#and as the three tumblr users who have seen me in real life can attest: i do not

[trainsinanime]

Based on some talks on discord, consider this:

For Marinette, fashion is a hobby, a lifestyle. Adrien, though, not so much. For him, fashion is an obligation. He doesn't get to choose what he wears. If he has any opinions about it, they're probably dismissed and ignored, because he exists for the fashion, not the other way around.

But now imagine that Marinette starts teaching him. She teaches him about fabrics and cuts, about colors and patterns. She teaches him which colors go well together, which have interesting contrasts and so on. She teaches him her ethos about clothing: Not to sell the most expensive stuff, or to sell the most stuff, but to express yourself, who you are, what you want to say about yourself.

As she keeps doing that, Adrien starts to see fashion in a whole new light. Through her eyes, he develops an understanding and love for the field that he's been working in his whole life. He knows how the fashion industry works. But she is the one who shows him how fashion works. And through this, he only keeps falling more and more in love with her.