Vulnerable

Ok, if you've read my posts up to this point, you may be thinking... "Geez, who does this chick think she is, anyway? I mean just cuz she is a designer in NY, and she lives on Park Ave. doesn't mean she can tell us how to dress!"

That is totally true! I am NOT saying I know everything about style, or how you, specifically, should dress! Obviously, the things I write are just my opinions, OK? Let that be my disclaimer, or whatever. I did go to school for Fashion Design, however, and I have worked in the industry (as a designer, stylist, etc) for around 6 years, so I think that gives me some credibility, right?

In any case, I just want to encourage people to dress better- I think when we look good, we feel good! Am I SO right? Totally.

I will continue on with my vulnerability now.

There will obviously be times when you are having days, months, or seasons of general unstylish-ness. It is ok, I have them too! Unstylish-ness can be brought on by many things, some that are absolutely out of your control! Maybe you cut bangs, and now you look like a Mushroom Head! Or, maybe you look terrible in skinny jeans, and that seems to be the only kind of jeans available right now! OR, maybe you had too many blueberry scones all Winter long and now you're a little chubby so your Summer wardrobe is 2 sizes too small! Sigh... These types of unstylish-ness can take a while to fix. OR maybe, you went to the bank yesterday and used the pen on the desk there, and got sticky blue ink ALL over BOTH of your hands. It seeped into your nails and cuticles and stained them, very unstylishly. This, friends, is what happened to me. But of course, I have had my share of bad haircuts, and experience with trends that totally did not work for me, too! You get what I'm saying...

You've GOT to work with what you've got. If your hair sucks, spend some extra time in the morning making it cuter. Curl it, buy headbands (YAY for you, they are so hot right now), or just put it in a ponytail, (chic!)... You can't wear a beanie for the next 6 months while your bangs grow.

If you are still carrying around your Holiday weight (it is April, you know) its ok... stuff happens, we get stressed, we get happy, we get bored, we go to lunch with our girlfriends and drink wine then we eat cheesecake. Then, before you know it, all you can fit into is your leggings. As much as I am in love with leggings, you (we) cannot wear them every day. You still need to put effort into your look, even though you are feeling gross. It is possible, and important to make your "fat" clothes look stylish, rather than sloppy! You can "camouflage" your chubby with layers and clothes that aren't constricting- graphic tees, cardigans, jeans with stretch... leggings!... (BUT, don't lie to yourself. Wearing elastic waistbands day after day is dangerous. They grow with you! If you need to lose 5 lbs, go to the gym and do it!)

For tiny unstylish issues like my Ink Hands, my solution is very simple. I am going to cut my nails, pronto, then paint them- any color but blue!

So, let that be an encouragement to you. When you are feeling like a chubby, blue-hand, mushroom head, just know that you are not alone. Get dressed in something awesome, and feel better.