The Wardrobe Re-think: The Pursuit of Style

We're still off in Missouri! This is the last of the pre-written posts. :)

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It's time for the first post in the Wardrobe Re-Think series! Today we'll be talking about personal style. Prepare yourself for a long, picture-heavy post!

One thing I don't want to change through the Wardrobe Re-Think is my style. It's taken me ages figure out just what it is, and I am pretty happy with it. What I do want to change is how my style is portrayed through my clothes. While in my head I have very clear pictures about what I like, it seems harder to express my style in actual clothing form. Some of my clothes just don't represent me, and that is one of the main reasons I feel frustrated with clothes a lot.

I think developing personal style has been covered quite a bit by the fashion blogging community. I myself have enjoyed this post by Putting Me Together, this guest post from Cation Designs, and (in a round-about way) this one from Casey's Elegant Musings. Because this topic has been covered quite a bit, I'm not going to be focusing on 'defining' personal style today. Rather, I want to tell you a bit about my personal style, and how I want to translate it into the clothes I wear.

When I was about 10, I was obsessed with I Love Lucy. I think I watched it every day for two years straight. Thus came my first introduction to vintage. I instantly fell in love with the 50's and dreamed of the day I'd be all grown-up and wear 50's style clothes, and not care what anyone else thought. A few years went by, and I still held dearly to my love for vintage-style. I usually vented my vintage-passion by wearing full out hats and gloves to church, and while I delighted in the being different and having my own style, I felt rather silly. It wasn't quite right.

So, I started dressing really random. I still pretty much exclusively wore skirts, as wearing jeans seemed *gasp* to be betraying myself. But I paired my mid-calf denim skirts with striped turtlenecks, hoodies, and fleece vests. Yuck. I hated the clothes that were supposedly for my age group, so I bought clothes from the women's section, and rejoiced that they 'fit'. My 12/13 year old self did not understand the word fit. If you want to know how off-the-mark I was, just realize that a good many of the clothes I'm wearing now were bought a couple of years ago, before my major growth spurt. For those years, I professed to love classy looks, but failed miserably at execution.

Then I discovered blogging about a year ago. I jumped feet-first into the vintage world, falling in love with blogs like Tuppence Ha'penny Vintage. I couldn't believe that there were actually people dressing in the vintage styles I had swooned over for years! They weren't weird! They just had fun with it! I got all excited, and started trying to emulate them. I lived in head scarves and blouses tucked into plaid-wool skirts for several months.

But I still didn't feel right. This was the vintage-fashion I loved, though, so what could be wrong? Didn't I want to live in the 50's? Wasn't this length of skirt period-correct?

Then, slow as molasses in January, it dawned on me: my love of vintage didn't have to translate into a vintage-only style. Vintage clothes didn't feel right because they only showcased a piece of me, not the whole me. And that's why style's for, right?

Now, I've decided my style is classic and vintage inspired. I prefer to stand out by choosing put-together, sophisticated looks over bright colors and daring trends. I like to feel comfortable and chic, and I like my clothes to 'keep up with me'. Being a bit different from the crowd doesn't bother me in the least. But I don't particularly like to be noticed a mile off because of my clothes.

Here some blogs I follow, whose outfits I usually like:

Cation Designs

Casey's Elegant Musings

Bramblewood Fashion

And these are celebrities whose style I most identify with:

Audrey Hepburn

Emma Waston

Zooey Deschanel

Here are some pictures that I believe represent my style:

(via) I love the long sleeves paired with the shorts in this outfit, as well as the polished yet easy-going feel. I love shorts that are 'short' but not 'too short' (that was an odd sentence...my apologies). 

(via) Like I said, I love almost all of her looks. The simple skirt/blouse/cardigan/flats combo may be obvious, but that's part of why I like it. The vintage feel without being all out, the coziness, and the simple feminine feel makes me love it.

(via) The skirt is the perfect fullness, the sweater has a great fit, and the heels are gorgeous!

(via) I love everything about this outfit. It's so laid back, yet professional, and well put-together.

(via) I love that they created this as a traveling outfit! A really good denim pencil skirt has been on my wishlist for a while, and I hardly go a day without wearing a scarf during the winter! I love the cardigan, too.

(via) I love the simple elegant, silhouette. And the heels are to die for. 

(via) I pretty much love high-waisted anything, and the ruffle is cute.

(via) I have a serious obsession with heels. I'll wear anything from kitten to stilleto. I do, however, like my heels to be classy. Major glittery platforms to not necessarily make me think of class. Floral peep toes, however, are pretty perfect in my book. :)

(via) I love Audrey Hepburn for many reasons, her style being one of them. I love the cigarette pants, which are so comfy yet feminine. And the stripe tees are so classic.

Just cute!

(via) I love simple, elegant shapes, and this dress is certainly that!

(via) Now, this may seem like a weird picture to put here. But just look at her hat. And the little stripes. And the layers. The cute jacket with the little lace peeking out. And what about her perfect lipstick??

(via) While I'd skip the shoes, I love the overall feel and color scheme of this outfit. I love the look of cardigans with shorts!

If you'd like, go check out my Pinterest boards, particularly my Spring and Summer Fashion and Fall and Winter Fashion.

Thanks for reading! :)