Rihanna has turned her style all the way up since the beginning of her career, but the Glamour magazine cover girl said it wasn’t her decision to debut with a cookie-cutter image.

"In the beginning of my career, it was really strict for me,” she told the magazine in the September issue. “I couldn't wear pink or red lipstick; it was just bizarre. We had a young fan base, and they were trying to keep me fresh. But I just really wanted to be myself. I wanted to be sassy, the attitude, all these things that I am."

Now the 23-year-old pop star pushes style limits and sets trends with the help of her stylist, Mariel Hann. "Getting dressed, I want to pick the most bizarre pair of shorts so I can figure out how to make it look right, or work an outfit that will make people go, ‘What the hell is she wearing?’” 

Pick up the issue on August 9 to see her working it in designs by Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, YSL and Vionnet.

(Photo: Glamour Magazine)