Hello, and welcome to “Debra Tries…” The series where we review topics and activities that Debra would not normally take part in on a normal day. For example, she will listen to music, watch movies, TV shows, play video games, and even eat foods that lie outside her comfort zone. Today’s topic: 2020 Makeup/ Fashion trends.

   With this new edition of “Debra Tries”, Debra collaborates with another member of ‘Wolf Tracks’, Emily Khor, to take on this very different task. We worked to create a list of 2020 styles that are seen on social media platforms such as TikTok and all-around campus. Not only is Debra out of her element with another person to help her, but this topic required us to go outside of what normally would take place in the comfort of her home.

 We tackled the problem most teenage girls can relate to, especially this year with quarantine, which was choosing an aesthetic. Most on this list, both of us weren’t experienced in however some elements can be found in our style. Debra decided to step outside her comfort zone and wear clothes that usually doesn’t express herself completely.

   Debra started off the experience by running to her car to put on a sun yellow short-sleeved crop-top with slim green pants with many many buttons. She went with a no-makeup look with black laced vans. She felt more herself since some of her clothes can be labeled as VSCO, although Debra doesn’t go all-in with this trend. Emily also relates to this, as her style has elements of VSCO.

  Next, a flowy white dress was paired with an oversized lavender denim jacket. Debra also wore white sandals to complete the look known as ‘angel’ by emphasizing the cute, girly look. This was her style a few years ago but has now grown out of. It was an experience that brought her back to her freshman year, where she dressed how she wanted without the societal pressures she faces today. Another reason why teenagers in general find it difficult to express their true identities.

   Next off was the soft look. She changed into a pink knitted V-neck sweater with dark blue with a little rip. She finished the look with bling scandals and bright pink eyeshadow. Making her look cute, innocent, and comfortable. This style also reflected Debra’s own closet in the past and still does but to a less extreme extent.

  Put in a large red sweater, Debra’s small figure is dwarfed in comparison. Although the denim jeans fit her better, the image and silhouette of this style are to appear much more comfy swimming in an outer layer. This look can be recreated with any hoodie, jacket, or sweatshirt that is a couple of sizes too big. Many items that pertain to this style are those that she enjoys wearing on a normal basis. Emily’s own fashion taste includes oversized clothes, as she finds them comfy yet cute.

   Debra goes “yee-yee” with a country-inspired outfit. Wearing a black fitted sweater with a criss-cross string in the front, and brown high-heel boots. The only finishing touch needed was a wide brim cowgirl hat. The both of us dislike the style of country, and wouldn’t ever wear anything of the sort.

  Summer may be over, but not in Florida. Debra changed into a black and white striped tank top with denim shorts, which would definitely break the district’s dress code. With her shimmery blue eyeshadow and glittery pink lip gloss; she relaxed on the grass, enjoying her summer look. As Floridians, these kinds of clothes are very common and both of us can be found wearing summer clothes all year despite the weather.

  For this trend, Debra wore an army green long-sleeved, square-neck dress with three brown buttons coupled along with the same brown boots from before. The dress itself reflects what is known as a “peasant dress” typically worn in cottagecore. The lifestyle that correlates to this fashion is one the neither of us can relate to. However, Emily wishes that she was one of these girls seen in a flower field and cottage houses.

  Denim on denim was seen as cringy and negative in fashion, but the early 2000’s is coming back better than ever. An oversized jacket and a cute short skirt made this look nostalgic and instagramable with the hashtag #ThrowbackThursday. Although hesitant at first, Debra found the style outdated while Emily felt the complete opposite.

   From the get-go, Debra was hesitant to jump this deep, so to speak. When Emily suggested this aesthetic as they were preparing for this blog, Debra was scared to be very transparent. This was the first trend Emily brought up and originally this was going to be only about the alt lifestyle. The makeup had more eyeliner than what she was normally used to (which is none) in addition to ‘Taylor Swift red’ lipstick which she did love. A red camo-print shirt was tucked into a heavy-duty black skirt. She also wore chunky Doc Martens boots for the first time. Debra felt more confident since the alt community is known for being their unapologetic selves. Emily noticed a difference in Debra’s attitude which was affected by the clothes and makeup she was wearing.

   After we left our original location, we went to Starbucks to sit down and write this blog. An idea popped into Emily’s head to do one more aesthetic to wrap things up. And what better than the iconic white Christian girl who’s obsessed with autumn and (pumpkin-spice) coffee. To look more ‘filter-free’, she took off her makeup and put on a spooky purple and black striped dress. After briefly discussing it as it came up in our conversation as a joke, Emily was extremely serious in going through with it. The jokes we made uplifted our moods after spending hours in the sun and as we wrote this blog sitting in the ‘home’ of these individuals.

   Debra loved working with a partner, she thought it was better to be able to communicate with someone else. Bouncing off ideas and getting another point of view on things, as well as being able to collaborate in writing were some of the positives. Emily enjoyed the opportunity to work with the actual Debra from “Debra Tries” as she’s been wanting to help out for a while. This topic especially allowed us to have fun and improved our synergy as we found that it was easy to go back-and-forth throughout this process. Usually, Debra is forced to create ideas and go about the making of a blog by herself, but this time Emily was able to take pictures for her and other helpful things such as helping with the looks, makeup, giving suggestions and her opinions, and more. Including, giving Debra a friend who would fangirl with her to ‘Hamilton’.

   It was really fun trying on different aesthetics that other people present themselves as, Debra would have never experimented with styles otherwise. It was interesting to see herself as someone else, or at the very least in someone else’s shoes. Some of the looks that we tried she would try again or wear clothing items that are categorized in one of the above. Although, maybe not alt and country in the future… Denim felt weird to her, but the idea of a monochromatic look was intriguing so perhaps if the outfit matched. It was also interesting to wear things she did years before since she dresses in a varied way now.

   Debra and Emily had a great time being able to experiment without being judged by their peers. High school is hard enough, and the pressure to dress a certain way definitely doesn’t help. We encourage our readers to step outside their comfort zone to try new things if they don’t already identify with certain labels. There’s no harm in not completely checking one or two boxes, as shown by both of us whose style overlaps. 2020 aesthetics in fashion and makeup are varied and expressive, so there’s something for everyone.