I checked out The Grown-Up Girl’s Guide to Style
The Style Checklist
- The right attitude
- An open mind
- Courage to try new things
- The ability to break old habits
- The ability to look at your positives and negatives
- The insight to borrow from your style icons
- The courage to put your own individual twist on style
- The mindset to stay positive
- The desire to be interested in others
- The determination to never, ever get cynical
- The ability to keep up with fashion and adapt a little of it into your look
- The passion to always evolve
- The pride to care about the way you present yourself
- The ability to like yourself enough to make a difference
I would have to agree with all of these things. They really resonate with me and I have learned quite a few of these through the style challenges. Others I have just picked up with time. Maturity does that for you!
The author goes on to describe Style Icons, explaining that we can learn a lot about style by looking at role models. Alison Lumbatis is certainly a role model for me but there are others I admire as well. First and foremost is my mother. She has always been stylish and even at 72 she is always well-dressed, appropriate for her age, yet not matronly. She knows her body type, what looks good on her and what doesn’t. Other role models whom I admire are my friends Marcia, Connie and Patty – all well-dressed, classy ladies. My bff since high school, Nancy, is another person whose style I esteem. Even when we were poor college students, she preferred to buy quality pieces, even if that meant having less in her closet. I learned about investing in timeless, classic pieces from her.
Famous people whose style I admire are Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy. I just love their elegance and their grace. Although I don’t faun over celebrities, these are three that I really do admire.
Another thing Ms. Schwab touches on is the Style Killer and she calls her a ‘matron.’ This woman thinks old, talks old, acts old, and dresses old. She has given up and lives with what might have been instead of what might be. Through the style challenges I have not given up. I have learned “to like myself enough to make a difference.”
So here are the first few days of this brand new challenge. I’m already branching out of my comfort zone, pairing coral with aqua (a first for me) and pattern mixing stripes with leopard (did that for the first time in the fall.)
What about you? Who are your Style Icons? Answer in the comments, then check out the other Style Me Bloggers!
Linking up with Alison @ Get Your Pretty On and Madeline @ Pretty Thing and Co.
I love this post – my favorite that you’ve written! I agree with all of the items on the checklist. You look GORGEOUS in both outfits – well done!
Thank you Lana! I loved that checklist. The book is RICH with information that I’ll keep sharing on my blog as I apply it to my life.
I agree with Lana, this is an awesome post and I love the list and link to that book. I want to find myself a copy of it now. You look awesome, by the way. As for my style icons…I’m going to have to think on that one…great question!
I’m enjoying the book a lot. There are lots of great tips, dealing not only with clothing but makeup and hair as well! I’ll keep sharing as I uncover gems.
Oh, Sheila, what a thoughtful post. Isn’t it interesting that the Style Checklist has more to do with the inside than the outside? My favorite points were *the ability to keep up with fashion and adapt a little of it into your look and *the passion to always evolve. I think that passion to evolve can be applied to everything. And when I retired, for a brief time I felt like my life was about over. So glad to have started Alison’s challenges, met you great gals and started my crazy blog. Glad you are back at blogging. You have a lot of goodness to share.
Why thank you so much! That checklist gave me a lot to think about…
Okay, first a disclaimer: I struggle with style, but I think about it a lot. And since you asked, here are some of my thoughts and observations. First, I don’t try to keep up with trends. I try to go for a more classic look so I don’t end up looking “so last year” in a year or two. My personal style has a feminine flair… long flowing skirts, soft colors. I have the opposite challenge from you: I have a hard time finding clothes that fit or look good since I’m very tall. One style icon I admire is Reba, whom I’ve discovered has a line of clothes at Dillards. (Just wish I could afford them! LOL!)
Speaking of “matronly”… I do think it’s important for our styles to mature. I saw a 30th high school reunion picture of some of my classmates recently, and found it sad that some of the “girls” still dressed like they were in high school. Not 1980s high school necessarily, but they wore styles that were much more appropriate for teens. It did not make them look younger, but actually had the opposite affect. The most attractive women were those who dressed their age, if that makes sense. They were stylish and classy, I thought.
This “Style Me Blogger” challenge is really cool. I’m learning a lot. I should start making a shopping list! My wardrobe needs refurbishing badly!
I agree that styles need to mature as we do but it doesn’t mean that we need to wear drab clothing. I prefer stylish and classy to trendy and trashy any day!