Bipolar Style
What’s your “style”? Are you a hippie chick, a preppy girl or biker babe? Do you have a signature style that defines you? I really put a great deal of thought into my “style” and I even went so far as to look at my old pictures from the last two decades. I didn’t go any further back because I didn’t have a clue in my early 20’s. For all of you twenty somethings that are polished and have it together I applaud you! 👏
After all that soul searching I have to say that my “style” is bipolar! Or maybe split personality!! I run the full gamut of sweet and girlie to sexy vixen to straight up rocker chick. I guess I dress for both my mood and the occasion. This causes quite the ordeal when packing for a trip but hey, a girl never knows what the mood will be at the next destination!
The biggest lesson I’ve learned in my fashion escapades is to always dress your age and spend your money on the classic pieces, denim, and accessories! Hold up - I did go there… I mentioned age!! Let me break it down for you. I married a man 20 years my senior when I graduated college. Because I had the “gold digger” rumors flying around I felt that I needed to dress older. I had also moved to a different state and hadn’t developed my tribe so I hung out with the wives of my older husband’s friends. These gals were pretty put together but - 20 years older than I. So, Instead of wearing the trendy fashions a normal twenty something would wear I aged myself by picking “safe” choices and I regret that to this day!!! Now, the much older and heavier Sarah wishes she had worn a few more miniskirts!!! By the same token I see many women in my age group borrowing trends from their teenage daughters. I'm guilty of it myself - I can remember wearing an outfit last year that was bare belly and a twenty something on the dance floor had on the same outfit. She said “I just need to lose 5 more lbs.” “I said I’m 46 and popped out a kid 3 years ago” she was in awe!!! I rocked that look and even out danced her (which is a whole other story) but went home and threw it in the “never again” pile. Lesson learned. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should! Right now crop tops are all the rage and I’m scooping them up like nobody’s business!! BUT - I’m also buying high waisted bottoms to achieve a classy yet trendy look. A little midriff is cool on the right body type and in the right atmosphere but be sure to think about your audience and if you will feel completely comfortable before you don the crop top!
Trendy items are great but the bulk of my fashion budget is spent on the classics, denim, and accessories…which includes SHOES!!! I look at wardrobe dollars as small investments. Larry watches the stock market, I watch the shoe market!!!! Where are you going to get the most bang for your buck? I use a simple strategy - I I try to calculate how many times I will actually wear the item and divide the total price by that number. Cost per wear. For instance, I bought those mile high waisted jeans at Madewell in January. They were about $130 and I have already worn them at least 8 times. That’s about $16 per wear. I absolutely love them and I know that I will continue wearing them until mid April and then shelve them until Fall again. I would guess that I will wear them 20 times in this calendar year. They actually fit that good and make me look good! That’s around $6 per wear for this year. Not bad for a favorite pair of jeans. Conversely, the really trendy top that I will probably wear 3 times I kept In the $39 range. If I know it is a trend that will be fading soon or just a whim I am going to grab it on sale or sacrifice quality for a cheaper price.
What’s the moral of this story? Wear what fits your mood and wear it with complete confidence and you will always look fabulous!!!
