What Do These Shoes Say About Me?

A few years ago I dyed my hair to a shiny platinum blond. It wasn't a washed out white and it didn't turn orange in the sun. For a few weeks it was just perfect. But it didn't fit. There was a personality associated with such a light color; bubbly, flirty and always having fun. Unfortunately, I wasn't the type of girl to walk around with a smile on my face. Nor was I keen to have a conversation with a stranger while he stared at my chest. I rarely giggle, and quite frankly, I've never mastered the art of a really good hair flick, and that color demanded to be tossed about like I was in a shampoo commercial.
Being a platinum blond had been fun for a while, like faking an accent or playing dress up when you were younger. But arching your legs all day to keep your mom's shoes on eventually starts to ache. Sliding into your own sneakers was a welcome relief. Slowly, for the health of my hair, I went darker and a little bit redder. It seemed to fit me better, and I no longer got double takes for reading the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe on the train.
There is a whole industry devoted to helping you find what truly expresses who we are from our hair to our shoes. And since we are constantly evolving, and it's likely that who you are now is not who you were last year, it's a very lucrative industry.
The question I ask as a writer is how much of a character's own style should be shown? At the moment, two young women, one who goes about in neutral colored tops with earthy jewelry, and the other with spiky hair and Gothic attire, would be the best of friends as they emulate their favorite characters from Forks. Seven years ago, and perhaps seven years from now, the two would never speak to one another. Does having big hair with teased bangs automatically place your story in the eighties, or does it just make your character a fashion victim? What does the size and weight of a character say about who they are? If she's closer to a size 22 than a size 2 is she less superficial or is she more insecure? To me, a redhead is unique and vivacious; in England the 'ginger' is always picked on. And who knows what to make of someone who wears glasses? Do we have a sexy librarian or is it held together with tape?
As I construct my next novel, my central character is constantly wearing a mask with fashion but there is a question I am always aware of as I write: What gives insight and what feeds into a stereotype?
There is a fine line between insult and ingenuity; it's a good thing I'm in my own shoes as I try to walk it. Well, actually, they're this season's over the knee boots.