I remember growing up, my cousins always had something to say about how I looked.
DRESSING TO HIDE
If they weren't making fun of my curly hair (which, to be fair, took me years to learn how to style), they were making fun of my arm hair. If it wasn't my arm hair, it was my sideburns. Then it was my back. My toes.
The list seemed endless, and for a long time, I dressed to hide.
I wore long sleeves to cover my arms, shirts that hid my back, and shoes that covered my toes. Instead of asking myself what I loved wearing, I asked what would attract the least attention.
FEATURES THAT CONNECT ME TO MY FAMILY
But something began to shift in high school. By the time I got to college, I had stopped dressing out of shame.
The more I learned about who I was and where I came from, the less I cared about other people's opinions.
Then life gave me another perspective.
When you lose loved ones, your priorities begin to change. You stop worrying so much about fitting in and start to treasure the parts of yourself that remind you of them because those connections become priceless.
I began to realize that the very features I tried to hide were the ones that connected me to my family.
My fingers and my toes, for example, look just like my grandmother's. Every time I look down at them, I think of her. Even though she's no longer here, those small similarities make me feel like a part of her still lives with me.
STYLE ISN'T ABOUT THE TRENDS OR APPROVAL
That realization changed more than the way I saw my body. It changed the way I got dressed.
Working on Descalza has only reinforced that lesson. I've learned that your style truly becomes your own when you stop hiding, and you stop asking whether you're too much, too colorful, too loud, or too bold.
Instead, you begin asking a different question:
Does this feel like me?
At the end of the day, that's the only opinion that stays with you.
The features my cousins once made fun of are all still here. The difference is that now, I think they're beautiful, and that's enough. Instead of hiding them, I celebrate them, often with colorful Descalza pieces that reflect the joy and pride I've found in my identity.
For me, style has never been about following trends or earning approval. It's about dressing for the version of yourself that feels most alive under the sun.
Because confidence looks different when it's rooted in identity instead of validation.
-Caro Arias
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