COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET PART 1//

It's been a while since I posted anything - between vacation and staying busy helping some lost fashion soles, I just haven't had time.  Over the past week, I have been working with some great young women who need help finding specific items and revamping their wardrobes and overall look.  There are a few key points I have taken away from these consultations that I think speak to general problems that people face when shopping and getting dressed.  The most obvious is the curse of the UNIFORM.  The more I talk to women, the more I realize that they want a new look and to change things up, but life is so busy that it is easier to just stick to habitual dressing (wearing the same outfit for every occasion even if you know it doesn't look great or make you feel great).  Most young women have similar lifestyles - they work, have a group of friends and a partner, possibly a family of their own, that they spend most of their time with, and they enjoy being social (going out to eat, movies, theater, concerts, parties).  The uniform becomes divided between work wear and social wear (think boring cuffed black trousers, a cotton/lycra oxford shirt, sweater, and a comfortable shoe for work and a medium wash boot cut jean with a blouse and a heel or a cotton dress for fun). Instead of seeing shopping as a way to develop their personality or as a means of finding a unique, authentic style, most women shop to fit the uniform (what should I be wearing?? as opposed to how do I want to feel and what impression do I want to make?).  This creates problems and leaves these fun, attractive, strong women dressing like boring, reserved, matronly older women (or sometimes preteens!) instead of the powerful, intelligent, fun women they are.  My approach to help correct this problem is to make sure every closet has a list of essentials that can create a variety of different looks.  The trick is then to take these essentials and add your personality - are you feminine?  edgy?  sophisticated?  bohemian?  classic?  androgynous?  Everything from the items you pick to the accessories to the shoes to the attitude you have creates a look.  If you wear a "uniform" it is hard to be unique and hard to develop a style that is true to your personality and lifestyle.  

 Notice the simplicity of these outfits.  All of the pieces shown here are basic and should be in everyone's wardrobe - white jeans, striped tops, chambray oxford shit, tailored skirt, neutral trousers and sweater...the problem is most people, because they are stuck in a rut, don't think about buying a striped top instead of a black top, they don't think about tucking things in, adding bold accessories, or mixing neutrals.  There is nothing crazy or "fashiony" about these outfits...they are just easy basics put together with some thought and a touch of detail.

 These images are from the J Crew Fall 2010 lookbook - J Crew is really going through a great reinvention...and these are examples of classic pieces jazzed up a bit.  The look is feminine and fun and unexpected but not complicated.  Of course none of us necessarily look like this lovely model nor do we have stylists perfecting every detail of our look, but if you look at the foundation of these outfits, you'll see how simple and classic they are - a great leather jacket with a striped cardigan just peeking out; a dress paired with a plaid slouchy blazer; leather jacket, oxford shirt, and tweed trousers.  The key to these looks is layering and texture.  Again, these are essential pieces all women should have in their closet - depending on your personality and intended look, something like this is easy to put together. 

 Here are real women wearing real clothes that they put on themselves!  Imagine that!  I love these looks because, once again, they show how looking great and expressing your personality is NOT about being high fashion or trendy.  There is nothing fussy about any of these outfits; all of them are about combining staple pieces in a certain way.  The top photo is simple - neutral blouse, tailored short, sandals, and a few accessories. It is the ease of the outfit as a whole, the way she tucks in the blouse and uses a belt, and the way everything is relaxed that makes this chic.  Same goes for the dress - basic, feminine floral pattern and it's all about the belt.  A waist belt is very useful and here it is perfection!  The other two photos are all about the draping - the distressed jeans mixed with a black blazer would be ok but not as great without the scarf (or the shoes!) And to the right, the sweater wrap is chic and balances out the leggings perfectly.  All of these women are dressed differently, but you can tell what kind of attitude they have by looking at their style.  And they have style because they put small twists on basics and really inhabit their clothes.

images from Elle and Sartorialist