Dove Cameron Says This Is How Coming Out Changed Her Edgy Style

Dove Cameron is opening up about her style transformation since coming out as queer, reminding people that things just aren’t “always that serious.”

There’s no question that Cameron’s move from blonde Disney starlet to her current moodier brunette aesthetic was a notable one. It took place not long after she came out publicly, and was also linked to her changing up her musical sound.

“People can perceive there was a big shift because I released ‘Boyfriend,’ dyed my hair brown, got a bunch of tattoos, and came out all in one eight-month period,” she told Byrdie in their recent cover story. “But none of those things were related in the sense that I hadn’t planned them.”

The Descendants actress is among those who have grown up in the public eye, which comes with the often unfortunate drawback of having the whole world watch along as you try to figure out who you are.

“It wasn’t like I was sitting there covering up this tattooed, queer, villainy thing,” she said of her time at Disney. “I had no idea who I was going to develop into. And so it really wasn’t much of a political statement to wear pink dresses and have blonde hair.”

“[I realized] I can exist in the world and be something that is less universally palatable. And it’s not to be controversial—in fact, I think who I am as a person has not really changed at all. It’s very funny how a little hair dye, a couple of tattoos, and wearing [fewer] pastels is like this ‘revolution,’” she continued.

Although Cameron understands why people have focused on her coming out as queer, she seems just as reluctant to be pinned to the outward changes she made around that time as she is to be pinned to how she appeared in her younger years.

“Sometimes how you present is a huge statement, a declaration, and a reclamation of who you are,” she said. “And sometimes, it’s just like, ‘This [style] is what I’m doing right now.’ I might be blonde again in six months. It’s just not always that serious.”

Cameron’s determination to point out that self-discovery isn’t a singular journey, but a constant state of change that continues throughout life, is actually perfectly on theme for how she’s presented herself in the last couple years, as well as what her upcoming debut album, Alchemical, seems to represent.

“We’re always finding who we are, quote-unquote, forever until we die,” she said.