Magazine article - 1st draft

 This is my first draft for my magazine article.

Spruce up your style: Tips from the hottest teen icon!

Lately, I’ve been seeing many people my age dress tastelessly. Like what are you trying to do? I’ve even heard many fuss about not having the budget to dress up well, be for real. This one’s for the guys and gals who don’t even know the concept of styling clothes. It's the 20th century, let's step up your game.

Okay, let's begin with the basics. First of all, fair advice, ditch the tight jeans. Tight jeans tend to have the effect of making everyone look uh… a little bit older. We don’t want that, do we? Exactly. As the great Oscar de la Renta once said, "Being well dressed hasn't much to do with having good clothes. It’s a question of good balance and good common sense.". Now, when teens think about fashion, they often tend to think that colors are the most important element of their outfit. I’m here to tell you that shouldn’t be your priority when you’re putting together a look. The real game-changer is the silhouette of your attire.

What do I mean by the silhouette of an outfit? The overall shape of your outfit will help to determine whether it is flattering or not. A flattering outfit aims to emphasize the best qualities of your body instead of hiding it. For instance, a corset could help to give your waist a slimmer look if that's what you are looking for. Varying shapes in the silhouette of your outfit will help your look more interesting. Many individuals nowadays pair small tops and oversized bottoms or vice versa. This allows for more dramatic silhouettes, creating a more intriguing look. If used correctly, shapes and silhouettes can draw the attention of people to where you want them to see.

Even so, I’d like to mention that even if it isn’t the most important aspect of an outfit, choosing the right colors for your clothes still needs to be considered. Although the choice of color itself is subjective, it is important to remember that not too many varying colors should be used in one outfit. If you do so, it might cause your outfit to look cluttered, messy, and distracting. The easy way to make sure you don’t use too many colors is to stick to using 3 at most. 

You might still want to know what types of colors you should pair up in an outfit, right? A general rule of thumb is that when you’re in doubt, try to stick to monochromes. Since monochromes are the same colors in varying values, this means that it would be hard for the outfit’s colors to clash with each other. Even if this approach is safer, this doesn’t make for a very interesting looking outfit and might even look quite plain. We don’t want that, do we?

Now, let's take it to the next level.You probably want a look that tells people “I’m here”. Well, if you’ve dipped your toes in a little bit of color theory then this should be fairly simple for you! Although it may feel risky, using contrasting colors that are opposite from each other will make your outfit pop out more. Besides that, it also helps to separate the different parts and layers of your clothes, subconsciously drawing people’s attention immediately. 

Well, now that we’ve finished talking about the slightly tedious process of color picking, let's get to the fun part! Although your outfit might look well…good enough for now, we can’t forget to put the cherry on top. What is it? What could possibly make this outfit look better? There’s one last step to this styling situation, let’s adorn you with accessories! 

The power of accessories must not be underestimated as it may literally make or break your entire look. When I say accessories, I’m not just talking about jewelry, I’m talking about accessories that will subtly change the appearance of your regular outfit like fashionable belts, stylish scarves and dashing bags. Still, like all things, it's crucial to remember that you must use them in moderation, don’t go out looking like a Christmas tree! Accessories are important because even if they might not be expensive, they have the power to transform your basic, average clothes into those that might even be worn by celebrities! 

Where to buy them? I’m glad you asked! I personally purchase my accessories from Shein and Shopee but most online stores usually have great prices. If you want to learn more about how to approach the world of accessories, I’ll be releasing another article soon! Until next time, XOXO.

Reflection:

This article was slightly challenging to write. I couldn't find and examples that fit what I wanted to convey however I wanted to make it seem more entertaining and interactive for teenagers like me. The writer of this article is also a teenager (celebrity) who has an attitude, I believe that is important for the article to have some form of "personality" so that is could be relatable to teenagers like me. I am trying to evoke a sense of "sisterhood" and a form of intimacy. Unfortunately, during my research I couldn't find any magazine article examples that fit this type of writing. Even so, I am conforming to the usual conventions of teen-fashion magazines by talking about fashion tips. Another usual convention of teen-fashion are discussions about gossip, meaning that informal text should be "in-theme". Although I believe that the concept of this article is already good and solid, I think it still needs a little bit of retouching and changes.