Dear Reader
Another strand of going from drab to fab is to work out where I want my style to go to. The end result if you will. Although there is a lot of beautiful styling going on in a variety of blogs, I must not let myself get sucked into a "look" that isn't me. I can recognise smart, chic, cool clothes etc but they are not always my taste.
What does appeal to me in clothes are colours, textures, details and interest.
In my drab past if I needed a new t-shirt to go with a skirt, I'd just buy a plain one. Now, I'm more likely to find one with some kind of detail, that just gives it a lift. It could be an embellishment, or a cut out, or puffy sleeves. It just moves the top up a notch, in my opinion. My sister pointed this out to me a few years ago and I haven't looked back!
All the above tops are from the Next A/W 2012
I have been focusing in on details in the last few years and that has evolved into colours and pattern Baby steps but I can see that my style is evolving into a smart casual pretty look (if that is a description). So one source of inspiration for me is the What Would Emma Pilsbury Wear blog. I don't even watch Glee but I do like the clothes/ style of the Emma Pilsbury (EP) character.
What I like about these embellished cardigans is that they do the talking so to speak.
Where she wears a plain cardigan she has a statement necklace that does the talking. This look works for me too!
Like EP, I wear a lot of cardigans too. I mainly buy them from Next, Boden & Gap. Gap & Next tend to be plain but come in a variety of colours, Boden is pricier but I go for their embelished ones which make me feel like I'm making an effort without trying! Boden and Gap often run discount weeks, it's worth signing up to their newsletters, Gap usually do 30% off, Boden do anywhere between 10%-25% but they also have good sales. Next don't discount but are relatively cheap anyway.
EP's other look is big bows. I think she looks great, but I don't think this would suit me. My bust is larger than hers, and I think I would feel self conscious too (see what I mean about taking and leaving aspects of other's style?)
I don't tend to wear blouses (this is due to my laziness when it comes to ironing) but I do think they look pretty with a nice fabric, pattern or neckline. Something else for me to think about!
To summarise, to attain fabness, I will be wearing more cardigans both plain and embellished, with or without big necklaces, as necessary! I will start a page of my style rules that will work as my checklist.
I hope you enjoyed my thoughts, let me know what details you like on your clothes. Do you like large prints, small necklaces, textured fabrics etc etc. There are so many ways to add interesting detail.
happy reading
Claire