I want to acknowledge that I am privileged to write and share this article on the stolen and unsurrendered territory of the Anishinabe Waki. As an individual who has benefited from the establishment of Canada as a state and its colonial governing regulations, education systems, and the continuous exploitation of Indigenous land, I recognize the importance and urgency of unlearning colonial practices and creating space for an Indigenous resurgence here on Turtle Island.
I’ve never really been a very fashionable person. I don’t typically spend my time online, so I have very little knowledge about what clothes are in style. I went to a uniformed, French Catholic high school that I believe seriously stunted my formative fashion years.
I’m turning 22 this summer and decided that it’s time to delve into the fashion world and discover what my aesthetic will be. Most of what I wear now consists of jeans, knit sweaters, and jackets. It’s time I build a cohesive wardrobe.
I’ve come to the conclusion that any good base wardrobe has a light and dark option for pants, a pant alternative (skirt, dress, kilt, etc.), a plain base for the top, and three jacket/overshirt options. From here you can add whatever accessories that make your style unique and individual.
Since I need to build a wardrobe for myself, I’ve decided to research different styles that are popular in media today as inspiration. The downtown girl style has really caught my eye. All of the loose layers, cropped tops, and comfortable-looking jackets have me hooked on this style!
From what I can tell the downtown girl is a very put-together woman and her clothes are always clean and orderly (very far away from who I am now ;)). She wears minimal accessories and allows her clothes to speak for herself.
I imagine the term “downtown girl” refers to a girl who is busy—maybe on her way to class or to work—who spends her days downtown. The downtown girl is more of an effortlessly put-together mindset than a fashion sense. While this style originated as a pushback against the uptown girl style in New York City, I believe that it can be brought to any city that has a downtown core.
It revolves around the romanticization of downtown New York during the fall. Anyone who has passed by Tabaret Lawn in the fall would have no problem romanticizing their days in Ottawa. With all of the leaves changing colour, a crisp breeze in the air, and the promise of gorgeous, sparkling white snow to come, the downtown girl pulls out her best, most expensive (thrifted) jacket and takes the day.
The first step to becoming this girl is to snag an oversized jacket. As far as my research has taken me, this seems to be the most important piece of the puzzle.
While the jacket doesn’t need to be leather, it should be warm—remember that we’re romanticizing walking around the city in cold weather! This jacket paired with a midi skirt, bootcut jeans, or chic mini dress will give you a perfect outfit for this style.
The downtown girl style is super customizable, too! There is truly a downtown girl style out there for everyone. A more modest take on the style would include a jumpsuit with a jacket over top; in the image below we can see the woman holding the phone matched her hijab to her outfit! The opportunities are endless to adopt the downtown girl style to your personal fashion sense, modesty concerns, and cultural and/or religious fashion concerns.
One thing that I find the downtown girl style to be seriously lacking is any splash of colour. The downtown girl loves muted tones, she lives for a sleek black-and-white combo (as seen in image one), and she sometimes throws in an earth tone but really, she sticks to the basics. As someone whose high school uniform was grey and white, I’ve grown to LOVE a splash of colour in my clothes, so if you’re like me you could definitely add some colour to any downtown girl outfits.
While I think that it’s important to take inspiration from different styles that we find online, to “stay with the times” as it were, and to constantly be reinventing ourselves in our twenties, I also think that it’s important that we stay true to ourselves and the things that we do like. If I do end up adapting the downtown girl style, I’ll be sure to put an “Eve” twist on it!