A lot has been published about what colors and styles to wear or not to wear. I believe that dressing in what makes you happy is the key to a successful style.
We met with friends over drinks and hors d'oeuvres to discuss a project a few days before I got my hair cut. I always try to dress appropriately for the weather, the event, and lastly, I bring my personality into the mix. I have been saving these photos to share with you when the post calls for it.
It was a cool evening, and the professional nature of the event called for a more polished look than my usual combos.
Even though I am wearing old pieces from my wardrobe in the picture above, I do not usually put them together in this way. The more relaxed cut of the dress pants combined with low heeled shoes and the loose-fitting tank top with a neutral blush color jacket do not reflect my nature. The edgy straw clutch bag, along with the jazzy necklace, were my attempts to add "me" into the mix.
Yesterday we would visit my parents and then have a light dinner to end a great weekend. The lack of an "event" to dress for meant that I could just put on what felt right for the weather.
You can see how much happier. I look wearing clothes that reflect my personality.
Not just because I am acting silly, but you can tell that being true to myself in the way I dress makes me feel more confident and happy.
The tips and tricks I share with you are intended to help you evaluate your wardrobe and determine if the pieces work for you and with each other. The secret to success is found in how you put the items together and then accessorize them. It does not matter what color they are (certain colors and tones will indeed look better on you than others), how much they cost, or where you bought them. If the elements in your collection can be combined to show your unique personality and make you feel confident, that is what matters.
This way of dressing does not require that you have a huge wardrobe. It is all about knowing what is right for you and your lifestyle. What I wear, including my heels, might not be right for you at all. My budget may be entirely different than yours. The colors that comprise my core wardrobe may not be right for you. The points I make here show you how I use these elements to put together looks that work for the event, the weather, and my personality. I am just using myself as an example to help you use these basic guidelines to figure out what works best.
14 comments:
Hi Susan; say what you may, the top outfit looks lovely on you. You should not be too unhappy in it! I do like this jacket very much and hope it is one you get a lot of happy wears from.
This is such a great post! I've been thinking a lot about this very thing... trying to walk the line of what's fresh and what I actually like and then combine that with what works for the budget. I went shopping to a store I'd never been to before over the weekend, and found a whole dressing room full of things I loved, but I walked out with the one piece I loved most, and determined to "think about" any additional purchases. I've brought things home before that I knew were in style but when I go to wear them, it just doesn't look "me". Very liberating to get to the place where you are wearing the things that make you smile!
You do a wonderful job, showing how to shop the closet and use pieces in various ways. Your advice has helped me immensely. I am changing up my wardrobe this year to be more flattering to my changing body. As I approach my 70's, I am trying to be more realistic about what I can achieve with diet and exercise and what I need to wear to conceal my flaws. I have used your suggestions with much success. It's a slow process, but I look forward every day to your posts. Thank you.
And just as an aside, I remembered how lovely you looked in a picture you took at Carmel's in Asheville. Our hotel was around the corner, so we stopped in- great lunch. However, following your lead, I must have been the best dressed woman in the place that day. I had to laugh, but still felt great.
Hi Susan - you are an inspiration. Thousands of people have benefitted from your generous and kind advise, me included. Keep doing what you are doing.
Love the Happy Pose, Susan! And you're so right, wearing what makes us happy is the #1 style "rule."
Hi, Susan - Thanks very much for the great job you do with this blog. You have helped me to rethink what I wear, and I have pared down my wardrobe to just the clothes in which I feel great (and most of them have been in my closet for years). I got rid of so many pieces because, even though they fit well, I just wasn't comfortable wearing them - they weren't me. As a result, I can now get dressed and forget about what I'm wearing, and that is where I want to be! Thank you for helping me to get to this place.
The blush colored blazer and black combo does look fabulous
So very true that one must feel 'good' about what one is wearing! It does show, and you seem to be very happy in the second outfit...although I'm betting that you could find a way to give the 'corporate' look your own special touch!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Susan, I enjoy your blog. I just wish you could stop over and go through my closet with me, mixing and matching and saying yes or oh dear, no! Thanks for sharing yourself.
I am sooo with you on the "shop your wardrobe" approach. It's what I do too and after a career which led me to accumulate a lot of businesswear and now leading a casual life in retirement, I'm having some challenges and some fun! But not as much fun as you, it would seem ... I've not been jumping for joy!!! Nice post. Nice pics.
Wow, you think the shoes in the first picture are low? They look to be nearly 3 inch heels which in my book is not low at all. As a woman has had foot surgery, plus is retired, I have no need for such high heels in my wardrobe, but I do keep a couple of 2 inch pumps for dressy occasions along with many flats and shorter heels one inch or less for wearing most of the time.
You are the perfect example for "Dressing your Truth". In the picture you look well, in the following amazing. Thank you for sharing I've learnt a lot from you.
(My first time to comment tho' I do follow you most faithfully.)
Thank you so much for all that you share with us. You are an inspiration to be our very best in so many ways.
I am 72, 5' 2", 130 lb. with large bust, small shoulders, long legs and a very short-waist (confined to petite sizing only). And I have serious foot problems and a bit of a back problem so flats only as well and pretty much one specific brand of shoe - which, fortunately for me, has had somewhat more stylish offerings of late. Widowed but with close family and many friends, I mostly go to lunches or early dinners with a very occasional "special" event to attend.
All that is to say we have many differences in our individual clothing choices BUT still I learn a very great deal from you. No, I don't get as "dressed up" as you frequently do and no, I can't wear those heels but they're fabulous on you. Love your blog and thanks again.
With all due respect, I believe the second outfit is just as professional possibly more so. Of course I don't live your part of the country and you do have to dress what the occasion calls for.
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