Renewed Fashion Sense

For many years I have loved beautiful clothes and that is mostly because my mother was a really sharp dresser. I loved shoes and bags most of all, but honestly I loved it all. I realized later that I was not a shopper at all I was merely a buyer. I would walk in the stores where I shopped and if I saw something on display that I liked I would ask if it was in my size. Then there were sales ladies that knew me from being a frequent customer and they pull things for me, but I was never one to look through racks of clothes and put things together. Actually I didn't know how.

I grew up and only child and went to private schools all of my life. So I wore a uniform to school for 12 years of my life. Unlike the public school kids, who didn't wear a uniform to school everyday, they learned how to put their outfits together for school and mix and match things to change the look. This is something that I never learned and I didn't have any sisters to play dress up with. I guess you would think that I am whining about this, but I am not, just stating the facts.

I never looked through the magazines watching the trends, but back then fashion magazines were not as informative as they are now. It seems as though fashion was only for those that was in the industry, and it was even hard to find out how to get into this special group of people. Now every designer, fashion magazine, stylist, and anyone else involved in this elite group has a website. When looking through these fashion magazines who knew that the clothes the models were wearing were selected by what is now known as a stylist.

Now after raising a daughter and getting her through college, I am finally learning how to shop. Well part of this is because of my daughter. I have continued to love nice clothes and owned my share of them, but this shopping thing is fun. Now I am shopping with a purpose. I know some of your are saying 'whatever', but I am serious. Thanks to my daughter and the fashion websites, fashion magazines, and all of the fashion conscious people in Los Angeles, I am learning how to actually shop. I must say I am having the time of my life. The greatest thing is that I don't just buy something because it is appealing to me. I actually think about my purchases and how the new items will fit in with what I already own. Even better is when I go out shopping I already have in mind what I am looking for, and I rarely buy anything else, unless it will fit with my other wardrobe pieces and it is a great price and great quality.
This may all seem sophomoric to some, but it is freeing to me. It just goes to show you how something that many have been doing all of their lives can still be new to someone else.

I think a great deal of this has come about for me because I am now really looking at my life. Getting to know who I am and the best way to express who I am. Expressing myself through my style of clothes, through my writing, through my photography, and even my choice of vocation.

Renewal and discovery is where I am in life right now. It is like I am learning to breathe.