When I started this project, Fernanda Conrad, blogger extraordinaire and author of countless Wardrobe Wednesday posts, told me “There’s only one rule: have fun.”
I tried to remember her words during the few times I shared my outfits. It was hard to have fun sometimes – just look at those outtakes! For every even remotely okay photo (which were few and far between) there were forty+ gems like the ones above (and I’m not even sharing the worst ones).
Here are a few things I learned during my sojourn as a style blogger:
- If you feel uncomfortable in front of the camera, you’ll look uncomfortable in the photos – when you’re thinking “OMG, OMG, hurry up, I want to get this over with” no matter how good you are at faking a smile it’s going to be obvious that you want to be doing almost anything besides posing (I think this is true in life too – if you’re uncomfortable in what you’re wearing, people will be able to tell).
- Speaking of posing – it’s hard! Tags showing, awkward angles, limbs that seem to disappear, shadows on your face… I have a whole new appreciation for people who look effortless in fashion photos.
- Outfits that look fabulous in your imagination don’t always look so good in the mirror, and outfits that look fabulous in mirror don’t always look so good in real life. Cher from Clueless was onto something when she said, “I don’t rely on mirrors so I always take Polaroids.” But, who wants to take pictures of themselves before they leave the house each morning?
- I love to write, and I love to edit, but it’s virtually impossible for me to edit what I write – turns out the same goes for style. I love “editing” other people’s looks, but I can’t seem to do it for myself.
- I found my style sweet spot: a dress, jacket, tights, boots, earrings, and maybe a scarf. This look, or some variation of it, makes me feel like the best version of myself in terms getting dressed.
And finally, style is so much more than clothes and the way you look. It’s the way you present yourself to the world – your attitude, your energy, even your posture. That’s why three different people can wear the same dress with a totally different result. My favorite lesson? Whatever you wear, be your incredible, individual, uniquely you self – it’s the only way to achieve true style and have fun while you’re at it!
