An A-HA Style Moment & Superbowl Sunday

Well, well, well, I never cease to be amazed at how helpful and thoughtful you all are, both in giving me advice and support, but also to each other, such as all the great advice on a nice cardigan for Margaret.  You are all really bright spots in my day!

Yesterday, you helped remind me that while a cheeky purse is just that, it is not necessarily worth spending 1/3 of my spring/summer clothing budget on!  Now, if it suddenly falls out of the air at a significantly cheaper price, that is an altogether different matter! 

But one thing in particular really got me thinking yesterday.  In her comments, A Well Styled Life (she of the wonderful blog!) said:

I think you choose the creative accessories because they are fun, like your personality and part of your personal style. You mention wanting to dress more elegantly. That's great if you resonate with that style, but we each have a unique combination of styles that make up our personal style and if you only purchase the safe and elegant you may become bored quickly. Your lifestyle seems to lend itself to casual, sportiness (not sweats) and done in an elegant way is terrific with a touch of creative
That being said...I'm long winded... Dollar for dollar, the place to sink your money would not be a creative $300 bag, but key, quality pieces that make up the back bone of your wardrobe, and the creative pieces at a lower price point.
The shoes you loved this week were also creative. Your hair is creative in its curlyiness and colour.
Behold your bio picture, a gold crown...that's creative!!
If you hide your creative side...you'll hate it and splurge for the cheap thrill of it. I've been there.

"Hmm," I thought.  "Hmm."

And then I had an epiphany (I know - a long time in coming but I am a slow learner and in my defense was too busy in the corporate world to pay attention!): I need to treat my wardrobe like I treat my house!  A Well Styled Life's comments reminded me that what I have done successfully (in my opinion) in furnishing and decorating my house in a style that truly reflects me is that same thing I need to do in decorating myself!!! 

In my own home, I have either purchased or fortunately inherited quality pieces and then added my own panache to them in how I accessorized them, through either colour or little pieces that spoke to me along the journey.    To be honest, I have never thought of my wardrobe this way!

So this morning, I walked around my house withe a cup of coffee and started to feel where the dischord might be.

  For example, my dining is quite formal with my great-grandparents dining room set, but that is balanced by personal finds along the way - the huge painting by my friend Jan,

or little assemblages of plates and wine and old painting, an eiffel tower, an antique clock.

But there must be comfort:

The same in my bathroom:

formal marble floors, but all kinds of flea market finds and an old antique chair, but for fun, a black and white photo of the Rat Pack over the toilet.

My kitchen is a mix of old and new, but the compliments I get the most are about the cupboards being two different colours, that I have two massive old cupboards to store things as my pantry

and the details, like 1960s toy kitchen or

other assemblages in the open cabinets.

My house doesn't look like anyone else's house.  It is built on solid pieces and decorated with less expensive accessories, as I noted above.  My friends say it is so me.  So why am I building a wardrobe that is so derivative and is trying to take its quirkiness from others (i.e. the infamous Gayle?).  I realized that I got so used to wearing boring suits to the office that I am suddenly finding myself, at this age, building a new wardrobe that is me and I was simply adapting looks from others, not from myself!

So I need to start not only shopping my own closet, but also my own accessories, accessories that I had all but forgotten about because chunky vintage pieces were not appropriate to where i worked or weren't office-y enough.

Like my house, my wardrobe must reflect me fully, not a company nor an age cohort.  It has to be timeless, but it also means that you have to add the odd paint, and keep moving the furniture around!

I would say that in the last year, these were the outfits that were "really" me

So as I shop this spring/summer, I am going to be looking for lovely quality basics that are not over the top, which also have a "little something extra" like these nougat london, ralph lauren, looks (I must say I was surprised that only two JC items appear in these pictures).  I am going to rely on my jewellry and my shoes.  I am not shopping trends.  When I look at everything above I realized that none (save the pink shoes!) were trends, they were pieces that would not go in and out of style on a whim.  These outfits look like the gal who lives in this house.  SO thank you, Miss Jennifer of A Well Styled Life!  You really got me thinking and you really helped!

So this spring, the clothes will go through the following gauntlet (which by the way, I am putting on a piece of paper and putting in my wallet with me for when I go to NYC!):

1) is it comfortable?
2) is it the best quality I can afford?
3) does it look like Wendy (and I have even coined a new term for this elusively styled Wendy: "embellished chic") and would she want her picture taken it (!)

So tell me - is anyone else going through this kind of wardrobe transition, or am I just really and truly a late bloomer?

********************

Now to change topics dramatically, it is Superbowl Sunday!

That means two things to me:

1) Moosehead beer, chicken wings and carrot sticks (I know, weird combo!)
2) Beyonce!

I am not a huge football fan, but I will tuned in for the spectacle!!!

How about you - any Sunday plans?

Have a great day and stay safe out there!