today's musing: attitude and effects on personal style - YouLookFab Forum

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today's musing: attitude and effects on personal style

rachylou

Veteran

So first thing up, prompting my musing for today, is Annagybe's WIW today and the inspiration for it. Second thing up is Shannon's pseudo suit. I think both outfits are the bees knees (yes, the bees knees!).

...And I think I would personally have missed out on both ideas, without their good example, because of bad attitude. Annagybe's outfit inspiration pic - I confess there's nothing about it that stands out to me. The crest on the tee also kinda rubs me the wrong way. But look how Anna has done it. She's got the red piping on her blazer, shinier aviators, and a good lip colour. Her take has zing! Now why couldn't I have seen the good foundations in the inspiration pic? I'm probably too literal. I mean, who cares about the crest? It's not de rigeur.

Shannon's psuedo suit reveals more bad attitude on my part. I'd have been *oh, all-black* is too intense. That's got to be pure nonsense on my part, no? Esp. considering I'm working in the City. What is a city if not PIB country?

I don't know. I need to be, IMO, stylistically consistent but not so rigid at the same time... I need to slow down my decision making processes. Which realisation is funny - because I knew I had this problem when it comes to combing the shop racks. Now I realise I also have it putting together outfits!

What do you guys do to expand your vision? Tips?

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20 replies

Latest reply was from rachylou

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Oh, man, I don't know. I think I have to narrow my vision honestly lol. I do have trouble sometimes getting my closet to say what my mood wants. But I'm not sure how to get around that. When it comes to dressing for the day, I think I'm too utilitarian. Not often lately do I wear whatever the heck I want just for the fun of it. Nor do I do copycats hardly ever, so there's that. I am quick to write off some stuff for myself as you mentioned, though. Maybe too quick?

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Oh, I just copy you guys.

Also -- contraints.

It's a paradox. We think complete freedom will lead to greater creativity. But it often works the opposite way. So...not having the exact piece to match the blogger's outfit leads you to precisely the twist the MAKES the look -- or makes it your own.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Rachy, here's my tip - and thanks for posting your honest and interesting musings:

It is so important to keep an open mind in fashion and style. Don't write things off too soon - ever. Try to keep your poison eye to an absolute minimum. Something might not work for your style as it is represented on the wearer - but it woks beautifully on them - AND it will probably spark off an idea for your own style. (Perfect - that makes the look YOURS). Or you can help someone else on this forum with what you saw on the original wearer. It's all a win-win thing if you choose to look at it that way.

(Furthermore, Shannon's outfit was broken with white - so to my eye - it was not black from head to toe).

Slowing down your decision making process is an excellent idea. xo

rachylou

Veteran

Thanks Angie, Mo, Suz for your quick replies! Man, the alligator mind bites so fast, you can't see it. Y'all have me thinking now about how to slow down, how to get away from exact-copy attitude. Maybe everytime I say "bleh" to something, I can take it as a sign. Maybe I can try to copycat it with a quirky-waif-the-country-punk-remix flavour. For the exercise. Maybe I'd develop a better sense of outfit "bone structure" and not be misled by friperous parts.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Awww, thanks for the shout out.
For me, I seek out outfits that I at least have the bare bones essence of in my closet. And then go from there. I rarely do exact copy cats.

rachylou

Veteran

Oh, that's a good strategy, way of looking at ensembles, Anna. Eliminates the distractions factor right from the start. I admit to starting with style - my style/not my style.

Anonymous

Hmm, I'm glad you started this thread as I struggle a little too. I seem to want to be too literal. Great tips here. I will be popping back...

rachylou

Veteran

Me too, Diane!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Pretend I said what Suz and Angie said :-)!

Deborah

Veteran

Brilliant conversation Rachy. I agree with Angie:)

YLF has been amazing me for me in terms of really opening my mind to differnt fashion ideas and styles. I have always been very black and white about fashion. I would make snap decisions about whether something worked on not with little consideration for whether it suited the person, what they were wanting to achieve etc. Now I see everything through very different eyes and I no longer filter everything through "would I wear it"!

Gigi

Veteran

Interesting post, Rachy! I am like this too. I like Anna's approach: does the foundation for this type of outfit exist in my closet?

I have a medium-sized closet (I would say I'm on the small side of medium), and that has to span four seasons. I sometimes wonder whether a person needs a pretty good-sized wardrobe to be able to carry off some of these copycats. So often I have wanted to copycat something, but I can see that what really gives the original outfit "zing" (a flared midi skirt, for example) is not in my closet, and there is nothing comparable to replace it with. So I feel defeated before I even get going!

MsLuna

Veteran

I was going to write a similar post - at least in the same spirit

I haven't read all responses, but Angie NAILED it about openness. When I embarked on my wardrobe minimalism project, I was so adamant about being an exclusively frock girl. I even mentioned in previous WIW's that the pants outfits are blah! Later on, I tried some of Angie's formulas (surrendering the waist - OMGGGG!!!) and got inspired by other Fabbers, particularly Deborah, Shannon and Aida (I got a semi-tuck/button down flares outfit coming soon, girl ;)). I started making time to go "shopping" just to try these looks out and after a few tries, I made them work for my style!

Midi skirts were a HUGE poison eye for me but after observing the midi masters here, I managed to find a way to make the style work. Now I own a VC midi

Anyway - as far as vision and aesthetic goes, I tend to appreciate different styles on others, but I won't often like some styles on me. Thus is the beauty of fashion: you can look at all these pretty clothes on people and just enjoy them

Ledonna N.

Veteran

sometime actually have to go back and revisit the outfit. I know sometimes my perceptions and I love and inspiration from different people in the visual inspiration is even better I have poison eyes to some things and I tried to really take what elements of the Style Iove the things that I wear.

