After a rather long and exasperating day I came home to find the loveliest surprise. Sitting on our coffee table next to a candle that was filling our little home with soft light and a welcoming scent, satThe Sartorialist: Closer, Scott Schumans new book (if you don’t know who he is, go google him right now… seriously, do it… I will wait…)
The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman
Ok, now that you know who he is, how amazing he is, and what he stands for (all things beauty and fashion on every person around the globe) I want to talk to you about the amount of inspiration this mans images and ideas have given me over the last few years.
I am a fashion junky. I love going through photographs of all the different styles, on all different people, from all over the world, hence why I love Scotts work. I crave the color and texture, the things people come up with and put together fascinate me. I do not claim to be the most “fashionable” person, but I would say that over the course of the last few years, months, weeks, days, I have begun to figure out my personal style, a look that I not only feel good in, but look good in. I am learning that it’s not always about who made the clothes or how much they cost, but rather how you wear them and put them together.
In Closer, Scott talks about the idea of wearing your clothing… I know! the idea of actually wearing what we own is like telling a child not to want new toys or a dog not to want the bone sitting on the counter when they already have so many surrounding them. The idea is that we so often want something “new” and head to our favorite retailer to purchase things that are distressed, warn, bleached, painted on, have holes, or tears, and pay through the nose for a industry name to make and sell the “pre-warn” garments to us… when in fact we could just wear the things we own and have them age, tear, and become distressed in a beautiful and natural way on their own.
Anna Dello Russo
He also talks about the idea of effortless chic, something I have been thinking about a lot with in my own wardrobe. I tend to get sucked into what is in trend, when in fact a lot of trends don’t look good on my body type… I realize that I like to dress like a man, I prefer clean lines and simple pieces that mix and match easily (with great accessories of course), but every now and again I get sucked down the rabbit hole that is mass trend and end up with pieces in my closet that I will never wear, making my daily dressing routine take far longer than it should because I am constantly second guessing my style. If I were instead to follow his advice and “make the tough decisions in the dressing room” and not in my closet, then every piece would intern be my style and I would, in fact, wear the things I own.
Garance Dore
Scotts long time girl friend Garance is a prime example. Her style is so chic. Her eye for beauty and what looks good on her body type, as well as the parts of her body she knows to feature or highlight (she has the best legs!) is inspiring. On that note, Scott also talks about finding a person (icon in fashion, celebrity, or otherwise) that has a similar build to yourself and has a style that you admire. Having a style “pier” will help guide you as you venture into new looks or fashions. Noting how things fit on their frame, i.e. where is their jacket tailored? How long is it? Where do their shirts, skirts, trousers hit on their body? having a better idea of how all of these things come together will help you make better wardrobe decisions on your own.
I know I have talked about personal style before and I am sure that I will talk about it again, however, I just needed to share this gem with you. Do yourself a favor and add The Sartorialist andGarance Doré to your Google Readers and fall in love with inspiring images and beauty their “pages” behold.
*On a separate note. While thinking about this concept and weighing the ideas of personal style vs. fashion, I stumbled across this quote from one of the most iconic men in american fashion, Ralph Lauren, “Style is very personal. It has nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is over quickly. Style is forever.”
And so, I will leave you with a great mans words rattling through your brains, inspiring images turning you into fashion blog addicts, and an incredibly inquisitive eye directed at every person around you. For the next time you approach your closet I guarantee you will think, “Hmmmm is this really my style? Do I look good in it? Or is it just fashionable?”
xx
