My Style Evolution + Some Recent Work Looks

I am a late bloomer when it comes to fashion. I come from a family of very stylish and put-together people, and yet I somehow grew up dressing like a frumpy boy up until my teens.

In my 20s I dressed well enough for the office (mostly plain work clothes) and spent most of my casual hours in some form of athletic wear or jeans and tee. 30s were spent producing children, with a retail market that didn’t yet have so many lovely maternity clothes options. And thusly went by the first three decades of my life where I never thought too much about what I wore and simply did my best to blend in and look presentable within budget.

Then, I turned 40 and a light switch went on in my head. It really did feel that instant and enlightening. I think it may have been because I was finally done producing children and worrying about breastfeeding and drool and all of that sticky nonsense. {OR maybe because I was finally sleeping enough to have a brain that could think beyond basic life needs }. I started gravitating towards patterns, and vintage shapes, and found great joy in combining unexpected things together for a comfortable and unique look.

These days, I really love getting dressed and like wearing fun things daily even if no one is around. I still don’t know too much about trends and rarely know what’s in or out, but I do know what works best for my size and I love playing around to channel my inner creativity into a look that is fun and comfortable.

Shopping in vintage and thrift stores is my biggest trick (especially when abroad). And so is having a sister with impeccable taste who has never given up on dressing her little sis with pieces she finds from her travels all around the globe. I am pretty sure that everyday I wear something that was given to me by her.

I don’t mind being overdone, as long as I am comfortable. I don’t like fussy clothes because that defeats the point and kills the confidence a little bit, you know. I am still not good about accessories and really bad about make-up, but perhaps that’s just me leaving something new to discover and play around with, in my 50s, 60s, and beyond.

Well dressed grannies are MY FAVORITE! I tend to seek them out whenever I am traveling (Milan being the hotspot in my opinion, NYC being my second fav). Their poise, their confidence, their sensible shoes, and above all, their I-give-no-shyt-about-what-you-think look is something I admire very very much.

I believe in being stylish over fashionable. And that a good alteration lady is worth her weight in gold (mine just happen to be my mom and mom-in-law which is incredibly lucky). I don’t think looking stylish requires a lot of money. Anyone can walk in a store and buy expensive things, but that does not necessarily mean they will achieve style. Menswear is an underused resource with so much potential.

And with that, I’d like to say thank-you for letting me ramble about my style beliefs, AND for overlooking my awkward selfies (I really do hate taking them). I hope to share more looks that I put together because it’s fun for me to have a record of them too. And don’t be a stranger, please do tell about your personal fashion and style beliefs. And if you are a fashion granny, please email me so that I may learn from all your wisdom.

Cheers and talk soon! xoxoxo