Over the last couple of years, I have undergone what I would only describe as a style death… and then a style awakening followed not so soon after.
Granted there were a lot of changes happening in my life. There was pregnancy and a thirty kilo weight gain. Even as I am typing, I can’t believe I took it that far! I’m normally of a very slight build but hey you have to give everything a go I say. But, a positive that came out of that experience is I am more knowledgeable when it comes to dressing a curvier build, so it wasn’t all bad. And following that, the new role of mom left very little time for vanity and “style”… I could barely fit in sleep.
So on and on it went. Feeling blah. Feeling like I would never be my old self again. The thing about feeling average about how you look is that it affects your whole life in general. You know what they say- what energy you put out in the world is what you get back. And besides I simply didn’t want to feel blah anymore. I just wanted to get back to feeling like my old self again.
The search for the new me, making sense of my style and the barrage and noise I had to dig through out there to finally find it, is really the genesis of how Talking-Shop came about. But more on that later. These are a few nuggets of truth that got the ball rolling in my style awakening.
Know thy self– Take a good look in the mirror. Work out your body shape and type. Are you a ruler? An hour glass, An apple?? Do you have a longer torso or do you have fantastic legs? Do your hips do all the talking or are your boobs where the party is at. Is it both? What colours bring you to life and which ones wash you out and make you look dead? Just get acquainted or re-acquainted if need be. As with everything you have got to start with YOU first.
Wear or don’t wear the trend, but don’t let the trend wear you– This one is just self explanatory. Don’t play yourself. Not everyone is an Instagram model and Instagram in NOT real life. So although your Instagram feed might be jam-packed with clothes in neon colours… does not mean that YOU should be rocking neon. If boyfriend jeans don’t give you the “effortlessly cool” look but rather the “definitely homeless” vibe, please stay away. Pick up that skinny jean. I haven’t come across a body that the right pair of skinny jeans doesn’t work on.
Know where to shop– All these points might seem like I’m repeating myself but you would be surprised to know that some people get this one wrong as well. Knowing where to shop isn’t necessarily about the price tag, but more about quality, cut and fit. Fabric and the way clothes are made have a good deal to do with the way you end up looking. And with the choice available to us at all price ranges. There is no excuse. (Not to worry we at Talking-shop are working on a series about just that, so stay tuned!)
Be kind to yourself BUT get yourself a style uniform- We put so much pressure on our appearance. Just know that in life there are many ebbs and flows and we change personalities and the hats we wear quite regularly, and sometimes we just grow up and what used to be second nature or easy for us, isn’t any more. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles. So you have to give yourself tools that help you during those times. What helped me get going initially was getting a curated go-to uniform- the basics or a capsule (watch video I did on this subject here) Make it easy for yourself, by having a few go-to pieces, between eight and ten items that you KNOW make you look great and well presented. So you don’t spend time (when you have got none) getting flustered and fighting with your wardrobe.
As for feeling like my old self. That never happened. Over the last couple of years, I have added on layers, depth and experience the old me just didn’t posses. She couldn’t possibly, she would have needed to go through a few things the new me has. To be honest, the new me is where I would much rather be.
Till next time we talk shop,
X
Also published on Medium.
No Comments