Why you don’t need the ‘right clothes for every occasion,’ & how I do Coffee + Yoga in one outfit!
I’ve started to work out in the city three times a week, more to keep myself sane on an entrepreneur’s schedule than anything else. Every other morning, I catch a bus and head to a killer exercise class*, before walking into a coffee shop with my laptop to tackle the day’s work.
This, as you might imagine, presents a tricky style situation.
After all, how do you work out and still look street chic? Especially when you don’t really want to be toting clothes to your next engagement? Do you have to just grin and bear it looking like a street bum?
Enter the coffee + yoga ensemble!
…Just a teensy glimpse into how I’m able to make the one-bag closet work. I’ve also combined sweats with cardigans, glitter and tshirts, dresses over shorts… you name it!
Obviously, this doesn’t work if you’re doing crazy cardio and dripping with sweat after, but hopefully you’re heading to a shower in that case. This is more for those of us who like to multitask + hop from one thing to another, in which case dragging around extra clothes all day is, well, a drag!
It also works for any 2-in-1 scenarios where you want to be comfortable, but still look presentable. Hot date where you might be doing a couple miles of romantic strolling? Grabbing drinks at that fancy bar right after work? Got a business meeting on Skype but fighting a cold? A little creativity goes a long way.
Because it’s not about having the right clothes for the occasion. It’s about making the clothes right. If you don’t believe me, just replace ‘clothing’ with ‘attitude’ 
*I’m currently addicted to the Bar Method. A bit less calm than yoga, perhaps, but it’s a nice complement to the mental masochism of entrepreneur-ing! Plus, it does wonders for getting my energy up for the day.
-
A note on the recent lack of posts: I’ve been positively STUFFED with ideas lately, but digesting slowly behind the scenes. So instead of my usual crazy 6-meal-course philosophizing, I’ve decided to just post a taste! OK no more of this metaphor. We’re talking style here, not food. (Though this does remind me of a certain fashion internship where no one ate more than espresso for lunch, but that’s a different story…)
Anyway, rest assured I haven’t forgotten about you! Good things are on their way. You may even have noticed the tagline for this site has changed. It’s a sign of things to come.
Hint: Personal style + a desire for creative leadership in life/work/the world = what might be one of the easiest paths to innovation, ever. Want to discover more? Stake a lookout here.
Just because it works doesn’t mean it’s fair; a brief style appeal to the genius part of you that knows better.
“The definition of
a crazy person is
someone who does the same thing over and over again
while expecting new results.”
-Regina Spektor quoting Albert Einstein (only I love the way Regina sang it so there.)
You know what?
What you wear isn’t that big of a deal.
So what if you play it safe? The jeans you know looks good with everything. Your favorite sundress with flip flops. Black on black (again.)
I mean, it works, right?
And so what if someone decides to live behind a white picket fence for fifty years? If we repeat the industrial model in our classrooms year after year? If we date someone totally wrong for us (again?)
I mean, it works, right?
Niiiiiiiiiiiiirru.
(In case you were wondering, I’m referring to the approximate sound little kids make when they pretend to crash toy airplanes to the ground. Because that’s what I heard in my mind just now.)
Look, I’m not posting in judgment or asking you to judge yourself. Heck, even I’ve had days where I sit around in my pajamas. The only difference between you + me (perhaps) is that I wrote a post about it (to be posted in near future.)
We’re human. It’s only natural that we cling to the familiar + comfortable. Sometimes we cut ourselves some slack because we’re tired and spent Friday night working on our business instead of going out (hey, Portland has really strict underage codes!) and, well, it works.
But tread carefully.
Because no, what you wear isn’t that big of a deal.
But style decisions come from the same brain as everything else.
And no, we can’t get away with ‘what works’ in the long run.
Keep defaulting, and it might become one of those debilitating habits you can’t kick. One that undermines the other enlightened decisions you’ve fought hard to make in your brilliant life, whispering hypocrisy into your psyche. And maybe even hinders your abilities to change the world…
To me, that seems totally unfair.
What think you?
*
Ready for new results (forreal)?
How about instant DIY w/ the new Restyle It! TV?
Or surprise yourself with the Style Challenge?
Or dig up the 5 words to change the way you think about clothes forever?
I dare ya to stop old habits in their tracks + try something new!
Forget What Not To Wear and Project Runway. Introducing Restyle It! TV (especially for the anti-fuss on-the-go types.)
Introducing Restyle It! A sparkly new series of tutorials + experiments for brilliant people who want to look the part.
AKA stuff you can try right now.
AKA#2 little magical secrets from my personal arsenal that I’ve never shared before. Discoveries I make along the way as I live stylishly out of a single carryon.
