Whether it was goth, emo, scene, punk or something even more niche, if you were an alternative kid I’m sure you heard that the things you liked and the way you dress were ‘just a phase’, that you would eventually grow up and grow out of who you are.

And of course, we all grow out of a lot of things. Thank god we all grew out of owning each others photos on Myspace. (Is that reference too niche?)

But for a lot of us, the love of the alternative, the weird the spooky doesn’t go away. It might look different as we grow up, we might even not show it off as much, but the feelings of being the odd one out can stay with us through our whole lives.

Me, age 13, waiting to see My Chemical Romance for the first time

As a teenager I always felt different, I was called weird and freak and the rest, but when I went to my first My Chemical Romance concert, age 13, I found an arena full of other people like me and it honestly changed everything. So for me, alternative style and music isn’t about being different, it reminds me of finding others like me and bonding with other outcasts. Even now, as an adult meeting other adults, I go right back to being that excitable teenager when I meet someone who was into the same emo shit as me. It feels like home, and I’m ready to celebrate that as an adult , and stop trying to fit in.

I’m ready to celebrate all of you who didn’t ‘grow out of it’, who bring spookiness to work, who have always felt different and like you don’t ‘fit in’, who have been called weird, who have been ignored and rejected and continue to show up everyday.

The greatest and most powerful thing we can do is be exactly who we are and love the things we love, unapologetically.

The new Sugar Storm collection is going right back to my emo roots, but keeping it fun, playful and accessible. It is a celebration of all things spooky, bold, weird and of never fitting in. If you’ve ever felt different, weird, like a freak, like you don’t fit in, this is for you, we are your people, and you’re very welcome here.

Stay Wild, Stay Weird

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It Wasn't A Phase - The Adult Alternative Kid