Personal Style: The Beginning

What have I gotten myself into exactly? Somehow, I thought it would be easy to determine and recreate my style - it's not. It's not only time-consuming, but it's in many ways a complete blow to my (somewhat fragile) ego. It must be that I've been living in my little mommy-world for too long now: you know, the one where sleep is a precious commodity and style drifts to a backburner on a long-forgotten stove. I thought I'd do an inventory of my wardrobe to begin with, and see what my favorite pieces were. Perhaps, I dared, I would even take self-portraits in my best looks so you all could have a sense of my starting point. Maybe I'll drum up the courage for that revealing project in a few days (or weeks - I've just begun working out!); but for now, that is definitely not happening.

Not only could I not find even one favorite piece in my wardrobe, suddenly, determining what I like from reliable sources online has become increasingly difficult. First, I went to Urban Outfitters, the credit succubus of my twenties. I hate to admit it, but perusing the pages of their catalog only made me feel old, as I kept thinking "Why are these pages filled with little girls?!". So, I stepped up my game and went onward to Anthropologie, another paycheck leech of days goneby...It certainly isn't as though I couldn't find anything I didn't like, just nothing I had to have. J.Crew was the same story. So I decided to look into the past. I combed through tons of vintage ads here - warning: this site is a time vacuum (albeit a fun one). After hours of clicking and feeling like my style must exist in the ethers of space, I came up with a few looks I like. Unfortunately, one of the eight is a look from a children's clothing line. But I picked it because it reminded me that I've always been most comfortable in tunic dresses, cardigans, and jeans. I love dresses over pants. I love layers. And I love cowl necks.

I think this is a good start. And, I've found a new source of inspiration: Bliss, blog of goodies and grand design brought to you by Mrs. French. Whoever Mrs. French is, she's got a great eye, and enough time on her hands to put together a look book daily. Her site is true eye-candy - you can find it here if you don't already know it.

And just so you all know, this process would be so much worse if it weren't for your support, ideas, and interest in the outcome. Thank you all for your love.