has anything to do with how they were raised? Or if what their wearing is maybe to cover up an insecurity? Or maybe what they would look like in nothing but their undies? No? Me either, well until now. Over the last couple of months, I have been basically addicted to a docuseries I stumbled upon on YouTube. Now, I demand that you also get addicted because their message is dope as fuck. Before I get into why I personally love the shit out of this series I want to give you a little info on Stylelikeu’s beginnings. It started in 2009 with a video camera, a mother, a daughter, and a mission. Their first project "closet" series. Documenting individuals who were challenging industry norms with their own personal style. Then in 2014, they began the “what’s underneath project” that is one of my favorite things I have stumbled upon on the interwebs.

Now from what I have gathered from their cute ass website (http://stylelikeu.com) is seems mom Lily Mandelbaum, who had a successful career in the fashion industry as a stylist. One day realized that over the years the industry that she loved was becoming a place where she was forced to portray the same "exclusive ideal of beauty". In discovering this she also realized that the images she was being forced to create were also destroying her daughter Elisas Goodkind, self-esteem. So, they both ditched cultural ideas of beauty and together built style like you. This project has become not only an outlet for them but for women and men everywhere to discover that style is not what you wear on your body but what’s skin deep. This project is made up of a select group of individuals who have been asked to share their story with the world. Once sitting in front of the camera each person will share “honest, empowering stories related to style, self-image and identity” after the end of each story or question they are asked to take off a piece of the clothing. Hence the “what’s

underneath project" ( https://www.youtube.com/user/stylelikeu ). although these individuals are so diverse and unique, the creators of stylelikeu also discovered a trend among all participants. That underneath what we portray on the outside no matter what age, race, gender, disorder, or sexual orientation there lies a universal struggle for self-acceptance.

This series speaks with people from all walks of life some that may sound familiar to you could be, male model Shaun Ross, OITNB Lea DeLaira, Happy Hippies Tyler Ford, YouTube star Freddie Harrel, Arie-real Model Iskra Lawrence, Girls star Jemima Kirke, and Express model Barbie Ferreira just to name a few. They also have people that are activist, poetess, authors, actors, journalist, musicians, artist, people with HIV, people with skin conditions, and muscular conditions, transgender men and women, they also have everyday people who don’t live in the public eye. These people have been through all types of bullshit, heart ships, struggles, disorders, love, hope, pride, happiness and just life man.

The first question they always ask is “what does your style say about you?” then they ask what they think others think of them based off their style. It’s interesting because those types of questions aren’t something that we usually talk about openly. However, they are things that we talk about with ourselves. When your deciding what to wear in the morning or what to buy at a store we generally think the same thing, “Does this go with who I am?”, “This is so not me”, and so on and so on. The phycology behind it fascinates me, and makes getting ready for me a whole different experience. After a few questions, they start personalizing them based off the person at hand and the conversation taking place. The whole proses is very fluid and open, and like it’s a safe place for people to open up and release whatever needs to be shed from their minds. At the end they always ask the same question, “why in your body is it a good place to be?” GOD, I adore this question. In a world where everyone is changing their body, picking at their bodies, harming their bodies, and trying to leave their bodies all together. This series gives positive thoughts on why being exactly where you are, how you are, is the greatest place to be. There are some reasons that yes will make me roll my eyes like, “that’s a little generic”. More often than not though, every time I watch these people it gives me a new reason to care for my body. Reasons I would have never thought of, reasons that make you think, and reason that make you grateful for life at all. More so when they come from individuals who come from great struggle and triumph and still have the courage and balls to get on camera and take their clothes off and talk about why they love and hate their bodies.

Now because I have not been asked to be interviewed by the genius creatures of stylelikeu I will take on a mini interview based on the questions they always ask. Why? To give you a little taste of what the interviews go like, it seems interesting, cathartic, and let’s be real this is my blog and I’ll do whatever I want (also come on you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t the least bit interested on what goes on in this noggin) No, I will not be striping down you sick fucks, but hey let your imagination run. ANYWAYS here it goes!

Q: Can you talk about how you feel right now?

A: As of this moment right now I feel a tad bored, lately I feel a bit unimpressed with life. Underwhelmed if you will. I am very much aware of how lucky of a life I have but I guess lately I’ve had the mentality that things should happen to me, therefore they are going to happen to me and that is just not the case. For instance I literally have been writing this post for a month now and sometimes I still find myself wondering why I don’t have millions of readers and thousands of offers….like who the actual fuck do I think I am? like get it together girl. I want so bad to go after things much bigger than what’s handed to me, and I just need to get my ass in gear and start actually working for them, and realize the life I want is the life I have to create.

Q: can you talk about what your style says about you?

