Am I Missing the Style Gene?
I’ve always struggled with how to put an outfit together. When I was very little my grandmother used to make outfits for me; often with matching hats (see below). At 3 and 4 years old I looked very “put together”. My mom also sewed some pretty snazzy outfits for me. (I’m laughing right now at myself for using the word snazzy – I sound like a throw back from the 1930’s or 40’s). The point I’m trying to make is that without someone “dressing” me, I’m lost.
In my early teens I went to an all-girl’s high school in Australia and only wore uniforms. Easy! But when we moved back to Canada I suddenly had to figure out what teenage girls my age wore in this country. I got it really wrong in the beginning. My jeans were the skinny leg style but everyone else was wearing “Big Blues” which were so wide legged that your shoes disappeared entirely underneath them. I was gangly and awkward with a funny accent. The last thing I wanted was to stand out even more with a fashion faux pas!
So that was the beginning of my struggle with fashion. I felt like I was a step behind and I’ve never fully trusted my sense of style from those days on. While a part of me felt inclined to wear a little makeup and shave my legs, another side of me longed to climb trees and get dirty helping my grandfather build his latest project.
April 2010. I just removed a pretty necklace and bracelet, stepped out of my slender sandals, took off my blouse and skirt and slipped into my comfy-but-masculine men’s Lu Lu Lemon sweat pants and one of Johns t-shirts. And suddenly it hit me.
I’m half girly-girl and half tomboy! But I’m not enough of either one to be comfortable going fully to one side of the fashion pendulum or the other.
I am a contradiction. It suddenly makes sense. I am a Gemini after all. Even now, as I write this, I have one eye watching a hockey game.
Journaling/blogging = girly
Watching hockey = tomboyish
I love having nice clothes but I hate shopping. Contradiction!
I like pretty jewelery but I also like my Handyman work gloves.
(In case your mind is taking this further than necessary…I’ve always only had crushes on boys/men.)
Anyway, it suddenly makes sense to me why I’ve never felt comfortable choosing a fashion style. I’m a bit of each on opposite ends of the spectrum. (These Canucks really have got to stay out of the penalty box!…hmm time to paint my toenails…maybe pink this time…) See what I mean!!
I even married someone who often has me passing him tools or helping him carry heavy timbers around the yard, but who also loves to see me wearing a flowery summer dress. (Not at the same time by the way…or maybe he would. Hmm.)
So what do I do with this new discovery of why I yam what I yam? Well I guess I’ll stop beating myself up over my lack of style and just accept the fact that I’m a little this and a little that all rolled into one. My style may not always look right but it does always look like me. 🙂
5 Comments
shelly
Your post here got me to thinking about the actual word ‘style’. When I think of that word it is usually accompanied (in my brain at least) with the word ‘personal’.
At times like this I feel the pull of my handy dandy dictionary calling me from it’s spot on the kitchen bookshelf. “A manner of writing, speaking or doing something”.
So there you go Bonnie, everyone has their own ‘personal style’, including you.
Bonnie Johnson
Thanks Shelly! I will keep those words in mind on the days I question my “look”.
ps. I love that you keep your dictionary in the kitchen…the heart of a home with a dash of intellect. Perfect! 🙂
jacquie
When I think of someone who has style, I think of the people I know who have a consistent ‘look’ and are comfortable with who they are and what message they’re sending out with that look. It’s all tied up.
There are some who try too hard to create an image with their clothing choices and we can all see through this. They just don’t look natural. Here’s a trick:
Pull out the 10 items from your closet that you wear most often and put them out. What are the common denominators? Are most of them a certain colour? Black? All sportswear? All dressy? 5 blazers and 5 pairs of jeans?
This tells a lot about your personal style. Many of us have way too much stuff in our closets that we don’t wear because, though we may like it, it doesn’t feel right when we wear it. Only keep what makes you feel great.
When you know what you feel comfortable in then you’re 90% on your way to having great personal style (so you’re already there, Bonnie)
After that you just tweak your outfits with a few accessories (or not) and you’re good to go.
Tracy Westerholm
I love your style, the handy man work gloves with a sundress has always been a look that has appealed to me! It just shows all the facets of your personality! lol I used to wear my penny loafers with my soccer socks, short cheerleader style skirt and big sweater! I think style is what you love, just as Jake said. I like yoga pants and active wear. I don’t really pay much attention to what is in ‘fashion’ because I don’t think that really matters in the big picture. When I watch shows that talk about what to wear and what not to wear it’s personalized for each person so again it’s what you love and makes you feel fantastic! Pretty Basic! Having said that I also think its good to get out of your comfort zone at times, just not first dates! T xo
Lozz
Style…mmm….It really is personal and even though media tends to dictate to us what it means, if you are reasonably comfortable in your skin, you managed to sift though and figure what you like and works for you. Keep it classic, that is my advice. Look at the likes of Grace Kelly for example, who is on the cover of Vanity Fair next month. I just flicked through the article to look at the pictures and they could be of a modern day model. Absolutely beautiful. Now that is classic style to me, where you find it hard to date a picture based on the clothes and hair.
I find that even if someone who I think has style buys me clothes, chances are they’ll miss the mark. I learned long ago not to buy clothes as a gift (exception is husband as I think I have him pegged). It indeed is personal