As a little girl, I loved to sit on my older girl cousins’ beds and watch them put their makeup on, style their hair, and choose their clothing for the day. More than learning by seeing, there was something in the sharing. It was caring, passing on, making sure the younger ones like me would know how to do these things when it was my turn. How to apply mascara, lipstick, eyeliner. How to feather my hair. Which shoes to wear. Which earrings. Which shirt with which jeans with which belt.
My mom never had a large wardrobe, but what few pieces she had were beautiful, elegant, and could be mixed and matched in a hundred ways to create more outfits than you could imagine. This was so fascinating to me, the idea of creating more than what you had. It was like having a trick up your sleeve. One skirt, one blouse, one jacket, one sweater, one pair of pants, one pair of jeans, and you had not six things but several times six. Fashion math.
When I worked in fashion as a young woman, one of my favorite things to do was put outfits together for women. I loved dressing them and helping them feel beautiful, confident, and cared for. It was my turn to pass along what my cousins had done for me.
When I recently shared the outfit I’ll be wearing to a wedding next weekend, it sparked a hum of lovely conversations, about style, wardrobe, and curating ensembles. Those conversations melded with other conversations I’ve had over the last few months, in which several of you have told me that you’ve been trying to determine your own personal style. I love that we care about this. We want to be and feel beautiful, comfortable, confident, and well-dressed, don’t we?
So, tell me, do you feel confident in knowing your personal style in fashion? Do you find curating a personal wardrobe challenging or easy? If you find it challenging, what would be most helpful in curating a wardrobe and style that you’re confident in and delighted with?
Tell me everything.
I have been pregnant or nursing a babe for the last 15 years. I recently had to give myself permission that my wardrobe didn’t need to be curated or high quality, because I had absolutely zero idea of what I even liked or what works on my body. Giving yourself permission is such a gift. Though I am looking forward to knowing, curating and purchasing high quality classics, today is just not that day. But you endlessly inspire me and you are the first person I go to for womanly advice. So if you ever see someone digging through your old post on beauty, hair, makeup, etc… it’s probably me!
I heard about a ten-item wardrobe from Jennifer Scott on youtube a few years ago, and have been working on it since. Our house is small, with small closets, so why not live small? (as much as possible, and it takes time to learn how to do) She has ten pieces she loves in her closet, with a few lesser things to go with it, and she wears these items day after day for half the year, then switches. She's in the L.A. area, where she can do this. I'm in Connecticut where it seems to be a different "season" every two to three months. But I keep only the seasonal things in my closet, and I really like them all. So you don't get tired of wearing something over and over if you love it and look well in it, right?
If I could dress any way at all, without raising eyebrows, my inclination would be to look like a Trina Schart Hyman fairy tale illustration: the flowing hair, layers of gossamer clothing. But as it is, I do like loose, airy skirts and dresses. Colored tights if it's cool out. I've learned a lot from Allison Bornstein about defining one's style, from Audrey Coyne about contrast, and Alyssa Beltempo about trying to translate the images we see and like into something from our closet that we can actually put together.
I like the dress you bought for the wedding - very romantic-looking. :)