A: Well what I think my typical style says about me is that I just didn’t have enough time to get ready… I’m the kind of person that will sleep till I HAVE to get up. With that being said, my style is what was closest to me when I got up that morning, or afternoon.... I’m all about comfort when it comes to what I put on my body, I’m big on dresses, long dresses, flowy, dresses, oversized dresses. Also, anything oversized is bae. I love it, big tees, sweatshirts, sweat pants, band tees, MC hammer pants, man sign me the fuck up. When it comes to the weekends or if I have an event to go to I still lean to the comfort side. However, I like to wear things that I know are different from what all the other girls are going to wear. I feel like that’s what most people go for when they go out though. They want to stand out, they want to be defined differently than what’s expected. I like bright colors, and cool patterns, and funky shoes, and mitch matching things that wouldn’t typically go together but somehow, they do. I like my style to match my personality, in your face, a little offbeat but kind of cool if you squint your eyes.

Q: how do you think other people see your style?

A: What I hear the most or how I’m typically introduced as from my friends are “this is gypsy Meggie” or “this is our hippie friend Meghan” so I assume that’s what a stranger would think of me as well. Or maybe not because I feel like a big part of the reason they describe me like that is because of the conversations I have with them and how they know I take on life. For the most part I don’t like to wonder what others think of me. There’s a saying that goes something like “what others think of me is none of my business” and I like to live like that for the most part. It’s a lot more peaceful way to go through life.

Q: What is an insecurity in your life that you have, or that you’re working on overcoming?

A: I feel like everyone including myself has multiple insecurities. Generally I adore myself, to a point where I think I get a little narcissistic at times, but I think that comes from a place where I used to hate myself so much growing up that when I would looked in the mirror I would cry. I didn’t really like who I was, I was insecure about my weight, my hair, the way I did my makeup, the clothes I didn’t have, and I would tend to blame everything I didn’t have on my appearance. Until one day it just stopped. I don’t know what happen I think I was just really sick of hating myself, I think I realized how tiring and time consuming it was to hate who I couldn’t help but to be. I was sick of thinking I wasn’t good enough I was sick of thinking that all these things that I didn’t have were so important when they just really are not. So I started to change the way I thought about myself and my life (read my post “Do You Boo” for that logic). My body image was defiantly something I had to overcome and I have to a certain point but something that has always bugged me and will probably always make me feel smaller is my dyslexia. I have come a long way in my struggle with it but as a 23 year old college educated, blogger, and all around communicator. It’s something that I’ll catch while re-reading, or someone will make me aware of a mistake I made and it makes my insides burn up. I won’t get too much into it because I plan on dedicating a whole post to it but is for sure something I’m working on over coming.

Q: when do you feel the most beautiful?

A: I feel the most beautiful when I’m in a very familiar or calming place, surrounded by people that love me. For intense when I walk in my childhood home and my dogs come running to me and my parents are always there greeting me with the most loving welcoming hugs, and my brothers come home and banter with me. Or late night on a beach somewhere or even just downtown being with my friends after a few drinks. Laughing and joking and thinking how beautiful they are makes me feel very beautiful to be around their energy. That’s what makes me feel the most beautiful.

Q: what does self-acceptances mean to you?

A: For me self-acceptance means being okay with being human. Being aware that none of us are made perfect. That there is never going to be a day where everything went to plan. Self-acceptance means taking your mistakes for what they are, owning up to them and moving on from them because at the end of the day that’s all you can do. Self-acceptance means being okay with the fact that not everyone will accept you. It means waking up and being content that you woke up in the body you did. That you went through your day healthy and productively exactly the way you would, and not the way others would want you to; and you went to bed peacefully with that thought.

Q: why in your skin, in your body is it a good place to be?

A: being in my body is a good place to be because I don’t have a choice to be anywhere else. Realizing your body is a good place to be is most defiantly a proses to accept. I’m happy to say that I truly agree that it is a good place to be, finally. I really feel at home in my body, it’s a great place to be because it’s the body my parents created for me. It’s the body my friends choose to be around, it’s the body that gets up every morning and despite what my mind may be feeling that day gets up and does what it has to do. It’s a good place to be because its mine, and I get to create with it, and love with it, and live with it, and I think I’m doing a damn good job with it so far.

So, go watch the series. Or at least one video that seems the least bit interesting to you. Not for me but for you, okay a little bit for me but like come on I just wrote this whole blog for you don’t be fucking rude. Honestly though if you have a long train ride to work, a break in your day, or your just plain old bored, go watch and really listen to what these people are saying. I’m sure it will make you feel something, or maybe it won’t and my whole life is a lie and if that’s true please keep that information from me. I’ll even be happy if you went to the video and got lost in a YouTube sidebar rabbit hole and find a giraffe riding a skateboard and it made your day. Just go do something that will make you happy. Go do something that makes you feel that in your body is a good place to be.

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