TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney's Tiffany necklace is a gift for her younger self

Spiros Halaris

When the pandemic hit and Dylan Mulvaney lost his job touring with the musical Book of Mormon< em>, she turned to the biggest scene in the country: TikTok. Today, Mulvaney has become one of the platform's viral stars, amassing eight million subscribers with her 'Days of Girlhood' series, where she makes videos highlighting her transition journey. That success led to more offline opportunities — walking New York Fashion Week, speaking at the Forbes Power Women's Summit — but Mulvaney's posts stuck instantly recognizable, in part thanks to her signature wardrobe: chunky, colorful knits; play accessories; and, most recently, a classic Tiffany & Co. heart necklace. "I like that people have a familiarity there," Mulvaney says. "When they come to watch my videos, they know what they're going to get."

The ELLE series The clothes of our lives deciphers the clothing choices made by powerful women, exploring how fashion can be used as a communication tool. Below, in her own words, Mulvaney celebrates day 200 of her "Girlhood" series by sharing her unapologetic approach to style and the story behind one of her most filmed props.

I always had a pretty good sense of style, but growing up I felt very limited in the boys clothing department . In my early teens, I turned to blacks and grays, colors that echoed the gender dysphoria that was going on inside me. I was drawn to women's clothing, but whenever I picked up a particular shirt or dress, there was always a voice in my head that said, "What are people going to think?" /p>

I have dedicated my life to becoming an actor, and I was in submission to the industry as I tried to break into the mold and to be masculine. I finally succeeded by landing a role in the musical Book of Mormon, but at the cost of finding my true gender identity. I was living my dream, but there was no room for transition. When the pandemic hit and I lost that job, I thought, "There's no role to play, so I can finally be myself." I was back home with my family and ended up visiting my best friends at a farm. One is Lorraine, the coolest woman I know, who is in her sixties and raises sheep. Lorraine's wardrobe is bursting with color. She would dress me up and put me in a field with sheep, and for a while I took on her feminine style. These clothes were out of my comfort zone, but made me feel so beautiful and fun. It takes a really strong support system to find yourself and your style, and for me, it took having these friends to play dress up with.