I am stylish

Today at the store the clerk said Ma’am to me repeatedly..he didnt mean anything by it, but it felt offensive because I feel like a ma’am lately. My style is looking quite school marmy to me these days. I have to be conscious of what I put out to the world and stay current and applicable! I feel like it’s going to be rough on my self esteem in Seoul…but hopefully I’ll use it as motivation to do better and stop being so sloppy and lazy in how I present myself. I’m thankful that I’ll be some place where “image is everything” and I look forward to the learning experience.

I have been trying to make wise choices. Like, while shopping for bargains. Just because an item is $3 doesnt mean I should buy it. I have started shopping with more restraint and judgement. Especially important is trying EVERYTHING on before I buy it.
Even in doing this, I have a tendency to choose items i like, but that dont necessarily suit me the best. Point in case, yesterday, I was feeling good about this tank I had purchased on sale…I thought it was cute and stylish but looking at the pics, it is unflattering to my body and not suited to my style.
I am also struggling with my packing for the summer. I always struggle with quantity vs quality issues. I dont know if I want to trim my summer wardrobe down to a few simple outfits with classic lines and possibly buy some pretty and appropriate things while there. Or bring more of my many never worn outfits along with me.

I have enough clothing for the remainder of winter and spring at my job and school. I need to exercise the utmost restraint and only buy things that are absolutely crucial. I can work what I have beautifully if I try. I need to keep up my routine of my lookbook/internet fashion browsing and use my things creatively and stylishly. I want to save money and not buy cheap junk clothes in order to be able to shop in Korea this summer.

I am trying very hard these days to only buy things that are the best. I have trouble discriminating and commiting sometimes, which is why I buy any junk that is cheap. But I am trying to be more purposeful about how I show myself to the world. My lookbook and general fashion conciousness lately has been helping to guide my decisions in buying clothes and what I wear.

I have made it an internet habit of mine to check in and view fashion videos on youtube as often as possible. I created my own “look book” last week using magazine clippings. and speaking of lookbook….lookbook.nu is a site I visit regularly for some style inspiration.

I just ordered People Stlyewatch, my favorite fashion magazine. I really like it because it is so practical. I DO like high fashion magazines, don’t get me wrong, but this magazine shows real wearable looks that are current and not ahead of their time. Its so useful as far as shopping and putting together outfits!!! I’ve been meaning to subscribe forever. Glad I finally did it!

Stop wearing things that don’t make me feel good! I am at a weird place fashion-wise… Right now I am more concerned about looking professional and looking “like a teacher” than being “cute.” But I don’t have ANY cash to buy nice and stylish professional clothes that would allow me to do both. I am working with things that are already old and outdated, then making it even worse by pairing them with slacks. It makes me look older and frumpy. I have enough clothes, so, I want to make an effort from now until the end of the school year to wear the outfits that I own that are professional without being too school-marmy, while I continue to visualize a more affluent and stylish future :-)

I would like to surround myself with beauty. I really want my surroundings to resonate with my ideas about what is nice and beautiful in life. I think the first step to matching my ideals with my reality is making my thoughts beautiful. A beautiful mindstate will bring about increased attention to the beauty that exists in my day-to-day reality, as well as inspiring me to make beautiful choices. I feel this goal is more about my mindstate than controlling outside factors. A photographer takes a picture of what is, but the way they frame the shot is where the art happens. I want to frame my life in a beautiful and artistic manner. I was sort of musing about art today… I feel it is such a spiritual endevour. Creating art (mentally, physically, or meta-physically) is a way to notice and honor your individual experience in reality. Art is reverence.

By be stylish, of course I AM talking about my wardobe, but this goal also goes deeper than that. I want to dress beautifully and appealing, but I also want style to ooze from every aspect of my being. I want all my belongings to be nicely organized and well-presented. I want all of my personal effects to speak well of me and promote my general aura. I want all the little details of my life to have pop and flair and really suit me. Even the most basic things, like the pen I use should be just my style! I want to build a work wardrobe that presents me as professional, yet likeable and approchable.I want all my clothes to fit perfectly-with my body and my lifestyle. I also want my after-work clothing to be fun and flirty.