Yes, yes, fashion is a real-life issue, at least, it is to me.

All the time, in the media and in our world we see people saying that they're being original, though they're just saying that to be part of the crowd. This is something that I see all the time... and we can see right through those of you who are faking it.

Being original includes so much. It includes looking for stuff that reflects your personality, and your lifestyle. It includes a sense of creativity and a sense of mixing up stuff that everybody else has, but with the way you mix it up, you're making it your own.

Take one of the things that I do every day. I never wear just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Sure, sometimes I do feel lazy and I slap on those two garments, but to mix it up, I do a quick bow around one of the arms of the T-shirt, just so it's different.

I'd like to tell you about certain ways you can achieve your goal of being different.

Hair

Hair is something that is the easiest thing to mix up. One of my favorite things to do is take that wonderful colored gel and make streaks of varied colors in my hair. So it doesn't look clumpy (unless I want it to look clumpy, of course), I wait until it dries, then brush and brush till it's only the color in there.

Another great thing to do to your hair is put in flowers or ribbons that are really different. For example, I have a big fat polka-dotted rose that I bought at Wal-Mart that I can pin anywhere, and I also have a long black ribbon. With these two things, I can do about a hundred different things and it always looks like something new.

Now, being an accessory freak, I honestly can say that most of my money is spent on random things that I like and usually are quite weird, like hats -- instead of wearing the same old "trucker hats" like everyone's wearing, I look around for ones with funny elastics that I like, and are really different.

One more great style is, if you have long hair, put it in a high ponytail (see method in Twigsy's article) and split it into a whole bunch of different ponytails....

Tops

Tops are the one thing that makes a big statement. That's why I don't usually wear them... instead I wear a dress instead of a shirt, or a skirt that I raise up and put on a thick-stripped tank top underneath.

Another great thing is making your own T-shirts and putting a weird saying or random words on it. I once had a friend who put "I like toast" on his T-shirt.

Yet again, accessories can make a big difference too. Try wearing large pins, tying ribbons in random places or putting in safety pins.

Bottoms

By bottoms, I mean pants and skirts -- they are a great thing, too! Don't wear anything you're uncomfortable with. Try looking around for funky printed things and again add accessories. Belts can help you out lots too. Use different things for belts, too -- like toy dress-up necklaces, for example.

Buying

Buying original things is harder than it seems. The only suggestion I have about this is that going shopping on your own sometimes always helps because then people don't judge you for what you're buying. Remember, it's your money, do what you want with it!

That's all I have to say. Be on the look out for more of my articles, because I'm planning on writing plenty more... whether you like it or not.

See ya,
Fuzz