P.S. I do like your blog though.

Try hards are those who look like they despirately want to please…please others and not themselves…running around in circles because they ’simply must have it’. Focused outward instead of inward, concerned more about what others think than what they think…sounds exhaustive and it is…and it shows.

It’s a bit like the cook who can whip up a meal from whatever she has and makes it look so easy. It’s easy because of a few simple reasons:

* She loves to cook – so it’s not a chor (most of the time)
* Her pantry and fridge have trusted basics from which she knows she can make a meal out of quickly and easily…so she doesn’t panic when she has to feed 10 instead of 4. Basics like tinned tomatoes, pasta, rice, preserved lemons, olives, anchovies, chilli…based on her taste and what she loves to eat!
* She uses recipes as a guide…adding her own ingredients to create what she feels like eating/serving up to others. She doesn’t rush out to the store to buy that one missing ingredient, simply substitutes it for something similar.

So….it may look effortless, but she understands enough about what she likes to eat and feed others and keeps the basics of those flavours at the ready.

Effortless style is like that for me….it’s all in the preparation. Spend 80% of your time on defining you, and 20% on freshening it up with what’s in fashion.

Here’s how:
*Figure out the best ‘cuts’ for your body shape – trousers are the hardest and once you’ve found them…buy 3 in different colours (black, white, beige, blue). If the colour options aren’t there, go to the tailor and have them made!
* Colour…find out what works on you. People will tell you or go and see a colourist if you want the quick fix.
*Once you’ve spent your time on this then get your wardrobe basics together. These will be from your ‘best cuts’ found above. T-shirts, tops, trouser, jacket, dress and skirt.
* Add fashion flavour to your basics to give it that ‘contemporary’ edge….accessories are indespensible for this.

Is that effortless style….YES in putting it on….NO if you consider the ‘ground work’ that goes into to it.

But…if you enjoy it….it’s not a chor and is absolutely effortless!

Anita.
xx

I can tell you what it isn’t:
Always expensive. I have a good friend who shops excusively at Ross, TJMaxx, and Junior League and other thrift/discount stores. She always looks contemporary and so stylish.
She’s a professional in the medical field, so she relies on looking spot on when meeting clients.

It’s definitely not a rut or a permanence. None of the fashion icons I can think of ever held fast to one look, but evolved it.

It’s surely not slavishly following the trends. I think Audrey Hepburn looked her least stylish in “How to Steal a Million”. Far too much Givenchy. It overshadowed her and the character in the movie. Perhaps that’s my own cringing over the fashion. It definitely didn’t add to the style of her character.

To me effortless style is about editing. Knowing the right pieces to put together, when, how, and even the why of it. Perhaps the metaphor is like writing.

Today’s “strong style” icons represent, to me, something more along the lines of “strong stylists” than a real style unto themselves. Much of it looks like it took so much effort. Especially the Olson Twins. Wow. How did they rise to the top of style icons? Risk taking? Jumping on the Bullet Train of bleeding edge trends? That just promotes rampant consumerism.

I also think it’s harder today since the churnover of style and trends can really increase the difference in style. So, to me, style is not chasing a trend.

What IS style?
Editing. Subtlety. What works for your body, lifestyle, and expression of your self.

Effortless? Well, to me that means it’s a habit. Your mind’s eye can easily find the perfect items.

That’s what it is to me.