In honour of Pride Month, Team Jilly had the opportunity to “virtually” sit down with Christopher Allen to ask him a few questions. We chatted about everything from the importance of celebrating Pride Month to his Spring and Summer fashion favourites! It was so lovely to chat with Chris and we are so excited to share this Q&A styled blog with you today!
Welcome back to the blog Christopher!!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My Name is Christopher Allen and I am 23 years old. I currently am working for Bonlook Optical as a stylist. I am a very artistic individual who appreciates and enjoys; art, photography, acting, music, nature, animals, travelling, interior design and fashion. Most people (as well as myself) consider me as a person who is aesthetically inclined. I had always been a someone who wanted to spread love and kindness to others. As I have seen many content creators do the same while sharing their personal interests and hobbies, it has inspired me to follow in their footsteps.
Why is Pride Month important to you?
Pride month is important to me because I feel that the community deserves to be celebrated for who they/we are, not to be discriminated against! As someone who has been disrespected as a member of the community, it’s important to spread awareness that negativity such as hate crimes and pain has a major impact on people like me. This is something that people need to be aware of and for them to know that who we choose to love and who we choose to be is something that needs to be celebrated!
What is one goal you have (can be big or small!) for future generations as it relates to LGBTQ2IAS+ community?
I want to be able to make a difference. Showing that love has no boundaries and no limits. As I mentioned before, who you choose to be and choose to love is something that you should be proud of! Never be ashamed of who you are and always keep your head high.
How/ when did you become so passionate about fashion?
It wasn’t until I began my weight loss journey back in 2016 that I became so passionate/interested about the fashion industry. Growing up as a kid I was always made fun of for being the gay/fat kid in school. So, I was always very discreet and didn’t care too much about fashion because I didn’t want to draw anymore attention to myself. When I started my weight loss journey I was at about 305 pounds, I got down to 159 pounds but then suffered from anorexia. It was a bit of a struggle to find clothes that would fit me and not make me look washed out. When I lost a majority of my weight I turned to fashion and was able to have a creative outlet during this journey.
I also suffer with body dysmorphia, basically that means that I can’t go a day without criticizing myself. I was going to announce this on my Instagram account, but I’ll share it with you first here. It’s been something I’ve been wanting to do since 2016 since the beginning of my weight loss journey. I’m going to be getting surgery that will change my like, I’m getting a tummy tuck next year and I’m so excited for it!
Where are your favourite places to shop from currently?
To name a few, I love shopping at; Oak + Fort, Club Monaco, Zara, and Aritzia. To me, they all have a classy and simple aesthetic attire that you can dress up or dress down.
What are your top 3 Spring/ Summer Fashion must-haves?
A good pair of sneakers can go a long way! You can either dress them up or dress them down with your outfit. I also love a good pair of sunglasses, both classy and stylish as well as the best affordable accessory! Lastly, a good pair of jeans, slim or bootcut can accent a summer look very nicely. This Summer I do plan on mixing a bit of both preppy style as well as 90’s retro!
Well, there you have it! Thank you so much Chris for sharing your story with us and taking part in our rapid fire Q&A series in honour of Pride Month. To follow along and find out what he has going on make sure to give him a follow on Instagram. Last but not least, if you would like to check out some of Chris’ other blogs you can find them here.
Thanks again Christopher!
xo
Team Jilly
