Wardrobe Building Part 3 & 4 – Identity & Lifestyle

Who do you think you are?  What message are you sending to the world? To yourself?

In parts 3 & 4 of my Wardrobe Building series, we talk about how your wardrobe both supports and creates your identity and lifestyle.

If you’re new to the series, you might want to catch up by reading Part 1 & 2, Silhouette and Color.

Identity

What you wear sends a signal to the world about who you are. I don’t think that’s overstated at all. And most importantly, we tell ourselves who we think we are by the way we look and dress. What message do want to convey to the world? And what message do you want to be sending yourself everyday?

Identity Crisis = Style Opportunity

As our identities change over time, so does our style and our outfit choices. My biggest style crisis was when I moved into middle age and felt that I no longer knew who I was style-wise. Dawn was always all about the junior section. How was I supposed to dress now? Now in my life, I identify as a fun, funky women of a certain age, someone confident in herself and excited about this chapter of her life.

Describe Your Style

How would you describe your style? Boho? Preppy? Modern? California casual? Edgy? Minimalistic? Classic? Sophisticated? Whimsical? Fun? Funky? Elegant? Feminine? Androgynous? Retro?

Is there a decade that inspires you more than others? Is that a particular mood that you’re attracted to? Who are your style heroes? Jackie O? Stevie Nicks? Audrey Hepburn? David Bowie? Grace Kelly?

I like to play with different attitudes with my clothing, but I also feel like I have a root to my style. I would describe my style and wardrobe as elevated modern basics with a California glam rock edge. And my heart belongs to the 70’s … maxi dresses, denim, wild prints, bell bottoms, and disco details.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle is what you’re doing every day and how you are living your life. Are you a stay at home mom? A high powered attorney? A wanna be actress? An emergency room nurse? … Are you retired and traveling? Writing a novel? Building a business? …Do you go to fancy parties? Or casual get-togethers? Or maybe you’re strictly a homebody? Think about what you do and where you go and what you dress for.

Dressing for the life you have is very important, but I’m also a big believer in dressing for the life you’d like to have as well! It’s a common piece of business advice to dress for the job you want, not the job you have. And I think that goes for everything in life. Dress for the life you want to have as well.

My Lifestyle

Teaching

For example, personally I dress for teaching school five days a week. For that job, I like to be stylish and comfortable, professional, but approachable.

Weekend Adventures

On the weekends, I never know what what my husband and I are going to be up to. It used to drive me crazy that he didn’t like to plan, but I’ve come around to the fun of deciding on a whim. That means though that I need to be dressed for just about anything, or at least have an extra pair of shoes in the car. Usually we go for a ride, go out for a meal, and we really enjoy going to open houses.

Home

We also treasure our at-home time, puttering around, watching TV and movies, playing with and walking the dogs, so I like to have cute and comfy loungewear for all that.

Girl Time

I have lunch and shopping dates with the girls and blogging events to dress for and I love glamming up for those things.

NYFW

And then of course New York Fashion Week, though only a couple of days a year, takes up a lot of my fashion planning! I’m already browsing and dreaming of outfits for September!

Now What?

Last month’s wardrobe building lesson dealt with color and silhouette, but this month’s topic is all about who you think you are.

Some Ideas:

*Make a list of where you go and what you do on a regular basis, along with where you wish you were going and what you really want to be doing.

*Try to describe your style in a sentence or two.

*Make a Pinterest board with all your favorite inspiration or a mood board with images cut out from magazines.

*Write about what message you want to be sending the world and yourself.

Do these exercises help you to clarify your wardrobe building choices at all?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments! And/or you can always email me to share your ideas at dawnlucy@fashionshouldbefun.com.

Fun & Fashion

Dawn Lucy

Link Ups: Visible Monday! Shoe and Tell!  #iwillwearwhatilike link up! Turning Heads Tuesday! Confident Tuesday!   Style Perspectives! Trendy Wednesday! Style on the Daily!  Thursday Fashion Files! Chic and Stylish! Labour of Fashion! Thursday Moda! Top of the World Style!   Fabulous Friday!   Weekend Wear Link Up!  Edge of the Week! Nancy’s Fashion Style! Sharing a Journey!

About the blog: Fashion Should Be Fun is me talking to you, other middle aged women like me who are over 40, but not over fashion.  We still want to look beautiful and stylish.  We still want to have fun with trends.  And we don’t need anyone giving us rules, because we’re all different. We all have own shapes and bodies, parts we’d like to cover and parts we still don’t mind showing off a bit.  This is a place for me to share my love of fashion with you, style ideas, tips, trends, and inspiration. I know how liking the way we look can translate into confidence and energy. I know we have so much life left to live and so much adventure ahead of us. Let’s show the world you’re never too old to have fun and be fierce!