fashion

If you have followed any blog I did leading up to this one you would have watched my style evolve into what it is now. Fashion has always been high on my list of interest and that will probably never change. I spent so much time in my brother's hand-me-downs or girls clothes that just didn't fit as a child, that as soon as I could do my own thing I got really into it. I remember going to New York on my high school senior trip and having my mind blown. I never wanted to leave.

I don't mean to sound judgmental to people who could care less about style but I have never been a person who just grabbed something and put it on without some thought. I may look like that's what I do but I take time with every outfit to think about proportion and androgyny. By always keeping these things in mind when I dress I've cultivated my own look and it's a look that I am very proud of.

I love looking at style blogs and I take a lot of inspiration from the male fashion scene. Two of my favorite style blogs are The Sartorialist and Backyard Bill.  I also love tumblr for fashion inspiration. I guess that finding Nick Wooster through The Sartorialist was one thing that absolutely changed my fashion sense. He made me think even more about mixing genres, like mixing something glam with something casual or something sporty with something business.

If I think about the one thing that makes an outfit my style it would have to be proportion hands down. I really love mixing an oversided top with a slim fitting bottom or vice versa. I'm really big on oversized pants with a more form fitting top. I also like mixing my girl clothes with my boy clothes and mixing worn and tattered with fresh and new. An outfit that has these things makes me feel most like myself.

The type of things you'll find in my closet include, men's jeans, men's casual button ups, men's loafers, women's form fitting dresses, lots of old (goodwill) sweaters (cardigan and pullover) both men's and women's, lots of flannel, a lot of solids, a very tiny bit of small prints, a few women's jeans and loads and loads of shoes and boots.  A good portion of my closet sports a label with cotton as the content. I love natural fibers and I feel like most things made of synthetic fiber look like it belongs in the closet of someone much older than me, that likes playing bingo and going line dancing.

When I think about people whose style I always love, I think about Lauren Hutton, Robert RedfordCharlotte RamplingJane Birkin and Ralph Lauren. I love the way they can all take casual up to the next level of prime time ready.

Probably somewhere around 15 years ago, B was getting rid of a pair of jeans that I really liked. I told him not to throw them out because I wanted them. I wasn't sure what I'd do with them but what happened in the end became a large part of my style. Because the pants were too large for me they were also way too long. I decided to cut them off and leave the hem raw so that it would ravel when washed. At the time Skyler had been copying the then Johnny Knoxville look of wearing work pants cut capri length. I loved this look so I decided to go for that length when I cut off the pants. I could not stop wearing these pants and after many years and many more jeans cut the same way, I'm still sporting this look to this day. Every time I walk out in these pants I wonder why everyone I meet that day doesn't go home and start cutting up their husband's jeans. It meets my need to mix proportion, it's comfortable and it looks good dressed up or down. Here I am wearing that first pair of cutoffs with my Flax shirt that I always swore I'd wear when Oprah finally called me to be on her show. That outfit was my favorite at the time, right down to the flipflops. I was going to change Oprah's life by having her wear her own pair of oversized cutoff capri jeans while she was interviewing me. Her look has always seemed way to fussy for me. Let's face it, you know you'd rather hang with jean wearing Oprah more than everyday Oprah in the studio. Little by little the corporate world is catching on to the idea of a more relaxed dress code with good reason. It just makes sense in the world as it is today. So, come on Oprah, lets just chill cause you look amazing in those jeans.

No one asked for this fashion post but because I get a lot of compliments on my look, along with people professing that they wish they could pull off this look, I decided to share what inspires me and how I make it happen with what's in my closet. I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it and looking up all the links.

Now take your rattiest jeans, paired with your nicest top and make magic happen. If one of those items comes from the men's department and the other from the lady's, all the better. Don't forget to add a nice pair of leather loafers. Don't buy cheap shoes even if you have to buy second hand. If you can find a way to show a little ankle skin that'd be good as well. Bam, you've got this.

I will leave you with a few old wardrobe shots from an old blog. My style has changed even since these photos were taken 4 years ago. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.








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