Fashion can be bought, expensively might I add. Fashion can be elusive. However style, your true personal style, is wrapped in a beautiful package called confidence. Style comes when a woman walks into a space, with her head held high and a beautiful smile. She’s warm. She’s comfortable in her own skin. While it may have taken some thought & planning for her wardrobe choice that day, she appears effortless. We notice her before we notice the dress. She knows that the thing people will remember is how she made them feel. Whether it is a classic little black dress or the timelessness of her jeans & white t-shirt that she chose that day, those details are just the icing on the cake.
Anyone of us can fashionable. We have magazines and tv shows galore to tell us what’s “in”. Style however truly comes from within.
“You have to be confident with who you are on the inside before you can ever fully be comfortable presenting yourself to the outside world. And how you present yourself to the world is important. It is inherently related to your sense of self.” Nina Garcia
The famous style icons are not slaves to the trends. Even the not-so-famous ones that we all know and love in our everyday lives. They break the rules. Style cannot be bought therefore it truly is attainable for each of us. We can be wowed by the couture designers of our day as much as we can be wowed by one of our stylish friends who can rock a great pair of chino shorts & a chambray button down. And that my friends, is style.
Tory Burch when asked what she found most stylish in a woman replied, “the confidence to wear what looks good on you regardless of the trends. Women who dress to play up their assets and hide their flaws always look polished and pulled together”.
Elle Macpherson when asked the same question replied, “A woman is stylish no matter what she wears if she is comfortable in her skin. I love when a woman is uncontrived and simple with a sense of inner strength. She could be naked or in a ball gown and her attitude does not change”.
A few guidelines that may guide you in becoming a style icon:
- Edit what you have. Go through your closet and if it no longer looks great on you, discard those pieces. Garage sale, good will, or a friend may profit from your former fashion purchase. But minimize what you already have. What you do with it is for another sermon.
- Edit what you purchase. Purchase only what looks good on you. A fantastic sale is not a fantastic sale if it’s an item you won’t wear anyway. The “it” style is not the “it” style for all people and all body types.
- Educate yourself & be aware of fashion trends. None of us wants to be called out for wearing mom jeans. I’m not saying you need to shop forever at Forever 21. What I am saying is a couple times a year peruse a fabulous designer shop at the mall. See what Tory Burch is showing this spring. See how Anthropologie is styling their dresses and accessories. Popular fashion bloggers are easy to find via pinterest or google. Peruse magazines such as Vogue, Lucky & Instyle while you wait your turn in the grocery store.
- Exercise your fashion sensibility. Money is not the bottom line. A style icon looks as fabulous in a vintage thrifted cotton dress as she does in her little black number from Chanel.
- Embrace the basics/the bones of a stylish wardrobe & build up from there. ( tips for this in another section)
- Express yourself through the power of your accessories. Costume jewelry can be done well & totally change the look of your basic wardrobe pieces. Take the multi-strand of faux pearls or a knockout cocktail ring for example. Even wealthy women add these fun pieces!
- Entertain the thought of adding a fabulous piece to your wardrobe if your budget will allow. Christian Louboutin red soled shoes anyone?
“I think the key to dressing stylishly sexy is to not try overly hard. It’s much sexier when it all appears a bit effortless. You can tell when someone looks uncomfortable in their skin-clothes don’t fit properly of doesn’t fit the wearer’s personality definitely don’t help, so I think it’s important to wear something you feel gorgeous in.” Heidi Klum
“A woman is never sexier than when she is comfortable in her clothes”. Vera Wang