Here's lookin' at you, kid..

Ok. I know, I know.. it has been WAY too long since I've posted.

Things have been.. well.. busy is in understatement. I picked up a second job, did costumes for our local community theater production of Les Mis, started volunteering at the farm down the way, got a beeeautiful new tattoo, did a yoga workshop and yoga-related spiritual retreat.. etc etc, you get the idea.

busy. yeah. 

But so what, right? this blog is important, so.. and.. well..

I've got a lot of swirly-universe-spiritual-innerworld type stuff simmering in me, but I think I want to save those goodies for another day and write about something a little different..

If you know me at all, you know that central to who I am is my love of fashion.  As much as I am loving this journey into the more 'inner', spirit-related stuff, I remain drawn to the world of fashion and the endless ways it expresses itself.. in fact, I said to a co-worker today.. "If everyday I can feel a little bit fancy and a little bit magic, I am so much happier." And damn if that isn't true. I think that fashion is special because it is both a need (we all, except maybe at Burning Man, clothe ourselves every day) and an art form.  Whether we recognize it or not, we all express ourselves with fashion.  And I love it because, when embraced, it can be such a crazy beautiful tool of self-expression, self-esteem, and self-empowerment. 

The thing is.. I am realizing that SO many people don't feel comfortable expressing themselves externally in some of the ways that they're deep-down really wanting to.  In fact I find that lots of folks don't even allow themselves to go there at all! Like "who me, think about fashion, no sir, not my thing, I just couldn't.." And ok. I get that it's so not the most important thing, that true beauty is inner, and I BELIEVE that, I really do (hence my recently shaved head) but still.. think about your FAVORITE outfit, and how it makes you feel.. or when you were young and you didn't mind leaving the house in a tutu and cape (incidentally, the exact outfit I wore on Halloween, and I couldn't have been happier :-) and how totally MAGIC you felt then.. ya know?? Fashion has the power to make us feel more confident, more 'ourselves', more able to take on the world.. this I also believe.  People say to me WAY too often.. "oh if only I could pull that off, you can just get away with anything.." and I'm like 'puhlease!! I only pull this stuff off because I act like I pull it off..'  Confidence is very convincing. And sometimes I don't even feel confident, I might secretly feel like a tutu-wearing weirdo, but I act bold until I actually feel bold, and this seems to work just fine. And creativity in fashion is so much fun that it's totally worth feeling like a secret weirdo from time to time! So I say.. BE BOLD!! BE DARING!! TAKE RISKS!! EXPRESS YOURSELF!!  Does it make you feel indulgent? What about a little bit magic? Too fancy? Overdressed? A bit silly? Whimsical? It's ok! I give you permission to be as silly/fancy/beautiful/magic/classy as you dare to be!

So.. 

Every now and then a friend or acquaintance asks me if I'll help them update their wardrobe, style things up a bit. Though I LOVE when folks around me begin having a little more fun with fashion, taking a few more risks, I find dressing someone else a little overwhelming, as one thing I love most about fashion is that each person's taste and viewpoint is unique and amazing..  so what I often do is point them to some fashion blogs/websites that I love, and get them thinking about it themselves..

THUS. I leave you with some eye-candy. Some of my favorite fashiony sites.. some more silly than others, but all inspiring.. 

and how..

http://www.thesartorialist.com- this one is hugely well-known, classic street fashion, and maybe my favorite.

http://lookbook.nu- lookbook isn't a blog, it's more like a forum where people can post pics of themselves and their outfits. sometimes it's way too hipster and a bit blah, but other times, people are really creative and amazing :-)

http://awelltraveledwoman.tumblr.com- not a fashion blog, but she posts a lot of fashion-related stuff, and her style is a little bit classic, a touch outdoorsy and practical.. a lot what I imagine for this wee mountain town I live in.

http://the-streetstyle.tumblr.com- this one's just a great street-style blog.  i way prefer street stuff because real people are more interesting to look at than models.

http://www.wendyslookbook.com- this one i don't look at as often, she's a bit preppy for me, but still beautiful and classic :-). and she does this really great scarf tutorial here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LYAEz777AU

http://quillsandcapes.tumblr.com- my own tumblr, which is definitely not all fashion, but has lots of fashion-related things that I love..

and some just for fun blogs that i love and get ideas from..

http://www.thehollyriversshow.com

http://self-constructed-freak.blogspot.com

http://www.aghostship.blogspot.com

http://daintysquid.blogspot.com

http://www.thestylerookie.com- tavi's blog isn't nearly as fun as it used to be (she's started a magazine and mostly blogs about that now) but she's this really well-known young savant fashion blogger who basically got me in to fashion blogs, and her older posts are pretty amazing and fun to look through..

and so, so many more, but this is a good beginning..

Have fun. Start small.. some crazy socks, a hat, a bit of funky jewelry.. and see how good it makes you feel :-)

Life is short! Dress bold!

x

Chris

(This post is dedicated to Lana, who was persistent in getting me to write again, and who also will put up a good argument against leggings as pants. Love you girl :-)

(Also, while I wrote this, I listened to Active Child's album "You Are All I See", and it is magic.)