I am what I wear....and how I dress

I got my subject line from "My Strongest Suit," a song from the musical "Aida." I thought about this line while at a style event tonight. Before coming to the event, I took a quiz that was sent to me by the style consultant who was going to be speaking. The answers pointed to 5 different fashion personality types and the predominant one was the one I should relate to most in picking out my wardrobe. I ended up with "Bohemian." It mostly was lots of denim, leather, suede and floral prints. The suggestion was to shop at ethnic stores and the overall look was organic in nature. There was a different style that I felt I could relate to more: "Whimsical." Lots of fun and creative style arrangements. Very colorful, as well. It also mentioned buying lots of clothes on discount or at thrift stores. That's so me! :) The overall topic of the event got me thinking back to how I used to dress and how that has changed or stayed the same. In high school, I wore long sleeved shirts under t-shirts with either jeans or shorts combined with leggings. I'd also wear long skirts with long sweaters or blouses. After I graduated, I spent lots of time in t-shirts and jeans with imitation Birkenstocks and a flannel over my t-shirt. That look carried me into college. I eventually started wearing skirts and dresses toward the end of my college years. As an adult, I started wearing work clothes and spending weekends in the usual jean/t-shirt motif. My work clothes mostly consisted of pants and nice shirts, with some skirts tossed into the mix every so often. I think I still dress that way for work, so not much has changed. On the casual end, I still wear jeans, but mostly with a plain or patterned shirt instead of a t-shirt (which are saved for working out or sleeping). I dress business casual for Shabbos and wear a head covering (hat or scarf) whether or not we have guests over for meals.

When I first met my husband, I decided not to dress up like I had done for dates in the past. I wanted to be casual and also show him the real me. I showed up to meet him in jeans, one of my favorite Neo-Futurarium T-shirts, and my favorite comfy black sweater (that could be worn with or without a belt). I also had little black boots on and pulled my hair back using a black scarf as a headband. It worked though! On our first real date (bowling and dinner), I wore this long sleeved t-shirt with a cat on it, coupled with a black fleece sweater and jeans. Again, no complaints from him. I think the first time I dressed up for him was when we went to shul together. Even then, I was able to get away with pants because it was a conservative shul.

I used to subscribe to fashion magazines. Mainly "Cosmopolitan" and "Glamour." I mostly glanced over the fashion and looked more at the articles and stories. Nowadays, I subscribe to mommy magazines, although I also got a subscription to "Redbook" this year to shake things up a bit. It's more about what I'm interested in than what I have to do for my kids. I like the mommy magazines, but it's nice to have magazines that talk about pop culture and issues important to women. There are some fashion sections, but it's not the main reason I read them. It's a step up from "Family Circle" or "Women's Day", which I mainly got for the recipes.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I have become very thrifty lately and would prefer to spend my money on multiple items at Value Village instead of just one or two items at New York and Company (one of my favorite stores from the past) these days. In the last year or so, you would have heard the opposite statement coming from me. I think my environment has to do with that. Living by NY meant a lot of pressure in the fashion department. I was afraid to show up at shul in the same outfit twice. Here, people are more laid back and there are so many different fashion types that it doesn't even matter. I'm not saying everyone in NJ was stuck up, but sometimes the women's section in shul felt like a fashion show. There was one time a few summers ago, after I lost most of my post-baby weight, that I went to New York and Company one afternoon for a little shopping spree. I felt like I could relate to Romy or Michele's comment about Julia Roberts (in "Pretty Woman") when they said "she finally got to shop!" It was nice to put on clothes that didn't define me as just a mom. The clothes were totally me and I enjoyed trying them on and checking myself out in the mirror. When I go to the thrift store, I don't try anything on. I just guess that it will fit and I'm usually right. I've bought some fashionable items (that have received positive comments) for 80-90% of the cost I normally would have paid in the past. I've even found cute things on the clearance racks at Target and have returned home proud of my purchases and the fact that I was able to get such a good deal. I also get hand-me-downs from my mother-in-law, who has a "Chic" or "Classic" way of dressing. She gave me some suits to wear for interviews and a few nice Shabbos outfits. I absolutely love this one shirt that is black and has red flowers connected with green stems trailing all over it. It's so pretty and modern looking.

Do I think my wardrobe could use a makeover? Yes and no. I like some of my clothes and they look just right on me. However, I am hoarding clothes I never wear when I should be making room for the "new" items I enjoy wearing instead. I still have clothes from college. I think my oldest item is a light gray "jacket" that is missing a button. I used to wear it to work in the summer when the office was cold to make up for the heat outside. I think it's buried somewhere in my closet right now. I don't claim to know everything about fashion and am impressed that the style consultant was able to categorize so many items so easily and give fashion advice so freely. I just don't know that I could be completely pigeon-holed into any of those five categories. I dress in clothes that express my personality and that's all that matters in the long run.