When I was little, I had two prized possessions in jewelry: the first was a charm bracelet I got at Disneyland with all of the Disney princesses. The second: a friendship charm bracelet DIY set where, instead of understanding the instructions, my friend Sofia and I each bought a set and put all the charms on our own bracelets to match each other.

Both have since tarnished and faded, now sitting in my jewelry box at home, but I still love both to death for the memories they evoke.

They remind me of the years I spent in Valencia, walking around the lake by my backyard and chasing ducks with my late grandparents, and even starting school in Tokyo and the plastic smell of the turf-field playground and brightly-colored metal monkey bars. 

So, this summer, when my charm obsession came back, I was confused as to what brought it about. I have an Achilles’ heel for small, cute accessories, don’t get me wrong, but a singular charm when I don’t even have a clasp or a necklace to secure it makes no sense. 

Why was I spending hours on eBay and sifting through jewelry at vintage stores to find them? Why was I suddenly obsessed with the sewing of charms onto bags and necklaces à la Susan Alexandra, Jet Set Candy, Loved by, Jade or The Sage Vintage? 

It didn’t hit me until my dear friend, Billy, remarked on FaceTime: “Aww, wait I love that charm. It reminds me of one my sister had when she was little.” 

The charms — sifting, sorting, buying, stringing — all brought me back to the safety of memories and the comforting feel of nostalgia. I had lost touch with them as I grew up because of the marketing of most charm bracelets pushed to little girls for those bracelet-making sets we would all beg our parents for. And, it became cheugy as I reached the age where I was too cool for everything (even though I was far from it), and I lost touch with my inner child. 

This summer, “Barbie” has sparked some of little Hadyn back to life and apparently for many other people too. I’ve loved hearing stories of people pulling out Barbies their parents saved for them and reconnecting with that period of youth, innocence and limitless imagination. 

I think, ironically, the charms are grounding me, too. The charms I find now still have to be hand-picked and carefully paired. I have to attach them to different items in an almost meditative and therapeutic way — kind of like how my brain feels when watching those dancing fruit videos I would show my dog to stimulate his brain. 

Social media feels so chaotic right now with all of the new and crazy aesthetic names flying around, like people calling Hailey Bieber’s brown hair “cinnamon cookie butter,” and even “pick your aesthetic” slides on TikTok having themes like “which Miranda Rights line are you?” (Yes, each slide was separated with its own aesthetic for every sentence of: “You have the right to remain silent / Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” etc.)

Of course, part of these silly names are marketing, but I think we’re reaching a point of absurdity in fashion where everything can be anything, and anything can be nothing at all if you want it to be. 

I even saw a woman who posted an Instagram Reel titled “pov [sic] you have to cuteify everything in your house” and proceeded to attach charms to her door’s chain lock.

If fashion has become both nihilist and existentialist, then almost all fashion philosophy and none apply at the same time to the current trend cycle and dominating styles. Albert Camus’ “The Stranger” has a beautiful quote that reminds me of this: “I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself.”

Without sounding too motivational-speaker-culty-ey, we are at a precipice of ultimate independence before the fashion world hits the reset button on trend cycles, so why not go all in — or out?

My sentiment in last week’s article about containing multitudes is a leading sentiment for me this semester. So, let yourself dress like your inner child again on Monday; on Tuesday, dress like you’re going to the opera. 

Collect, attach and pierce charms to your sneakers or tie them in your hair. Your wardrobe and sense of style can contain multitudes as well, so go crazy or give nothing at all. I can’t wait to see, or not see, you around town. 

Hadyn Phillips is a junior writing about fashion in the 21st century, specifically spotlighting new trends and popular controversy. Her column, “That’s Fashion, Sweetie,” runs every Wednesday.