Welcome!

 

I never in a billion years thought I would start a style blog, though I have always liked clothes and fashion. I even wanted to apply to fashion design school for college, but I chickened out because I didn’t feel confident enough in my sewing abilities. (Or my going-away-to-college abilities, for that matter.) I have never really considered myself to be an authority on fashion, or a trend-setter, but rather someone who is seeking to have fun with clothes. As an artist, I suppose it makes sense that I would want to carry over design, color, shape, pattern etc. to myself. I have gone through many style phases in my life, including a tattered-jeans-over-technicolor-leggings phase, a giant-baggy-camouflage-cargo-pants phase, a hippy-peasant-blouse-bohemian phase, and even a period where I wore only grey tops and jeans. My sense of self is ever-evolving, and my style and wardrobe seem to follow right along.

I have now been a Mom for two years, and I can truly say that motherhood has had a giant impact on me, and on what I wear. I spent a long time after my son was born just throwing on whichever jeans would fit my (now different) belly the best, and whatever shirt was cleanest. My hair was always in a ponytail, and I wore the same pair of loafers every single day until they wore out. I really wanted to start wearing “cute” outfits again, but I had all these rules that I made up for myself about what things I couldn’t wear anymore, and I wasn’t quite sure how to balance function with fashion.

Then, I turned thirty. I always have birthday anxiety, but this was a big one for me. Thirty had always seemed like this big number, looming on the horizon, that surely would never actually arrive. Thirty was off somewhere in the future, and I felt I could stay in my twenties forever. Now that I am thirty, and have had a couple of months to settle with the idea of it, I realize that there is really not anything different about thirty than there was at twenty-nine, with the exception of the first numeral in my age.

Since this milestone birthday, I have stopped listening to all the “Nos” that I had set for myself, and all the stupid “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” that the world pressures us with. I have spoken my mind more. I have taken up new hobbies. I have been working to shed media constructs of beauty from my mind, and embrace the diversity of bodies, including my own. And, pertaining to this blog, I have decided to wear what I want, when I want, regardless of societal constructs about age, body “type”, or mommyhood.

So, here I am now, deciding to blog about it. I am doing this because I want to document my journey. I want to talk about body confidence, and style concepts, and why I think fashion rules are bogus. I also hope that you will jump in and join the conversation every step of the way. I don’t want this space to be simply a humdrum parade of mediocre outfits, but rather a jumping off point to discuss some of the issues that seem to crop up around sartorial choices.

I have a lot to say on these topics, and here I will share my thoughts, one post at a time.