Vogue

~Style is a personal expression of your creativity. You intuitively like certain colors, patterns and textures. Go with your gut! Creativity in this form is an action word. Wear things that speak to your spirit.

~Money is NOT a factor. Don’t get it twisted. How much you spend on a garment does not make it fashionable. Let your style be a reflection of who you are, not the latest trend. Labels are unimportant. Make a statement about who you are, your interests and your goals through your style.

AUGUST 12, 2019

 Learning to love the body you have means dressing to highlight your unique features. Getting dressed is one of your first opportunities to practice creativity daily. Red has always been a color that speaks to me. It might have something to do with my fiery personality. I’m an extremely passionate person who typically makes a statement wherever I go, whether I want the attention or not. I chose an eye- catching color and modest style for my top. I typically choose to either feature my legs or my upper body, but never both. Today is a leg day, and these long limbs came out to slay. The jean shorts are basic and the suede-tassel shoes are flesh colored to elongate the line of the leg. My accessories are typically my moment to accentuate a less dominate color of my outfit, today the white polka dots in my shirt are pulled out by the white cow skin Africa earrings.

*** Red polka dot top $0.50 on sale @Salvation Army store***

august 20, 2109

Armor vs. Adornment

When you leave the house are you showcasing your fears or exhibiting your strengths?

When styling your hair, applying makeup, and choosing your outfit for the day what’s your motivation? Attention? Validation?  If so, you’re applying armor based on your insecurities. It doesn’t matter how you dress up insecurity, it always comes through. 

Learning to love yourself must be practiced daily. Your skin, eyes, nose, lips, hips, legs, hair, teeth, etc. are beautiful naturally and unique to you. There’s only one you. You’re extraordinarily special! Because of this very simple fact you’re lovely just as you are! Self- worth is not built from the outside in. Your clothes, jewelry, shoes, purses, makeup or hairstyle doesn’t add value to your life.  Too many people think the thousand dollar shoes give them worth. It is for this very reason that I have decided to embark upon a new venture of thrift store fashions I like to call, Affordable Adornment. Affordable Adornment, superficially, is simply going to thrift stores to find style gems at an ultra affordable price. My goal is to find things that speak to my intuitive, creative style. I look for colors and patterns that stand out to me. Sometimes I look for specific articles of clothing I would like to use to create a look I have in mind. It encourages me to define for myself what I want to wear, instead of allowing other people to determine that for me. Once I have fully formed confidence in my own style, I know that I’ll be able to appreciate other people’s personal expression. Valuing my own individuality, as expressed through style, will also help me value other people’s individuality… which is the point, right?!

Also, at the core of this venture, I’m expanding my relationship with finances. Clothing is not the highest priority for my finances. I prefer travel and experiences that expand my outlook on life. With that being the case, I don’t want to dedicate a huge chunk of my budget towards something that doesn’t appreciate with time. In my first “Coins” post on this site I talked about what we determine to be valuable and dividing our budget according to how we prioritize. I love this new fashion experiment I’m participating in right now. I think it’ll help to create a healthy habit that I will maintain even after I become a multi-millionaire because I know why I choose to wear what I wear and it has nothing to do with anything external.

*** African print pants $3 @Salvation Army store, Purse $1 @Salvation Army store*** 

August 24, 2019

My Personal Style Journey

I have my days, you know… Days when I’m thinking to myself, “What are you doing?”… Days when my fear of being creative comes creeping out the closet. Picture #1 (from left to right) shows how I feel on these not-so-confident days. Picture #2 is how my friends see me everyday (talk about vote of confidence). Picture #3 is how I feel people judge me when they see me.

Ok. Let's unpack. Everyday is different and your thoughts and feelings change all the time. I don’t feel overly confident everyday and that’s ok. I would love to get to the place where, no matter if I’m at 100% or 50%, I feel assured that who I am is enough. The last picture contains the best lesson for me. I had to realize that the way I felt other people judged me was a reflection of my own judgmental behavior. I’ve been working very hard each day to correct my judgmental thoughts of others. I mean, really… Who am I to judge anyone? Furthermore, why should anyone care what I think of them?

Sided note: I find it fascinating to teeter back and forth with the ideas that I’m one small tiny speck in the grand scheme of the universe (microscopic) and the idea that I’m is on this planet for a very specific and special reason (grand importance).

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I’ve learned that many of my unsolicited negative judgments of others are a result of my small mindedness and insecurities. It forces me to take a look at myself to understand why I have those thoughts and feelings. And trust, thats enough for me not to even think about someone else’s decision to wear acid wash jeans. Cause at the end of the day, acid wash jeans ain’t never killed nobody! There’s bigger, more pressing issues to concern myself with in these streets. I honestly feel better when I’m not preoccupied with the mundane trifles of the world. It’s freeing to not waste energy being concerned about such things. When I allow others to be free to express their own creativity, I feel as if others allow me the same grace. Be Graceful!