My poor days inspired my quirky fashion style: Katy Perry

London: Pop star Katy Perry says she adopted her quirky sense of style after her dad dragged her to garage sales to buy her second-hand clothes. The `I Kissed a Girl` hitmaker is infamous for her eclectic dress sense, and has sported a series of styles, including PVC bondage gear and 1950s pin-up, a leading daily has reported.

"When I was nine years old, my father used to wake me up at seven every Saturday morning to take me to garage sales. I couldn`t afford the clothes that the other girls at school were wearing, so instead I looked for things that were unique to me.” The 27-year-old singer said that despite being courted by the world`s biggest fashion houses, she prefers to throw on anything which sets her apart from the crowd. "I don`t like to take fashion too seriously. I love it, and I am so grateful when big brands want to associate with me, but mostly I just want to take chances and have fun and truly live. Sometimes that means wearing some ridiculous, cat-inspired outfit rather than whatever happens to be in this season." Perry, who split from husband Russell Brand in December, said she just wants her fans to be able to see her as a normal person, something that appears to be an impossible task. "I stopped focusing on what other people think a while ago. If you try to be everything to everyone, you`ll only end up completely confused," she said. PTI