Now that I have my general life resolutions all set for 2016, it’s time to think about my style & blog resolutions. I recently read an interesting article by Kristy Ellington for ModCloth, featured on PopSugar Fashion titled I Let a Fashion Editor Dress Me For a Week, and Here’s What Happened. I figured it would be the typical I-was-pushed-outside-of-my-comfort-zone story, and it was, but what really struck me was the author’s realization that her fear of stepping outside of her fashion comfort zone was creeping into how she viewed her everyday life. The entire article is worth reading, but here’s where it really gets good:
“And it was there, in this unlikely outfit on a random Thursday, I realized something very important: “I could never pull that off” was creeping into how I thought about other things in my life and totally holding me back. […] Not being able to “pull that off” was becoming my excuse, my crutch, my limitation to avoid failure. But it was also keeping me from growing and learning new things. So I made a promise to myself to stop trying not to “pull things off” and just do it.”
Whoa, you guys, that’s deep. Especially when I’ve heard tale of so many ladies feeling like fashion is frivolous and unimportant and that they can’t “pull it off.” But I can definitely relate because not only have I said I can’t pull off some cool fashion trend, but I’ve also said I can’t pull off some aspect of my life. Like, I could never pull off that job because so I won’t even apply or I don’t know how to network so I could never pull off that event. Taking a cue from this astute view of “just do it,” I’ve decided to make some style resolutions for 2016. As for the blog, I resolve to post 3-4 times per week. I’d like to incorporate more life and writing posts along with my outfits, and I’m going to work on my photography skills.
Style Resolutions
1. Determine my style. I’ve tried a few trends over the last few years and some of them worked and some didn’t, and that’s okay. But somewhere along the way I lost track of what makes me feel like me, so I’m going to figure it out this year. I think this will require a full closet clean-out but I’m up for the challenge.
Getting my jewelry organized has already been a huge help in achieving my style goals for this year!
2. Invest in pieces I love. Once I’ve determined my style, I’m going to only purchase pieces I really love and can see myself wearing over and over. I’m ashamed to admit that on more than one occasion I’ve bought pieces simply because I didn’t have anything in that color or because I thought I needed it but it didn’t fit quite right or something else was off about it so I only wore it once and left it sitting in the back of my closet. Well, I will do that no more!
Now it’s time to organize my closet, starting with these sweaters.
3. Only wear high-quality shoes. Look, we all know that shoes are awesome and it’s exciting when they’re super cheap because you can buy so many pairs. But then they fall apart or cause your knees to ache because they don’t offer enough joint support (that’s a thing, right? or did I make it up?). So, to determine my style and invest in pieces I love will include buying high quality shoes with lots of support.
It’s not that my current shoes are bad, but they could be better. I’m not going to complain about a closet full of shoes 😉
4. Get better at dressing for my age. I stopped shopping in the Junior’s department years ago but I want to get better at dressing for my age. I’m 31 years old with an awesome career at a sweet nonprofit. I’ve resolved to start acting like it, and now my wardrobe needs to reflect it, as well. The good news is we don’t have a dress code, but keeping my age and lifestyle in mind will ultimately help me really determine my style.
5. Wear more lipstick. If I see a lipstick I like, I’m going for it. Until recently, I rarely ever wore lipstick because, you guessed it, I didn’t think I could pull it off. I always notice how polished it looks on other women and wished I could wear it, too. This year, I’m just going to do it.
Stick with me and find out how I do. Happy New Year!
The color of the shoes looks good!
Yes to quality shoes! Sometime last year I resolved to stop buying cheap shoes, too. It can make finding the perfect pair difficult (my struggle to find the perfect brown flats continues) and sometimes shelling out the money up front is painful but, in the end. I know it will be worth it.
I, personally, rarely wear lipstick because I hate how it gets all over my coffee mug and my water bottle but I do like the way it looks. Do you have some that you’re going to try?
Also, I don’t have a dress code at work and I work with a lot of people in their 20s so “dressing my age” (36) is still struggle for me! I’ll be interested to see how you define that for yourself throughout the year.
Erin, it’s ridiculous how many pairs of shoes I’ve purchased because they’re “cute and inexpensive” and then only wear them once or twice because they weren’t really right for me. I know it’ll make finding good shoes more difficult, like you’ve described, but I’m looking forward to having comfortable shoes that I’ll wear all the time.
I don’t have any particular lipsticks in mind; I need to do some research and try a few. Currently, I wear Burts Bees lipgloss, which is fine, but it’s messy and doesn’t stay on my lips, so I want something that is colorful and worth wearing.
The styles at my office are so varied that anything goes, and while the wardrobe I built for grad school is acceptable, it doesn’t convey the confidence that I want it to. So I also look forward to seeing how that evolves!
I’m in love with your blog. Lovely post! Very well written. Keep in touch.
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http://www.patagoniaoutletonlines.com
Enjoy reading your blog. Have a nice week.
These are some great fashion goals! When I was first starting to blog, I started buying things in colors I lacked because I thought that was what I needed. How wrong I was! Your jewelry display is adorable! I’m trying to buy more quality pieces too. Quality shoes are where I spend the most money. Now I need to put that priority in the clothes section of the closet!
Thanks, Lauren! Good luck with your quest to purchase better quality pieces; I think it will be difficult (for myself, at least) but definitely worth it. We can do it!
These are great…I love your necklace display – so cute!
Laura
http://www.24-7style.com
Thank you, Laura! The necklace display was a Christmas gift from my husband this year because I had been struggling with finding a way to prevent them from tangling. It works perfectly and looks really pretty, too, so it’s a win-win!