Stylish

I love the changing of seasons, the promise of possibilities and swapping out the wardrobe!

“Finally, summer is over. I can start working on my sweater body”

I’m lucky enough to live in a place that welcomes the seasons with not so subtle temperature changes. The brisk morning air had me pulling out the boots this morning and while my mother would gasp at the fact that I’m wearing white after Labor Day I paired it with a grey sweater so I feel comfortable walking the line between a fashion faux pas and “stylish”.

I believe being stylish is wearing clothes that suit your age and body. We all have that one friend that when we see her we think.. hmm she’s got it together. For me it’s Holly. She has incredible fashion sense and I think it’s because she doesn’t pretend to be someone she’s not. She’s not 20, she’s not petite, she’s not single on the prowl.. She is a beautiful woman, with adult children and a powerful, inspiring career and she dresses the part.

One of my favorite shopping sites is Dress Barn. Hate the name, but love the clothes. They always fit my not so perfect body. With sizes 4-24 I can always find just what I was looking for even if I didn’t know I was looking for something.

Do you think about your outfit ahead of time or are you a spur of the moment grab and go kinda dresser? I’m a planner. I usually spend the first few weeks of a new season looking through the pages of InStyle magazine or Vogue sure they are way over the top but I look for patterns, hem length, and of course shoe style to get inspired for the new season. There is always a color that will dominate the pages of these popular magazines so when I’m shopping I’ll be on the look out for pieces in that color that I can incorporate into my wardrobe, making my outfit a bit more stylish and updated. Then I move on to search Fall Fashion and you will have hours of pinning ahead of you with great new looks that you can mimic. Some of my favorite pinners to follow are Stitch Fix and Fashion over 40

My sister hates to shop, always has. I don’t understand this at all because shopping is on my top 10 favorite things to do list. But for her she’d rather spend her time doing just about anything else. However her corporate job requires her to look the part. I recommended StitchFix.com for her. It’s a personal shopping service. You set up an account, add sizes and your fashion needs and they will mail you items. Love it, keep it or send it back. Her only complaint about the service is the time it takes to set it up so that she actually gets what she needs. But hey at least it keeps her out of the stores. But her favorite option is calling me and we bring up another of my favorite online shops Cabi

I got hooked on Cabi about 4 years ago. My friend Tiffany held a party at her home where Jana Barr a Cabi stylist helped us shop for the perfect look. For me it was a real struggle to spend the money, I’m a very thrifty shopper, if it’s not on sale I don’t buy it. But the fit … oh the fit was so amazing that I splurged and bought a pair of pants. Over the next 6 months I wore those pants everywhere. They were so versital and came out of the dryer looking perfect every time. When I got my invitation to view the fall line later that year I played with my budget and allowed myself one more piece and that is how it continues today. Now I visit the site and mark all my favorites putting them on my wish list, ya know just in case I win the lottery. I then send a list of must haves to my sister and she calls her Cabi stylist and kicks starts her season with key pieces.

When my youngest daughter started planning her September wedding I knew I wanted to wear a fabulous hat. She was totally against it at first but I used my power of motherly persuasion on her and in the end I won and rocked the perfect hat, at the ceremony, that I found on Amazon . It was quite a stylish look if I do say so myself.

I want to look smart. I want to be taken seriously. I want to be comfortable. While fulfilling the last can be done easily with a pair of yoga pants and a comfy t-shirt I will not earn the others this way. So I shop and I shop and sometimes I score big.

The key here is confidence. No mater what you choose to wear, if you do it with confidence you’ll look stylish. Share with me… what is your definition of ‘stylish’