beauty:design:life

Art was always my worst subject in school.  Drawing, painting, sculpting, whatever, I was terrible at it.  I've always been a creative person, but I could never find a similar output.  I was jealous of artists because they could just put paintbrush to paper when they felt a burst of creativity; I didn't have that ability.  Until I learned to channel my creativity through fashion.

It's difficult for me to define my personal style; I think it's something that is (and should be) continually evolving.  But I didn't really pay attention until not too long ago.  I've always loved clothes and putting outfits together, but it took shows like Project Runway and blogs like The Sartorialist to make me more aware, and to challenge myself to care about what I wear, every single day.

 courtesy of What I Wore

This is one of my favorite Sartorialist posts.  In it, the author describes the man who drove him around San Francisco, noting that he was impeccably dressed, that his car was clean, and that his appearance in general showed how much pride he took in himself and his work, regardless of his job or who he was driving each particular day.  And something about that really resonated with me, especially this:

This is why it frustrates me to walk through the Minneapolis skyways and see people who are dressed sloppily, carelessly, lazily.  The way you present yourself on the outside is reflective of who you are and the pride you take in yourself, what you do, who you want to be.  That's why I think that caring about how you look and how you dress is a noble pursuit.  Self-respect isn't vanity.

 courtesy of cupcakes and cashmere

So my challenge to you: think about how you present yourself, and if it's how you want to be received.  And take a few extra minutes tomorrow morning when you're deciding what to wear.  Dressing well doesn't have to be difficult or expensive; it just takes a little creativity.