Use It or Lose It

My sister Olive has been in a fashion funk for quite awhile.   She’s been so busy with work and school that she spends all of her time in sweats.  Recently she’s seriously been putting in an effort to have more of a social life.  As she should because she’s only 26.  The problem is she as lost all confidence when it comes to putting together an outfit.  She’s been calling me almost every weekend for advice.  My latest advice was this:  Keep trying.  Keep putting outfits together.  Look good for no reason.  If you don’t use it you lose it.  Yea we all know the phrase and it can take on many meanings so get your head out of the gutter.  In this case I was simply referring to style.  Everyone has their own.  Everyone is capable of looking adorable when they want to. However if looking good only happens on a rare occasion it becomes increasingly difficult to just “throw together” an outfit.  It’s like learning a language.  Sure you can take spanish for five years (yes I’m referring to myself) after which you can understand the basics and even carry on a short conversation.  Not so long after you stop practicing though you start to lose your grasp on conjugating verbs, your vocabulary dwindles and it takes much longer to translate a sentence.  Fast forward a few years, I’m lucky I can say hola.  All I’m saying is you need to practice.  That holds true for your style too.  You may have been the shit in 2001 but if you’ve been living in a tee shirt and yoga pants for the last 10 years you may have a tough time when it comes to looking halfway decent.   

Now, I’m not saying you need to act like a Kardashian and put on a full face of make up and pair of Louboutins just to go grab milk and eggs at the grocery store.  Just put a little more effort in sometimes and for no reason. Find an activity.  Perhaps you want to go shopping and treat yourself to something nice.  Maybe you want to feel super independent so take yourself to lunch/ dinner and a movie.  Yes alone.  Trust me i know it’s slightly awkward and not the norm but there’s something so liberating about this.  

Anyway Olive took my advice.  We were running errands together yesterday and she came out in a pair of dark skinny jeans, a three quarter sleeve white shirt, a beige leather jacket and her new cognac colored boots.  Yes to some it’s a basic ensemble but to someone who a few months ago would have thrown on sneakers and a hooded sweatshirt, it’s a huge improvement.  I can see her confidence building.  She looked great, she felt great, and that’s really what it’s all about.