Grocery Glam

SJP Tartt Shoe, Grey Denim & A KeVita Water

If I had a dime for every time I was asked "Where are you going"? because of the way I dress. Certain ladies in my circle experience the same thing in our sleepy coastal town. The truth is we are going to the grocery store, the bank, school drop/pick up, the dentist, the post office .... Living our lives really. I am of the personal belief that there need not be a "special occasion" to dress the way you want. Isn't LIFE a special occasion when you are here and have the freedom to live it? 

The geographical location in which this question is continually posed is coastal. The vast majority who inhabit this magical place wear what is dubbed "Central Coast Casual" which translates literally to trucker caps, puffy vests, flip flops and yoga pants. Sometimes all at once with a plaid flannel shirt or graphic tee, some worn a piece at a time. Swap out the flip flop for a to the knee boot in a neutral and you are good to go for evening here.. don't even get me started. If they are dressing authentically to express who they really are then BRAVA! I can fully support dressing from an authentic place. If they are dressing this way due to provincial pressures, trends or what I call "the herd mentality" they get the thumbs down from me. I also wear Yoga pants ... to YOGA! If you see me in them I can guarantee I am on route or coming from a legitimate yoga class.

 Recently, I've seen an influx of stretch jersey printed garments that are the trend dujour is from a company called LuLaRoe, a networked based marketing clothing company that has taken the Central Coast by storm. By storm I mean a sea of identical stretch jersey silhouettes in various colored prints. At drop off time I sometimes amuse myself by counting how many mom's are wearing a different variation of the SAME legging, tunic or dress. Again, if it is authentic and each person is expressing who they are then I can applaud them. I'm taking a wild guess that this too is provincial pressure. I have a client who has recently turned her back to her closet full of this stretchy, printed confections in exchange for dressing authentically and going with her gut instincts. I'll feature her story in a future post.

Anyway, when I go grocery shopping in a Vintage printed dress (from my eBoutique Evolution Vintage) and SJP Collection TARTT Shoe for example, I get the question .. Where are you going?

Instead of collecting my dime I felt compelled to share an image of myself grocery shopping with the caption ' I grocery shop like this bitch'  on Instagram I also wear sequins, or whatever strikes me. I am an emotional dresser and style from a place of authenticity, not trends.

I had the pleasure of speaking to The New York Post recently and chatted about the SJP TARTT being my favorite day shoe. She sparkled and shines in the natural light so brilliantly. The stand out quite from the piece was talking about how I grocery shop in them! 

My lessons for the day ladies: 

1) Don't reserve sparkle for evening.

2) Wear what you want, Where you want, When you want.

The End.

My friend Sydney, Vintage Style Maven wearing

A Vintage wide leg jumpsuit from Evolution Vintage

while shopping at Costco, why?

because she can.

Dress To Express

Looking inward is SO important, in fact it is the foundation of your existence really. It is a practice that we should all do a lot more. There is just so much outside noise that distracts us. To live an externally motivated life is to rob yourself of who YOU are and what authentically motivates you. We cannot anticipate the reaction from the outside world to who we are internally so I think this may be why so many people never really try.

Buy this brand 

Wear this label

Follow the trends (or the herd)

Many of us are to easily accepting of marketing, branding, and exterior pressures to be "something" or "someone". What if we looked to the exterior ONLY to express what is on the inside. I use fashion in this way. Many would have a chuckle or a nice eye roll when I say that Fashion to me is another language. I use clothing and styling to express who I am and how I am feeling in the moment.

On a daily basis I dress to express. It is literally an outward manifestation of who I authentically am on the inside. I don't care about labels, prices, trends or eras. I wear what I like and only what I am instinctually drawn too. When asked to describe my style in one word: Authentic.

What I Wore - (left): Promesa Harem Pant Jumpsuit (Thrifted Stretch Belt - no label)

SJP Collection FAWN in Yellow (Ochre) Satin - Bloomingdales Zappos Couture

Evolution Vintage Burnout Tee in White

My Cousin (pictured R)

Black CACHE Jumpsuit

Evolution Vintage 70's Black Hat

BCBG Metallic Cut Out Heels.

When is the last time you purchased something that you authentically loved or were naturally drawn too and DIDN'T make an excuse about not having somewhere to wear it? or it being too expensive? or any other issue?

Many of the outward roadblocks in style and in life we create for ourselves. Trust me, no one gives a shit really what you are doing, even though many of us perceive that they do. Toady's assignment, head to your closet's and whatever you instinctually FEEL like wearing, or strikes you as beautiful put it on. Wear it in the house, go to the grocery store, out to dinner or vacuum in it, who cares. There is NO excuse not to DRESS TO EXPRESS... 

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