Mature Fashion: More about Personal Style

Season's Greetings,  Fashionistas and Stylinistas;

As mentioned in earlier posts, personal style is the goal for achievement  for any real stylinista. A fashionista can just buy whatever is on the current trendy rack or mannequin at the local mall.  By now, either from knowledge gained from life experiences or from reading these blogs, we know how to choose a  garment that suits our body type and that flatters our own body. Hopefully, we also have a sense of what style type we are; romantic, sporty, sophisticated, etc.

However, what is each woman telling the world about herself? Remember our famous seven second or less impressions and inevitable messages that  will be sent to everyone she meets while wearing that ensemble?  In my last post we talked about  creating a personal style book that displays fashion ensembles that you like; the garments and the accessories, and how they are worn. This exercise allows you to recognize your current fashion aesthetic. (yes, they often change over the years)  If your displays were taken from current high fashion magazines, they will also show you how their professional stylists are mixing garments and accessories for that season.

These observations will give a "feel" for the current style trends.  One major fashion magazine (sorry, I don't remember off hand which one) used to have a section where they would show a fashion ensemble from a major designer and list the price of each item, usually a total of several thousand dollars.  They would then show a similar ensemble where similar items were many times less expensive.  I every case, the lesser priced items used did not exactly look like the high priced version, but the "look" or "feel" of the ensemble was virtually the same. This same strategy will work for you using the pictures from your style book.  You will find many items that will work already in your closet, and be able to make notes of items you want to purchase to get the look and feel of a fashion that appeals to you. This updating is what will make your wardrobe more fashion forward and  give a "youthful" feel to the outfits you will choose to wear.

One caution however; authentic "style" does not happen by just "making do".  Contrary to some advertising promotions, mixing and matching just anything and everything does not make for "style" .  It usually makes a "hot mess" to use a common fashion term of the times. It can also make for a tired and boring looks if not used in a way that is "fresh" or shows your own personality.  Your goal is to create a closet that will allow you great flexibility in mixing and matching, but usually you will need to make some minimum purchases to update a look. 

One other caution that needs to be addressed: my post frequently use the verb,"re-interpret" when referring to combining an ensemble.  There is a difference between a "costume" and a "look".  Costumes are for masquerade parties or Halloween; fashion "looks" are about current trends and styles.  We will discuss this  difference and how to avoid the pitfalls in future posts, but for now, if you see a "look" you like in a magazine or store, or the street, remember that to make the look authentically yours, you should re-interpret, not copy the look.

In future posts, we will realistically discuss how to create a wardrobe that suits your budget and will be flexible enough for you to have a great range of mix and match capabilities. My next post to this blog will continue to deal with creating personal style.

I have released four of the six fashion style "looks" I have styled for myself for Spring/Summer 2016 to "Rockmyrunwaay.blogspot.com".  As always, these looks are based on my personal fashion aesthetic, the realistic roles in my life,  and my age. At this time of year, 90% of my roles are based at home and require comfortable utility clothing.  (My "looks" are not quite as exciting as those when I am more social.! )

Younger and more social stylinistas will want to amp up the volume of the looks that I display.  On "Rockmyages.blogspot.com", I have given an overview of the style elements noted in S/S 2016 fashion week.  Each stylinista would make her own "closet collection" based on her chosen aesthetic(s) and desired volume of style. 

Happy Styling.........Geneva............Rockmyages@aol.com