Jazz Jennings has described the powerful impact fashion has had on her life - enabling her to reflect what she was feeling on the inside, on the outside.
The 14-year-old, who was assigned male at birth, said wearing a sparkly one-piece swimming costume on her 5th birthday was a "huge turning point" for her.
Speaking to Mashable, she said: "I definitely feel that society sets expectations for transgender people to fit in and makes us feel as if we have to dress a certain way so that we blend in with everyone else.
"But I believe all transgender individuals should be able to wear whatever they want and not worry about fitting in."
Jennings said she always "knew she was a girl" and the way she expressed this was through fashion.
In the interview Jennings, who is dressed in white strappy wedges, black skinny jeans and a lacey, off-the-shoulder cream top, goes on to say as long as people in the transgender community are happy and expressing their true self - it doesn't matter what they wear.
The transgender activist was named one of TIME Magazine's Top 25 Most Influential Teens for 2014 and more recently, became the face of a Clean & Clear campaign.
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The teen launched a new TLC series I AM JAZZ that premiered 15 July, and which sees her discuss common shopping challenges transgender people face, among other issues she faces as a teenager.
Jennings also wrote a book of the same name - I am Jazz - last year, which was one of the first books featuring transgender people to be geared toward children.
In an interview with Yahoo News, Jennings said: "I wanted to write this book so I could help other kids who are really struggling to find out who they are. It's not geared towards just LGBTQ kids, but kids of any difference of any type."
To watch the full video of Jazz Jennings talking about style, visit Mashable.com.
