13-Year-Old Me Would Reblog Current Me On Tumblr, And That’s All I Care About

Back when my hair was straight and so was I, you could find me sitting in high school math class ignoring my teacher as I scrolled Tumblr on my Gen 3 iPod Touch until my thumbs cramped. Photos of archival Gaultier, Alexa Chung, and bizarre lookbook.nu-inspired photo shoots in cemeteries consumed my days and nights in an obsession that has only evolved. Fashion felt like a world so far from my upbringing in thrift stores and the once-a-year back-to-school shopping trip to Old Navy. Teachers confiscated my phone regularly because I was busily dream-scrolling, contemplating a life that felt as unrealistic as a unicorn—or the idea of my gay ass actually wanting to kiss a cis-boy. My little closeted dreams consumed me, but I did not yet possess a means of reaching them.

Then, Tavi Gevinson popped up on my feed. I watched as Petra Collins gained access to events and clothes and people who were fully themselves. I couldn’t believe it, these girls had done the seemingly impossible through social media, determination, and (at times delusional) self-confidence that I had never seen before. They were unequivocally themselves, and, beyond the glitz—and the privilege of Gevinson being able to actually afford those designer clothes at age 13—it was the way they were true to who they were, regardless of what industry old-timers or their peers thought, that really impacted me.

This was my third fashion week in New York. Now I bond with people sitting next to me at shows about the Tumblr pages we loved. I wonder if we followed each other, or if I ever sold them one of the themes I used to code. I feel connected to the fashion community of 2024 in the same exact way that I did as a teenager. I sense the passion in my colleagues the way I did as we reblogged the same images, jokes, and fan fiction as teens. Now, instead of reblogging a photo of Julia Fox, I’m actually taking the photo of her front row at Wiederhoeft.

Writing this now, with bags under my eyes and a pile of outfit rejects on my floor, it’s not lost on me how some teenager could be reading this or looking at these images dreaming of a life in fashion. They can see what this life really looks like, from legends like Lynn Yeager sitting front row at Collina Strada to me, a Social Editor who loves to talk shit on the internet and edit videos. There are so many more access points to this world of self-expression and art that inspires me daily. Without the internet carving out more space, I’m certain I wouldn’t be here, sharing images of a week filled with creativity, hard fucking work, and authentic people.

Welcome to a newcomer’s fashion week. I’m glad you’re here.