The Stitch: The last Stitch

Marcus Falcão / THE GATEPOST

Courtesy of Bella Omar

By Bella Omar Asst. Arts & Features Editor Since Spring Semester 2023, I have offered my insights to all of you on everything fashion, from recent runways to local style icons. After two years of proudly penning The Stitch, I look back and can only hope that my words made the industry that has only grown nearer to my heart, at least a bit more accessible to readers. Clothes, their designers, and the people who wear them have been my most cherished interest since I could begin comprehending the runway shows and fashion magazines my mom would show me as a child. Since then, I’ve learned that fashion, while being a beautiful form of self expression, is also an integral part of culture and history, giving me an even greater appreciation for the ability to publish this column every other week. Regardless of your interest in fashion, what you decide to dress yourself in each morning speaks to who you are. It is your first impression upon anyone you meet - so with this final installment, I want to leave you with not a piece about the fashion world but a piece about what fashion means to me. Neon and heavily sequined ensembles from my local Justice populate my early memories of expressing myself through clothing. As a child, packing up my life and moving to a new state (or sometimes coast) every few years naturally made finding friends an even more daunting task than it typically is - making fitting in that much more important to me. With my primary inspiration at that age being Hannah Montana and Alex Russo, brightly colored and excessively layered outfits made me feel connected to not only my peers but the characters I looked up to. After settling down in Massachusetts and entering Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s student body of around 1,600 students, being liked by my peers was clearly still important to me but took on a new look. This period of adolescence and the corresponding personal development led to high-rise skinny jeans, Vans, and scrunchies - supposedly taking after my favorite indie artists and online celebrities. In addition to pantsuits reserved specially for weekend debate tournaments, these primarily thrifted outfits made me feel unique or at least like a member of a unique crowd. It almost made me feel better than my socioeconomically advantaged classmates, who donned The Black Dog tees with their Lululemon athleisure pants. I may not have been a part of summer plans at second homes on the Cape, but at least I was a part of something. A few years later, I was accepted to Framingham State’s fashion program - introducing me to other fashion-minded individuals and professors who gave me a deep passion for sustainable and secondhand clothing. Having the privilege to learn about the nuances of the fashion world, and even at times sit front row at it, has allowed me to begin having more fun than ever getting dressed all while being able to keep in mind the implications of such a consumerist industry. I am lucky to have had the room and support to experiment with my personal style here at FSU, as everyone should have the opportunity to dress themselves however is the most true to them. On that note, I encourage you to do exactly that - try new things, have fun getting dressed, and most importantly feel comfortable knowing that your identity and how you express it is entirely yours.