Happy last week of class, Trojans! This semester has flown by and I feel like I barely have time to say goodbye to my lovely seniors who are leaving a semester early. As I try to plan coffee-study-and-thrifting days with my friends, between increasingly complex Google calendars and classes picking up in pace, I find myself needing time to rot in bed after coming home.

Scrolling through the Reels on my Instagram, I came across a video of a fitting for Dauphinette NYC featuring a lime green jacket covered in strands of pearls, beads and buttons from its SS24 collection. Immediately, the strategic clutter reminded me of my excuse to my parents to explain the collection of stuffed animals, candles and loose earrings strewn across the top of my headboard: It may look messy, but it makes sense to me. This is similar to the idea of a “girl’s nightstand” aesthetic with the disorientated-organized mix of their childhood and their present needs — passed down jewelry boxes and a glass of water for a morning refresh.

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With the revival of 2010s fashion and leaving behind the minimalistic corporate-chic trend, this Dauphinette-type-maximalism a la paint-stained fingers and loose beads is representative of the time when the root of desire for more was a result of curiosity instead of greed and selfishness. Reverting to a celebration of the inner child, it sparks the memory of when coloring outside the lines wasn’t disobedient, but an adventurous search for the expression of joy, light, space and color.

For some reason, it also reminded me of the “what’s in my bag” videos. Not in the posed ways where celebrities suddenly pull books out of their purses, but in the way that my friends and I scour for a $20 bill, lip gloss or bandaids.

In a kind of anti-Marie Kondo way, I find joy in clutter, especially with the contents of a bag, because it represents the wearer in all stages of life: what they’ve had to learn from the past, what they believe they need in the present and what they can do to be proactive for future scenarios.

It’s a learning curve of regret and proactive anticipation when you keep a crumpled napkin in case you eventually spill your coffee and celebrate girlhood because you know that at the end of the day, someone has a tampon, vanilla-smelling hand sanitizer or that lip liner you’ve been thinking about buying.

The classic romantic comedy, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” (2003), puts the idea of a woman’s purse perfectly when Matthew McConaughey notes that “a woman’s purse is her secret source of power.”

And he is absolutely correct: While the design of the bag, purse or clutch is what you want to put out to the public, the inside contents are a hidden pocket of yourself that is meant only for those who you trust. It is the process and maintenance behind the fresh makeup or new heels you are publicly demonstrating in a constant state of first impressions and reminds me of a Norwegian performance art piece.

Truly the first contemporary art piece that I understood of his, Jan Hakon Erichsen’s “True Colors” featured a short video of him turning his inverted knees outward, and where the gap between his legs once existed, a hanging bridge made of colorful post-it notes falls instead.

When considering this in tandem with my girl-bag, past-and-future theory, the falling Post-it notes as Erichsen stretches outward is similar to an exploding pinata of personality, memory and the self. Not yourself as your internal and self-given identity, but the self in regard to your existence in life both unconsciously and consciously: the self that is explored in Hermann Hesse’s 1922 novel, “Siddhartha.”

It’s almost laughable to think about when I step back from what I’ve said in this article, especially considering the existentialism that we often feel growing up while trying to identify ourselves. And yet, we continue to paint a self-portrait through physical goods, guilty pleasures and commodities that we pack into our backpacks, briefcases and handbags.

Truly, we know ourselves better than we think we do, but the way we’ve learned to take in aerial-view consideration — where every scenario, thought or action is often performed with, at minimum, a millisecond of analysis on potential consequences and outcomes — bars us from just accepting it. Part of the denial and inability to accept how we are in a two-dimensional interpretation is not always caused by insecurity, but sometimes by a surplus of muddy and over-complex thoughts rooted in “what ifs.”

Maybe further barriers come from harsh realities we have yet to face, but when looking at the contents and organization of your desk, kitchen or nightstand, Occam’s razor — otherwise known as the law of parsimony — comes into relevance as it emphasizes that the simplest explanation is most likely the correct one.

So, while you’re packing up for holidays or moving back home, take a second to look at the contents of your bags or what you keep close to you. With the New Year coming up and a time to start reflecting on 2023, you may be surprised about what qualities — good or bad — you may come across.

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.