In the past I have headed toward the question of what my personal style is and almost answered it, but then had to stop short. I think I feared the answer because it seems so real and final. I suppose many people would claim that personal style evolves and not to worry about getting stuck. However, it has to start somewhere. Right? Where my personal style starts is the issue...
Growing up my sense of style was influenced by what my peers thought was cool and what I saw on TV. Stephanie and DJ Tanner were my fashion icons, and one or two popular girls in my grade. That meant that I really felt very little freedom to dress as I wished. I just wanted to be "as good as" them. So if I went to class and noticed that I at least vaguely resembled the cool kids I was safe, and if I felt original I was deeply embarrassed. Obviously the teasing and catty behavior of peers in reaction to originality taught me this embarrassment. However, I know that if my originality had included many expensive things that it would have been a totally different story, at least in the yuppieville I grew up in. Therefore having a "fashion sense" meant to spend a lot on your appearance and look like everyone else, only better. Truly understanding one's self was not only not necessary but mostly a dangerous endeavor.
I think, as much as I eventually discovered otherwise, that my childhood indoctrination has permanently stifled any actual reflection. Well, that is, until now. I think I am finally ready to figure out who I am in more ways than one. As scary as it is, I am prepared to really listen to myself and act on what I learn. No more, "worrying if other people will like it" or if I will feel too "on display."
So on that train of thought, I now will try to dive in to what I really think....
First, I would like to discuss a few fashion icons I truly admire...
Grace Kelly
The first movie I ever saw with Grace Kelly was To Catch a Thief. I remember thinking that she was refreshingly and frighteningly beautiful as she floated glamorously around the Mediterranean with Cary Grant. She stood out to me as not as pushy or gratingly overconfident in her sexuality as many of the movie stars, models and other fashion icons of my youngest years. She didn't state the obvious. Her clothes weren't false advertisements for a promised allure that didn't exist beyond the threads, creams and powders... Her clothes didn't make her what she was, but they did work for her. They were her clothes from every wide-brimmed hat to flowing skirt...
I watched her movies and felt like I had discovered a very different world, where mind didn't negate beauty. It was a warm, regal and lovely world - full of sunshine and complexity where elegance was assumed and graciousness expected. The "dark side" of this 1950's oasis was of course a given, my parents were real hippies so I heard about many of the downsides, but it only added mystery and fascinating paradox for me.
Grace Kelly appeared to be a truly unembarrassed woman. She was elegant but by no means a shriveling violet.
The following observations are very brief and I plan to further analyze them for guidance... However, I think what I'm wondering at this point is whether the styles can be almost exactly replicated, given the popularity of vintage clothes, or if it will be less about the exact replication and more about the overall lines of her style.
~Everything about her esemble is AMAZING to me in this photo - the pearls, the dress, the hair... Honestly, the neckline and sleeves are so perfect.
~I have tried to copy this look a few times I think, but perhaps not with enough attention to the detail of the cut of the shorts and shirt. I believe I have found the best fitted blouses at J.Crew. But would a men's shirt be better??? I don't know, and I am still trying to figure out what it is about these seemingly khaki shorts that make them so much more than just the casual, and potentially frumpy or too short and sometimes tacky ones I seem to find everywhere I go. I will keep searching...
~HER HAIR!!!! OH my... I love her hair, and as with the ensemble above I am still trying to figure out how this look is done exactly.
~Where to start... Well, the blouse is lovely! However, I also am a fan of the green pencil skirt, and the wonderful use of pearls yet again.
~I've been trying to find sunglasses like these. It seems most of them are a bit clunkier than these. These accessories in general are so lovely...
~I adore the casual elegance of both of these ensembles. And once again, her sunglasses are remarkably chic. Not unlike the shorts above the pants and skirt in these photos also seem hard to replicate really...
~love the red lipstick...
(all photos provided by google images)
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