Oh and?
I hope you know this terrifies me.
I don’t do public speaking. Not as in it’s not my career. As in, I spent high school theatre hiding in pit orchestras and costume crew. And the only times I ever actually blush involve microphones and crowds.
So…Video? TV? What?
But style without visuals can be kind of lame. And I’ve found that videos aren’t too bad if you just make yourself march over to the screen and then (deep breath) post them with a flurry of clicks before you can change your mind! Speedy creations are something of a speciality…
…Which is why the first Restyle It! is ultra-easy and can be done ultra-fast.
From what I’ve heard from you guys, time and fuss seem to be big anti-style factors. And as a Sagittarius, I sympathize. Trust me. There’s a reason I’ve been whittling my closet down.
But you just can’t say no to the Insta-shirt. Made especially with the anti-fussy grab-and-go brilliant ones in mind…
There you go!
How am I going to keep this up? Glad you asked- with your help, of course. If you get inspired or make your own discoveries…
Yes, you can now post your own Restyle it! discoveries + experiments! I even started a Youtube Channel- that’s how serious I am, haha. The gorgeous Rhina was kind enough to share her glorious maxiskirt-to-turban restyle, and it’s the first one up on YOU Restyle It! for your viewing pleasure.
Do watch. Do try. Do share and be brilliant.
P.S. Don’t forget to grab your 5 Words + tell me what you’re ‘wearing’ on Facebook!
Don’t let your clothes wear You; How To Style Your Way To Instant Confidence
You know the real reason you think you’ve got ‘nothing to wear’?
It’s because you want to make the right decisions to look good. In fact, you want to look fricking brilliant. Deep down, you want nothing more than to look every speck as smart and interesting as you are on the inside.
(Anyone who says differently is lying. That, or they desperately want to look uninteresting for a reason. Maybe they are fleeing a country under a psuedonym. Or escaping an unwanted suitor! If you’re stuck in one of these situations, you’re exempt from this post. You can stop reading now.)
But if you’re anything like me, there are times when you freeze up in front of the closet. In fact, my absolute biggest style anxiety comes before public events. Whenever I’m on the cusp of meeting strangers is when I’m least likely to creatively experiment & most likely to default on Tessa basics (I’ll even tell you what they are, so you can call me out on it in future photos- a jersey dress, or a printed top and my perfect blue-green shorts.)
Why?
First impressions, baby.
Whatever personal insecurities I have about what Sinclair Ashley aptly calls in her leadership training ‘the need to look good’ gets magnified a thousand-fold when it’s with people who don’t already know + love me. After all, no one feels the need to dress to impress her best friend, right?
But you know what the most interesting twist on this whole looks + confidence dealio is?
The more self-aware you get, the more style is about the pressure to be real. To look authentic and not fake. To dress in a way that shows people who you really are.
& as absurd as this comparison may be, because lookin’ real is no contest, bear with me – if you’ve ever been in a performance-related competition of any kind (sports, music) , you know. When the pressure’s on, you’re at least twice* as likely to mess up.
*ok the statistic is made-up, but you know it’s true.
Wanting to look brilliant is human + lovely. The dark side is losing control of your own style decisions, panicking, ending up wearing something that totally does not reflect your gorgeous spirit at all.
The simple antidote?
Give yourself a big, mind-bending creative dare. Reinvent in such a rad way that your brain can’t even make excuses for not being brilliant.
This is what the 1st Style Challenge has been all about. & It’s also why I’m extending the timeframe for another week! Because the restyles so far have been incredibly rad. I mean, have you seen Rhina’s maxiskirt-turned-turban?! Or that ascot? To be honest, I didn’t even know what an ascot was, until Anna made one. Out of a sleeveless shirt.
Best of all, participants have been amazed at their own creativity. A few responses, totally unsolicited:
“I would like you to know that I just spent the last 10 minutes restyling my skirt and it worked. it was surprisingly easy.”
“I had so much fun! It was a blast. It was great to experiment. I surprised myself.”
“I just took a dress I have had for a year and barely wore into a shirt that looks amazing!”
For the simplest challenge ever (just restyle the first thing you see in your closet!), it’s astonishingly empowering.
I want you to be able to experience this for yourself.
We’re ushering in a new definition of style confidence altogether. It’s not about looking good or put-together according to society’s rules, or getting anyone’s approval. Instead, it’s about gaining total creative mastery over what you put on your body.
& What could be more satisfying?
—
Click over to fb to post your Style Challenge results today! Yes, in addition to the creative shock, you’ll also be eligible to win a fabulous prize by the end of next week. But don’t do it for me. Do it for your brilliant self. You’re worth it.
