"When I was fourteen and first started going out, I always wanted to be the opposite of everyone else. So I would go to the club in a polo T-shirt and pants and sneakers and a hat on backward, just so I would not be dressed like other girls"
About this Quote
The subtext is about power in a room where women are often judged first as spectacle. Dressing down becomes a kind of armor: if you won’t play the game, you can’t lose on its terms. At fourteen, “going out” is also early exposure to the adult gaze, to the pressure of being legible as desirable. Rihanna’s outfit is a way of controlling the narrative before anyone else gets to write it. It signals: I’m here on my own terms, and I’m not auditioning.
There’s also a quiet origin story of the Rihanna brand we now recognize - gender play, contrarian silhouettes, the pleasure of disrupting expectations. Long before red carpets and Fenty, she’s already treating fashion like a lever: a quick, readable way to mark yourself as unbothered, unowned, and slightly untouchable. In a culture that rewards conformity with attention, she’s chasing a different currency: distinction.
Quote Details
| Topic | Youth |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Rihanna. (2026, January 16). When I was fourteen and first started going out, I always wanted to be the opposite of everyone else. So I would go to the club in a polo T-shirt and pants and sneakers and a hat on backward, just so I would not be dressed like other girls. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-was-fourteen-and-first-started-going-out-i-116055/
Chicago Style
Rihanna. "When I was fourteen and first started going out, I always wanted to be the opposite of everyone else. So I would go to the club in a polo T-shirt and pants and sneakers and a hat on backward, just so I would not be dressed like other girls." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-was-fourteen-and-first-started-going-out-i-116055/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When I was fourteen and first started going out, I always wanted to be the opposite of everyone else. So I would go to the club in a polo T-shirt and pants and sneakers and a hat on backward, just so I would not be dressed like other girls." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-was-fourteen-and-first-started-going-out-i-116055/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.