Adelfa

Veteran

Um, the way I open my mind is to read Angie's posts....

I have a long history of saying, I could never wear x, y, and z, and also of saying, I *would* never wear a, b, and c.

I think I'm learning to say "never say never" while also staying true, however temporarily, to my current preferences.

Small example. When I moved to LA (someday I'll stop saying that) I noticed that nobody but me wore dress slacks with silk shirts to work. But I decided not to change anything too quickly. While saying, "Well if there were a client emergency it just wouldn't be right to handle it in jeans" which is what a lot of coworkers were wearing. I kept saying that, kept wearing my same clothes, while wondering what it would look like for me to fit in a little better.

Then I realized that smart casual (as opposed to business casual) can convey authority and trustworthiness if it's *very* smart and if you're in a super casual environment. So I gradually started wearing more casual items to work but kind of up-styling them to the max. Great shoes, jewelry, and hair. Super tied-together looks but with casual fabrications and styles. Or doing the high-low, mixing jeans with a suit jacket and great shoes. You know what I mean. It was fun, but I wasn't doing it for fun. I was doing it to speak the language of my new people!

Anyway I know what you mean, that feeling of not being flexible enough to encounter great style aha! moments. I have it every day and I am working on it.

Anonymous

Some great insights here. Anna is right about thinking 'do I have the bare bones of this outfit?', but I guess even just one of the items already in your wardrobe could spark off an idea. You know, I've been thinking too, that I must get ideas subliminally from looking at so many fab outfits on here. I bet you do too, without realising it. It could surface a couple of months after seeing an outfit and then you could think 'ah, yes, it's a bit like what's-her-name's outfit'. The mind works in mysterious ways.

Mona

Veteran

I often wonder about that too, rachy. Good to know that I am not alone in this. I think creative people can draw inspiration a lot easier than others. I don't feel great when I copy someone's outfit as it does not feel like me. I have to put my own spin on the outfit to be happy in it.

shiny

Veteran

Why do you need to be stylistically consistent?

I come here and browse the WiW's whenever I'm needing inspiration (I prefer looking here than at fashion media, because here is *real* women wearing real clothes). But yes, it usually starts with what I already have in my closet. I may copy cat or more often than not, just borrow a single gem of an idea.

When I looked at Anna's inspiration photo, what jumped out at me was "denim short shorts with black booties" - I didn't notice anything else. I don't have denim short shorts in my closet so it's not a look I'd personally try, for that reason alone. However I did have a knee-jerk reaction -- "I can't wear black booties and bare legs" -- but then I found myself questioning that, why does it work here, and I came to the conclusion it's because it's a LOT of leg. So maybe I could also wear black booties with bare legs -- if with a dress or skirt that is shorter/above knee.

Then I started thinking about the top half of the outfit, and how it is quite preppy. Even conservative. So what works with that outfit is the unexpected juxtaposition of preppy on top, with denim short shorts. But maybe the same outfit combo would work with shredded faded boyfriend jeans.

Then I look at Anna's interpretation and the red piping with the red handbag is such a cool detail ... and a brilliant gem of an idea... which gets me thinking about my closet and if I have anything like that I could do the same. Not as head-to-toe copy cat outfit --- just that one brilliant detail.

That's my thought process, if it helps. I'll just add that anytime I find myself rejecting something -- having a knee jerk negative reaction -- I often surprise myself down the road and embrace whatever it is. So it can be helpful to follow not just the styles that make you happy, but the styles that give you a knee-jerk "no." It's one thing to reject a style because you've got very good & thoughtful reason. But often the knee-jerk "no" is emotional, and may map back to fears or self-defeating thoughts. Embracing the no and playing with it awhile is... well... it can be like therapy. Self-discovery. Liberating. Ultimately you may still say no.... but maybe you'll surprise yourself...

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Really interesting discussion. I feel I could get more inspiration from photos. When I actually create an outfit that is inspired by someone else's outfit, I am usually starting with an item I have that is similar. (So it's good to hear Anna say that's what she does--I think of her as so creative!) Often I end up wondering if I haven't just totally missed out on whatever made the original outfit noteworthy in the first place--some combination of elements, proportions, a current look, etc.

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

First of all, wow - thanks for the outfit shout out Rachy - very sweet

Yeah, lots of black can be harsh and intense, but I'm fortunate that black is a good color on me.

I'm a bit of a "gut reaction" kind of gal when it comes to shopping and dressing. Yes, I tend to stick with silhouettes that work for me (hence my new found obsession with Eileen Fisher) but I'm also very open to trying just about anything on and if something shouts out at me, I'm gonna listen. There's no commitment in trying, right? Thanks to Angie's encouragement, I've no longer say never when something new comes along - now I say "maybe, if I can make it work my way".

For example, the sneakers with dress trend. I'm going to wear white athletic sneakers with a dress - that's not me. But today I'm wearing Vans with a dress and I feel great in it. I will see an outfit and then take that inspiration and head to my closet.

Just have fun

rachylou

Veteran

Hearing how all your thought processes go is really helpful (yep, Shiny! :)) They're new paths for my mind to go down and new things for the ol' eyes to see.

Actually you know, come to think of it, that's another very helpful thing about YLF - it's a community to belong to and thus a source of identity. A lot of things in this world are completely invisible to a person because the person doesn't identify with them in any way, shape or form.

Oh but to answer Shiny's question: Why do you need to be stylistically consistent? ... I personally feel a need for style consistency to a) give people a better understanding of what I'm like and b) have the right clothes on hand. My life is definitely focused on select things and activities. In the past, I've had what you might call too much fun with fashion. Lots of outfits that had nothing to do with anything.