What is a Status Symbol?

What is a status symbol? It is an item which you value because you own it, not because you use it. Let’s unpack that… We determine an item’s value based on a number of concrete factors including the cost of materials, the cost of the labor (which includes both expertise and number of people-hours), and…

Today’s Fashion Has Nothing To Say

Fashion is not merely clothing, fashion is a way for the time and place you live in to identify itself through clothing. Today’s fashion has lost its ability to communicate, because today’s fashion has nothing to say. We exist on a merry-go-round of fashion, where one can wear a dress from the 1970s one day,…

Becoming Visible

It has been a trope of life as a middle-aged woman that one drops into invisibility as one ages. This is because our culture only sees those who are playing the mating game (or might play) as worthy of notice. But something that hasn’t been noticed is that many of us in this year of…

Style Evolves

As we’re moving into 2020, many of us online are doing retrospectives.    Where were you, ten years ago?  Twenty?  And how were you dressed? Style is a conversation that you have with the people around you, communicating to them who you are and what you’re about. Twenty years ago, my personal style was at…

Soft and Hard

The overall effect of structure/soft in your outfit should match the overall effect of structure/soft in your persona.    Your outfit includes your body – those raw materials we love to fret over.   Your persona is not just your personality, it’s also the public affairs office of that personality – what you want others to…

You Can’t Be Too You

You just can’t dress too much like yourself.   Oh sure.  Situations.  But … even so.  You should always look like YOU in those situations, whatever they are. I worry often about dressing just … too too.  Too too sweet – am I becoming mutton dressing as lamb?   Too too bohemian… do I look like I’m…

Everything for a Purpose

One of the blockades inside of the mind of every woman who is embarking on the journey of personal improvement is, “why bother”? So – why do you bother dressing intentionally for work, when the dress code is business casual, and no one cares? Why do you bother putting on makeup, when you work in…

An At-Home Wardrobe

So, you say – it’s great that you’re telling me about how to dress for the office, but I don’t work in an office!  How do I look pulled-together as someone who works in (or from) her home? First things first – even if you aren’t going into an office, you still need to look…

Spend Money Wisely

How do you spend money wisely on your clothes? Quality over trends Spend on signature pieces   What Does Quality Look Like? Fabric drapes nicely, doesn’t stick to the skin or other garments, doesn’t distort.  A high-quality garment will naturally hang well, you don’t have to pull at it and fidget with it to make…

How to Save Money on Clothes

I believe that we’re going to see a marked uptick in clothing costs in the next couple of years – so how do you keep your budget from exploding?   Make a plan.   Spend money intelligently. Spend time intelligently. Expand your hunt.     Make a Plan:  This is where your wardrobe plan comes in. …