I have lived with Kate this year and had the pleasure of watching her style develop over the school year. While there are definitely those stylistic stand-outs that catch my eye in an instant, there is something to be said about style that takes time to observe and understand in all of its nuances. I feel as if style in isolation can be pretty and pleasant to look at, but understanding its context and being able to see how someone's personality has affected their clothing and lifestyle choices is something that I find incredibly fascinating.
And yet, the fact that I only met Kate in college leaves a void in my perception of her. For all I know, the way she dressed when I first met her last fall is how she's dressed her entire life. I have not seen her style throughout the entirety of college and beyond, so knowing her for such a short time puts me in this strange position where I wonder how she dressed in high school—has she always been as put together as she is now, or did she swear by the familiar uniform of sweats and hoodies like the rest of us? I am stuck without context and can only guess.
Regardless of this fact, I have grown to appreciate the current incarnation of Kate's style more and more. I'm slowly learning why she chooses to wear high-waisted bottoms, why she is moving toward more vintage items (such as her wonderfully patterned blazer), and how her flowing hair adds such a sense of vivacity to her everyday appearance. Her style is still developing, like all of ours are. Now that it is a part of my own little slice of reality, I look forward to seeing where it ends up in the future.