In 2003, things were changing for me. I started high school, bought my first pair of jeans that actually fit (flared, with the lowest rise possible), picked my favourite Beatle (John, but also George), and saw Bend it Like Beckham for the first time. All of these events were major milestones, but the last one has probably been the most influential to my life trajectory. As a teenager, I was obviously obsessed with being conventional…

When I was fourteen, I got a job at a Renaissance Faire. It's tempting to say it was the best job I ever had, but really it was just my first and the most aggressively formative. Every Saturday and Sunday morning in August and September, I'd cinch myself into a purple velvet bodice worn over a gauzy, off-the-shoulder dress. Given my closet's limited options, Doc Martens felt like the most appropriate footwear. My mom would…