<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  I come from a conservative Irish-Catholic family. My parents are judges, and I have a sister who&amp;#039;s a lawyer. She&amp;#039;s an all-American girl: Abercrombie jeans, Old Navy hoodies, Nikes. My Aunt Bunny and godmother, Auntie Esther, are two of the most put-together women of all time. Esther&amp;#039;s impeccable bag was always coordinated with the most polished shoes, both offering subtle contrast to her perfectly tailored skirt suits.  My closet, however, is filled with studs, chains, rock &amp;#039;n&amp;#039; roll T-shirts, and black skinny jeans. The clothes that feel most like my own skin are the ones that are a little aggressive, a bit punked out: Balenciaga shoes and YSL blazers\u2014I could blow my life&amp;#039;s savings on Givenchy and Ala\u00EFa.  If you asked me who my style icons were, I&amp;#039;d say I began with old-school heavy metal. I love the androgyny and the glam. In high school I covered my bedroom walls with Axl Rose posters. Appetite for Destruction was out, and I trailed Guns N&amp;#039; Roses&amp;#039; tour bus in my Honda Civic (its plates read AXL LVR). I had these amazing, skinny, tight-enough-to- cut-off-your-circulation acid-wash jeans with an inky blue plastic zipper that ran up the seam, purchased at Spencer&amp;#039;s Gifts at the mall. I had begged my mom for them. They were part of a look: slouchy suede boots, oversize suede jacket, outrageous jeans. Breaking the suburbatopian mold by wearing metalhead garb definitely wasn&amp;#039;t something one did to fit in with the cool kids in Fairfax, Virginia.  My getup was an even bigger faux pas with the family. For awhile I gave their Hyannisport compound ideal a shot. I wore glen plaid trousers from the Limited to Aunt Bunny&amp;#039;s for Christmas. &amp;quot;Oh my God, you look amazing!&amp;quot; she said. Meanwhile, I felt like an imposter.  The awkwardness and inner conflict got worse when I started out as an assistant at a fashion magazine. There was so much pressure to dress the part. I decided I had to fake it to make it. Carolyn Bessette was the girl du jour, so I did my best mimicry, wearing LBDs at an appropriate but unflattering length, with pointy ladylike slingbacks. Then one day in a vintage shop I found...a pair of skinny acid-wash jeans. It was like, Ahhh!\u2014a halo was shining around them. I wore them every day. When I got my first big break, I thought, &amp;quot;Screw it, I&amp;#039;m wearing the jeans to the interview with the editor in chief.&amp;quot; I wanted to see what would happen if I was real. I remember telling her, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m not your typical fashion editor. I work hard and I know my stuff, but you should know, I&amp;#039;ll be the one wearing acid-wash jeans.&amp;quot; I got the job.  Once those skinny jeans came into my life, everything that wasn&amp;#039;t authentic\u2014the whole WASPy facade\u2014dropped away. That&amp;#039;s the thing about fashion: You can use it to hide, but it&amp;#039;s only magic when you use it to express who you really are.  Do you have a fashion story to tell?Enter our Love, Loss, and What I Wore Contest for your chance to win a trip to NYC and a $1,000 Ann Taylor wardrobe! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/a10486/love-loss-what-i-wore-kate-lanphear-360537/>