After blogging for about 7 years now, I can honestly look back and say that I found my personal style over the years by "playing" with clothes right here on the blog. There are times when I look back at old posts and cringe… those styles weren't "me" they were very often who I thought I should be at that time in my life. I am thankful for that bad style because I know that life is a lesson lived and learned daily - but there is also a part of me that is sad for wasting time on styles that I knew weren't "me" but that I admired on other women.
Lately I am much more no-nonsense with my clothes. I know what I like. I know what I feel good in. I don't care if I wear the same jeans for a whole week or the same top over and over. If I love it, I'm going to wear it. I always think of Vera Wang and her commitment to wearing the same style of black leggings every day because that is what she likes and what she feels comfortable in. Or the art teacher in high school that I adored that only wore black and accessorized with different bold jewelry each day. THESE women know themselves and more importantly these women know that clothes help make the woman but the clothes aren't the woman. Sometimes it's necessary to take a risk in fashion, and sometimes it's completely unnecessary.
I think you can still have really great personal style while sticking to a tight palette.
Maybe you have noticed around here that my clothes aren't always new, flashy or ultra trendy. I have found my happy place with clothes. Some of you think what I wear is boring (and have voiced that not so kindly in the comments - no thank you.) and others of you breathe a sigh of relief when you click on my blog and see an outfit you relate to and could see yourself wearing on a daily basis (and have voiced that very kindly in the comments - thank you!).
So I officially quit blogging outfits that I don't feel comfortable in. I quit following trends that don't work for me. I quit wearing clothes that don't feel good on me.
I can promise you with plenty of confidence that the outfits you see here and will see here aren't that exciting. They aren't the latest trends, from closets full of expensive shoes and purses that would make a normal person gasp for air at the price tag, full of clothes I bought just so I can have my picture in them or featuring the "IT" bold color and patterns of the season. That is not me. That is not most women. Those styles aren't bad… I like to look at them too! I just don't gravitate towards them when I am getting dressed on a regular Tuesday.
I've found as I grow older that when I quit the things that don't work, it feels amazing! It opens me up to so much more in life and in my creativity.
With that in mind, I'm going to start a new series called 'closet staples' where I round up the pieces I wear a lot, love a lot and depend on in my wardrobe and feature them together as inspiration. I've done this before on the blog and I want to make it a regular series. My hope is that these posts will help us style up the staples that we wear a lot, or the investment pieces we want to make sure we wear a lot. And of course that they will give us plenty of outfit inspiration so that getting dressed each day is easy and fun.
Daily outfit posts will be limited… but serious day-to-day inspiration will NOT be. I want this to be a place where we feel beautiful and confident but not at a serious cost to our true selves.
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A black jacket… of all sorts, is a definite go-to in my wardrobe. The three that I own get worn constantly… a black leather jacket, a black ponte blazer (like a very thick cotton/poly blend) and a black wool blazer. It doesn't even matter the season usually… (except for the wool) a little jacket can always come in handy! Here are some of my favorite ways to style a little black jacket…
Black with white jeans… one of my favorite spring into summer combos! (similar jacket, jeans, flats, bag, bracelet via Rocksbox, get your first month free with code: jillggxoxo)
Black with the classics: leopard shoes and a white blouse! (similar jacket, similar flats)
Black with a white tank for summer! (similar jacket, jeans, tank top, sandals, milly bag, similar bracelet)
Black with a grey tee an ankle boots! (similar jacket, grey tee, necklace via Rocksbox, get your first month free with code: jillggxoxo)
Is a little black jacket one of your closet staples too? How do you like to wear it?
