Window Shopping - October 2016

Name That Style

Greg Matusoff, the only fire-fighter/fashion columnist in the country (if there are more, we want to meet them!) explains how to define your personal style and double your wardrobe options in the process!  

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Just as aesthetics applies to art or design, it applies to fashion. In its original Greek, aesthetics refers to any sort of sensory perception, to “making oneself sensitive” to the world.

​It’s in this true spirit of the word that we can apply aesthetics to fashion. It’s really about taking your own personal expression and using it to define your style.
 
When I work with clients in interior design, I collaborate with them to come up with a theme that describes the overall feeling for a space, i.e. industrial farmhouse or French Provincial. 

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The same idea can be applied to fashion — beach casual, rock & roll or grunge, bohemian, bombshell, American classic, preppy, artsy, Italian chic, mod or East Village.  These terms don’t confine you to a predefined look, but rather act as a guide.

Ideally, you'll come up with your own theme; one of my favorites is “disheveled preppy.”  The name might conjure images like bed-head, mismatched argyle socks, and a crisp pink polo button-down.  But again, my style is not yours.

So what is yours? Come up with a couple ideas, two or three themes that you identify with and then head to your closet.  Pull out items that you think fall under that definition.  You'll be surprised at how many outfits you can come up with. 

​And you'll also be surprised at how multi-purpose/multi-theme many items are.  Simply by changing your belt, shoes, and a few accessories, you will almost double your choices.

Your definitions can always change, and it's really more of an evolution.  The more that you do this the more it will become second nature, and the easier it will be to come up with new themes.
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As you start to create outfits, it's always a good idea to record what you've come up with.  One of the fastest and easiest ways to do this is to stand in front of the mirror and photograph it.  (These are not Instagram, Facebook, or narcissistically indulgent selfies!) Create a digital library of your outfits.  Make a folder on your phone (mine is appropriately called "clothes") and keep track of your outfits there.

As your clothes folder grows, so will your confidence.  When you are pressed for time or simply "don't have a thing to wear," pull up your photos and you'll have instant inspiration or you can just recreate something that you've worn before.

In the end, we should all feel good about our own personal expression and live an inspired life.

Next month:  Shoofly publisher Ellis Anderson gets a fashion makeover from her own closet.

If you'd like to be considered for a free fashion makeover in a future issue or if you have fashion/style questions for Greg, write him at fashion@bslshoofly.com  

a page from Greg's sketchbook