2-23-2025: MY INSPO: parodies, punks, and pop icons

February 23, 2025

2-23-2025: MY INSPO: parodies, punks, and pop icons

my homework was due. bestie nicole asked for tiktoker libby mae to be mentioned in the blog. you asked so you shall receive.

the internet is dangerous, and we are such deceptive and decepted creatures. my initial reaction was: "this girl has some kind of style" and just dismissed it as british chavism. then sib concluded, no, this has to be a parody. which makes sense because if you scroll long enough, you'll notice the inconsistencies of some videos being very aesthetic, or videos with queer jokes, then she'll wear one of her very unique fits, and talk about her boyfriend.

as a challenge, i saves some looks i thought were very interesting to analyze, then some looks i saved in order to see how i would style them myself. nicole - i hope you like this segment.

to clarify, libby mae does an excellent job color coordinating, and explaining why she chose whatever on earth she chose. im just reheating her nachos and repeating everything she has said herself.

love the jacquemus (found very often in her looks), and the rose as a detail was def something. i am a bit thrown off by the mesh cardigan thing, which i would leave for a beachier moment. i don't like the pattern on the hat or the style of it, even though i am a huge fan of statement hats.

at first i liked this look but then as i stare longer, i'd probs change more than i initially thought. i simply cannot settle for the mix of sweatpants and something like a blouse in this case (this goes for anyone, i can't make myself like that).but i like the color scheme here. and i actually like the flip flops (it would be cuter if it was the chunky steve madden kinds from y2k). the hat and the bag - i don't hate. don't mind the blazer just kind of not a fan of the material in this case.

i feel like this would be super cute if she color blocked with bright pants and not the beige ones. i actually like this fit a lot. another jacquemus bag spotted here

here's how i would style a libby mae look with items from my closet. here libby has piled like 4 items on top: blouse underneath, purple sweatshirt, sporty jacket and a blazer. i don't have a bright purple sweatshirt so i'd pair the blouse with a lilac thrifted sweatshirt with bunnies on it, an adidas-like salmon colored jacket, and instead of blazer, would opt for my leather jacket instead. libby is wearing blue heart shaped sunglasses, i would opt for my pink ones. libby's shoe game is a bit stronger than mine and i don't care too much for sneakers so i would opt for my trusty converse. and unfortunately i do not own a jacquemus bag (yet!) so i would go for this vintage mini purse instead.

pepto bismol vibes going on here... i made this fit wearable, focusing on the color coordination. instead of libby's cropped jacket, i would go for this rose blouse (i avoid pale pink because it washes me out), beige rachel zoe pants and my ballerina converse and a pink shoulder bag.

when i was a kid, i had a pink and orange journal and i though that the color pair was so sublime. i think as kid in the 2000s it was so perfectly executed and can look amazing. since i'm following libby's style recipe, this fit did not execute that cute y2k feeling i was going for.

here libby is wearing some kind of hair accessories, and i have minimal of those, particularly in pink, other than this hand crocheted headband. libby also has some hot pink bangles, but i added a chunky colorful kate spade bracelet instead. back with the hot pink bag, and i do not own a hot pink belt. i don't have orange sneakers, but i have these sandal heels. i also don't own a cute orange t shirt so i chose my mom's old blouse i took from her.

i believe libby's color combinations are worth exploring. as goofy as the looks are, each item can actually be styled in a cute way and all of these looks could actually look great if a few things were different. thank you nicole, for making libby my new style icon and influencer.

throughout the week, punk details have been crossing my mind. the doc martens i scored in the beginning of the week, and my ideas to hand paint t shirts felt very punk; and listening to ex yu punk songs from the past century also got me in a punkish mood. i saw some really cool punk looks while scrolling on tiktok, and obviously, anything vivienne westwood is immediately saved in my inspo. the whole british punk scene, union jack t shirts, studs and safety pins were instant saves as well. as a kid i dreamed of having a bratz punk doll in my collection, but unfortunately i never got one. watching cecil b. demented, too, i was noting everything that felt punk-ish.

a punk concert poster from a recent local event

real punk can't be bought on shein. real punk can't be curated. it is an aesthetic that refuses to be an aesthetic. it is so anti-fashion, anti-everything, so anarchistic.

mother of punk vivienne westwood

i remember learning about the punk movement in, like, 6th grade, and was enamored by it. in croatia we didn't celebrate halloween, instead we celebrated maškare (the closest translation would be mardi gras). it was a week when every class in school would choose a group costume, have a parade and performance with a song of our choice, and then often in the evening the town would have a masked ~~ball~~ party. i don't know who came up with the idea to be punks that year, but we collectively agreed. i did my homework, and researched ideas for my costume. i took old winter gloves, and cut the fingers off, i think i "graffiti'd" a jacket and cut the sleeves off it, and tore up some jeans. i wore my trusty all black converse with a yellow batman design on it, and teased my hair and spray painted with neon colors. our home teacher was trying to explain to us that it's my life by bon jovi was not necessarily punk, and to, rather, explore the ramones, misfits, or the clash. i'm not sure why we stuck with it, but we made a whole choreography with this the bon jovi song. this was one of the first times i did makeup on myself because i was still very young, and it was the only time my mom would let me do my makeup. i put black eyeliner on my waterline, and i thought i was the shit. i wore eyeliner like that for weeks after that. i remember writing my a's using anarchy symbols instead. i wish i had photos of this time.

"i'm a punk, not a pop star" sinead o'connor

trends come and go faster and faster, and i wouldn't be surprised if the punk movement becomes a viral tiktok aesthetic as well (if it already isn't). being punk is not about wearing just wearing leather and doc martens. it's an attitude, it's activism. the greatest punks were not afraid to be controversial and loud. i'm noticing people talk about aesthetics now as political tools as well: such as clean girl aesthetic or old money aesthetic - having racial, sexist or puritan undertones. i like minimalism, but labeling something as "clean" or "dirty" seems a bit of a reach. and old money aesthetic felt very picket fence and millionaire-esque. no millionaire is ethical.

i'm happy to wake up my young punk-ish self - over a decade later - diy-ing in the true punk nature and being loud while standing up for what i believe in. don't call me woke, call me a punk.

in honor of black history month, i'd love to share 10 fave black style icons: