SHOPPING:
- I NEVER pay full price for anything. You just don’t have to anymore because almost everything can be found at a discounted price online, at resale shops, or at stores like TJ Maxx.
- I try to pay $50 or less for most articles of clothing but I’m willing to spend $100 or less on certain items;
- Shoes
- Dresses
- Blazers
- Clutches & Smaller Handbags
- Lightweight Coats
- I’m willing to spend more than $100 but always less than $200 on very few things, and only if I can’t live without them:
- Designer Shoes
- Designer Handbags (purchased on a flash sale, like the below Kate Spade bag)
- Designer Accessories (purchased at re-sale shops, like the below vintage Hermes scarf: $150)
- WInter Coats
DRESSING:
- I ALWAYS choose a character I want to be or an item I want to wear that day, and I shape my outfit around that. It gives what I’m wearing purpose. For example, below I wanted to be Carolina Herrara for a day.
- I ALWAYS match 2 items, sometimes 3, to create meaning for the ensemble and to convey that I made a deliberate choice in wearing the outfit. For example:
- Match Shoes + Belt to give two points of reference for the eye (like the below picture)
- Add a third at the top of your body to create ‘bookends’ with your shoes
- + Necklace
- + Hair Accessory
- + Lipstick (also like the below picture)
- In other words, I make sure accessories and/or colors are accounted for by another item with the same color or theme somewhere else in the outfit.
- UNLESS I want one item to be the center of attention. That item doesn’t need a ‘matcher’ because I want everyone to look at it.
- Or if my base outfit is all neutrals, they don’t have to match. For example:
- Brown skirt, white top, tan blazer (neutral base)
- W/ red shoes, red belt, red lipstick (accessories account for each other)
- I ALWAYS find inspiration in the people, places and things around me. I create color palettes or looks based on them. For example:
- Architecture – a cool building inspires a structured dress with bold stripes and a chunky heel (see pictures below)
- Flowers – pink spring flowers inspire bright pink accessories.
- Street Art – colorful murals inspire bright colors for a casual outfit (see pictures below)
RISK-TAKING:
- I SOMETIMES wear white after Labor Day, sequins in the day time, and a summer dress in the winter. I don’t like being told I can’t do something!
- I SOMETIMES choose the items on the sale rack that no one else wanted. It’s been so reduced in price, it’s hard to pass up. I try it on and get creative with ideas of how to use it with what’s already in my closet.
- I SOMETIMES wear my hair completely out of control because it is liberating
