Roxanna introduced me to the concept of avatars, so of course I'm down that rabbit hole now The idea is that these are the variations or "characters" on my overarching style, with is "Classic Polished Casual". So they all fit under that banner, but represent slightly different looks, and work for different cirumstances/moods.

Now, there is a LOT of overlap between these, I realize, so it could be that I collapse these a little (5 also seems like a lot, given my lifestyle) ... this is definitely just a first pass and I'm going to have fun working with these for the next little while! I think a good next step with these is to think about (roughly) how much of my life these correspond to time-wise ... I already know I have more traditionalist and minimalist than I strictly need ... seasons may play into it too ... the Cali-wannabe is a great warm weather avatar; whereas the Mom-next-door is probably better for transitional and cold weather.

If you have feedback, it's welcome; if you work with avatars too, tell me all about them!

1. The Traditionalist

Muse: Kate Middleton
Palette: Navy, white, pops of red, stripes
Key pieces: Navy blazer; small dangly earring, Breton stripes
Natural habitat: Business casual events, lunch with my MIL
Representation in my closet: Good. This style is my more natural one - but is a little buttoned up for my lifestyle. Still, it's so 'me' it has to be there.

2. The Urban Minimalist

Muse: Angelina Jolie
Palette: Black, dark shades
Key pieces: Black sweater, black pants.
Natural habitat: Downtown, large social events, places i feel exposed or uncomfortable. This is my 'introvert's armour' look.
Representation in my closet: Good. This one's easy.

3. The Mom Next Door (too old to use 'girl' )

Muse: All the Hallmark movies
Palette: Any flattering colour in a top, plus neutrals
Key pieces: Cozy sweater in a flattering color, delicate jewellery, Starbucks cup. Nothing outside the mainstream. This one is far more about the pretty touches - curls, lipgloss, pretty scarf, etc.
Natural habitat: Lunch with good friends, afternoon stroll in town with DH, trimming the tree while making eggnog from scratch while saving my small town from corporate developers
Representation in my closet. I could do with a touch more colour to support this one, but good overall. Again, it's more about the finishing touches, and that's on me to put the effort in.

4. The Cali-wannabe

Muse: Jennifer Aniston, Bobbi Brown
Palette: Neutrals and soft colours
Key Pieces: Drapey tops, jeans, layered delicate jewellery
Natural habitat: This avatar is comfortable just about anywhere
Representation in my closet. Ok. I need to be more conscious of adding a more relaxed fit to tops going forward. I think styling is a bigger part of this. I need to play with this one more, and remember to layer on the delicate jewellery when I'm feeling it.

5. The Suburbanite

Muse: Kate Hudson in her Fabletics ads
Palette: Neutrals, soft colours, the occasional bright
Key Pieces: Yoga pants, sneakers, leggings
Natural habitats: The gym/grocery store/cleaning loop. This one is my least favorite avatar but most closely aligned with my life ... *sigh*
Representation in my closet. Not bad. I've worked on this one in the last couple of months.

Thanks for reading; this was a super-fun exercise! Thanks Roxanna for the inspiration!