How To Be Incredibly Stylish While Living Out Of A Carry-On
Until recently, I used to be the biggest overpacker. In fact, I bet I still have arm muscle leftover from that summer I lugged my entire wardrobe, stuffed into two towering suitcases, all over China.
The dilemma was potent. I wanted to be stylish + on the road all at once. So what’s a girl to do? How was I supposed to know ahead of time what dress I’d feel like wearing? What if I was halfway across the world and discovered that yellow cardigan was my favorite after all?
Just in case! was my packing mantra.
Sound familiar?
Or maybe you’ve experienced the opposite. My roommate Antonia confessed that on her last trip to South America, she lived most sensibly out of a single backpack for months on end.
The problem? By the end of the trip, she was bored out of her mind, style-wise. As she told me her story, she held up the pants that she’d worn on the trip 100000000 times and made the kind of face you made at your poor mom growing up, when she made the same thing for dinner AGAIN.
But when you’re on the road, you’ve just gotta suck it up, right?
If the answer is yes, I’d like to invite you to think again. And to keep reading.
Because it’s travel season, baby. And whether you normally aspire to live out of a bag or not, sometimes it’s absolutely necessary.
Until now, most of us have been choosing between two options. 1) Resign yourself to sensible basics that highlight your unwashed, exhausted, normally-gorgeous-but-no-one-would-guess-right-now self… or 2) Rack up the overweight luggage charges. THEY’re getting paid and YOU’re the one who has to stop every ten feet when it flips over in the middle of the sidewalk. Life can be so unfair.
But what if there’s a different way?
What if I told you that you could look awesome while carrying practically nothing?
Minimalist Inspiration
You’ve seen the blogs. Your average modern minimalist will proudly list all the 47 items to her name (multiple pairs of underwear not included) and wear the same black tshirt every day, consumerism be damned.
For a long time, me and my style penchant were not impressed. Where would I be without my overflowing closet? Sure, I didn’t wear ⅔ of what I did own… but you never knew when a piece would come in handy! Whittling it down, I was sure, would stifle my creativity.
But I couldn’t help but notice that these minimalists also got to breathe freely as they backpacked around the world.
So earlier this year, when I moved across the country, I took a deep breath and packed a single suitcase and carry-on. Then after Seattle, I got rid of the suitcase. Leaving myself with just the one shiny red bag you see here.
But do I wear the same black shirt every day? Certainly not.
Since reducing my wardrobe, I think I’ve become more stylish. In fact, these days, you’ll almost never see me wear the same outfit twice.
Yes, it’s possible.
So. How can YOU start reinventing your own style-on-the-go?
Remember my friend, Antonia? She just left on her next 3-month jaunt, this time through Central America (lucky girl, right?) And get this– she’s carrying the same backpack.
But this time, she had me on her side. Together, we whittled down the clothes she owned into a teensy-but-glorious wardrobe that she loved. With just a handful of pieces, we covered dressing for everything from hikes to salsa fiestas. She left with one joyously-packed bag and a bajillion creative possibilities that will apply long after her trip is over.
I know, you’re thinking: Why can’t you be my roommate, dammit?
It’s okay. You don’t have to stalk me on my next move or try to persuade me to crash on your couch (though if you live near a certain sparkly blue Mediterranean sea, I might say yes.) Because you’re in luck. I’m going to be offering 1:1 Travel Consults very soon, right on this site!
And what’s more- you can snag one for your own upcoming trip for FREE.
Want my zany, critical eye on your next travel wardrobe?
All you have to do is take on the easy peasy, but mind-bending Style Challenge, & post your results on Facebook by Tuesday, August 2nd. This is no typical contest entry that we’re talking about. It’s what I call a gateway drug into the style revolution.
In under 5 minutes, you can start rocking your closet in a whole new way. Rock extra-hard, and you might just win a free 1:1 with me. Either way, it’s a win-win!
You can also get a head start by subscribing to the Dress Smarter! list & getting the 5-Word secret guaranteed to change the way you think about clothes, forever. Seriously.
Everyday minimalism, move aside. There’s a radical new approach to style that skimps on neither practicality NOR looks.
Next week, I’ll be talking about how I kickstarted my own radical style journey with one simple monthlong experiment. And how if you’re yearning for a simpler, more stylish lifestyle infused with badass creativity to boot, you can absolutely do the same.
In the meantime, you can start right now. Spark your mind and closet with the ultra-simple, no-bullshit Style Challenge. And if you’re taking a trip anytime soon + want a co-conspirator for your stylish adventures, you’ll definitely want to gets hands-on before next Tuesday.
The results posted so far have been incredibly rad. Can’t wait to see what YOU come up with!
Good luck!