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I've spent the last two weeks glued to my iPhone looking at photos from New York and London Fashion Week. I've seen some beautiful pieces -- architectural day dresses and fanciful pants suits and red carpet-ready evening gowns -- but very few of them are things I can imagine adding to my own closet. Some of this has to do with the theatrical staging of Fashion Week; we're not meant to look at a runway show and imagine ourselves going to the work or school or the grocery in these clothes.
Fashion shoots for catalogues and magazines are carefully styled; pieces are pinned and clipped to fit the model (who is always thinner and taller than the average woman). So that sheath dress, the one that looks sleek and fitted on the website, turns out to be shapeless in person. The pants that look sleek and slim in the catalogue are so tight that you can't bend your knees. Even when you do your research, the real fit of clothing can be frustrating.
Rather than looking to the fashion industry to shape what we wear and how we wear it, we need to look more carefully at real women. One step is to create an inspiration board; this can help you to identify the look you like. A second step is to find a style icon, a woman whose look you admire, and study how she gets that look.
How do you choose a style icon? Start by looking for a woman whose body type is similar to yours. Study what she wears and how she wears it. Look at fit and proportion. Look for women who are managing the things that you find difficult about your own body: big hips, a flat chest, short legs -- there is a beautifully dressed woman out there with the same body type you have, I promise.
Celebrities make excellent fashion icons, because they come in a range of ages and sizes and shapes (unlike the models in magazines, who tend to be young and tall and thin). Celebrities also make a living being photographed, which means that you have access to a nice range of looks for your inspiration board.
You can also look to friends for inspiration, but be cautious of this. You may think that you admire your sister-in-law's style, but there may be more to it than that; you may really admire her self-confidence or her organizational skills or her ability to spend an entire day with your mother without losing her mind. And while style and personality are closely entwined, you're not shopping for a new personality; you're just looking for style inspiration.
Who is my style icon? I admire Jackie Kennedy's clean, Preppie look; I am drawn to that wardrobe of day dresses and slim cashmere sweaters and tailored pants. Mrs. Kennedy's clothing was practical and comfortable and yet still elegant and chic. She made dresses work for nearly every event, no matter how casual; in our all-yoga-pants-all-the-time culture, I am inspired by that.
I'm not trying to recreate Mrs. Kennedy's era-specific look, but she is a touchstone for me when I create outfits. Her attention to detail, and the impeccable tailoring of her clothes, no matter how casual, appeal to me. Mrs. Kennedy's look was always thoughtful and crisp, no mater how dressed down she was. I will admit that I don't always look that thoughtful, but having that idea in front of me gives me a way to think about how to mix and match my very tightly edited closet and create a look that is distinct and consistent -- and one that works for me.
Need more inspiration? Second City Style looks at how Jackie Kennedy's style influenced Michelle Obama. If you're looking to Mrs. Obama as a fashion icon, bookmark the Mrs. O blog for all the details of who and what the First Lady is wearing. Don't want to make a celebrity mistake? The girls at Go Fug Yourself will steer you clear of bad fashion choices. And they'll make you laugh until you cry.
Your turn: Do you have a style icon? Who do you look to for inspiration? Or are you winging it on your own?
