my new hobby... or blog at least.

I was walking out of a young women's activity this last Wednesday and talking to my friend about what we used to wear in high school. (insert laugh) It got me thinking, which by the way always produces interesting (at least to me results). When I was in high school, living and wearing mostly hand-me downs from my younger sisters (I was the smallest) and whatever I bought with the money I earned babysitting, brand recognition was vitally important to me. As in, "I wanted everyone to know that I got this shirt from Gap and look how conveinent(!), it says GAP right on the front of it." And, "I most certainly must where my plaid shirt hanging open and loose so that everyone can see that the shirt I'm wearing under it is from Abercrombie." Now I think back on this mind set, and it was/is, well ridiculous. There are a number of reasons. First, they were just dumb t-shirts. Really, does stamping GAP or Abercrombie on the front of it make it any cuter? No, my dear, it does not. It's still just a t-shirt. What made it cuter was the idea that the person wearing it, shops at those desirable stores, instead of well, Ross. This is sad because, basically, it's a promotional tee. Whoever created this concept is beyond brilliant, and the people (ie: sheep-like teenagers like myself) buy right into it. See what I didn't (and apparently none of my friends either) realize was that I was a walking advertisement for Gap, Abercrombie and whatever other popular store had items on the clearance rack. That would be fabulous, if I were getting a commission, getting store credit, or at least a discount of 30 percent. But no, I walked right in to that store, picked up their shirt and paid them to have me advertise it. That's like asking someone if you can pay to give them a foot massage. Not really. But really.

What is my point to all of this? Coco Chanel (loooove her!) once said, "Fashion fades, only style remains the same." How brilliant is that? I wish I had heard that quote as a teenager; it would have saved me alot of years blundering around like a goober trying to figure out if what was "in" was in my price range, instead of figuring out if I even liked it. And more importantly, it would have sent me searching for something infinitely more desirable than fashion, personal style. Fashion comes and goes, and then comes again and goes again, but when you develop your own unique style--a look that you feel comfortable in, a look that defines your character, and sings to your creativity, a look that compliments your body type (very very important!) well that's never going to go out of style.


And personal style goes beyond clothes. It lives in the way we decorate our house, fix our hair, the color cell phone we pick, which accessory we choose, the way we set a table, speak in public, the way we write our emails, the way we wrap a gift. Like Miss Chanel said, "Fashion (or style) is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."


And finding that style is my mission peeps. Styling every aspect of my petite life. Welcome to the blog. Stick around...