Dressing For Your Spirit Not Your Age

On my personal style development in my 30's and while preparing for motherhood...

 
The 2 year anniversary of the little blog you're reading right now is coming up very soon. I have been thinking about how I am going to celebrate, and have been looking back at my “personal style posts”. The one that stands out the most, and also one that till this very day gets the most visits is this one I wrote before I turned 30. After publishing that post I received many comments and emails from readers who felt the exact same way I did. Many feared aging and the new “rules” that come with stepping away from those beautiful years known as your 20’s. When it comes to fashion it seems there are certain unspoken rules about how to dress at certain stages of your life. When approaching your 30th, 40th or 50th birthday its as if there is a ticking bomb reminding you that  a new set of rules now apply to you, and if you don’t comply it will all blow up in your face!

More recently I announced that I am expecting my first child in December. If I thought there were rules about how a 30 year old should dress then maternity and MOTHER appropriate style would really be a challenge for me. You see, I am NOT the right person for rules. I don’t like being told what to do. I don’t like feeling like I have an obligation to make other people happy just for the sake of social norms and practices. When it comes to what I put on my body every day, hell no don't get me started. I’m the biggest supporter of the notion that any fashion rule is meant to be broken. Never mind the fact that judging people based on what they are wearing is lame. Also, do I  really need to remind everyone that fashion should be fun? 

So, now that the months have whittled down to weeks until D-day I have been looking back on the development of my personal style, during my pregnancy and during my 30’s. Heck even during my 20’s (scary shit). If you’re interested in seeing some of the outfits I have cooked up while cooking this bun in my oven then head over to THIS post. But let me tell you, there is a severe lack of “maternity” clothing, and no hiding under tent-like tops.

This past decade and a bit, as I lived on two different continents, went from single to married and now mom-to-be  I tried on A LOT of different trends and fads. Such as, thigh high boots, fedora's, neon accessories, and the Canadian tuxedo. My biggest revelation was how I possibly survived 30 years without wearing double or triple layers of denim, the Canadian tuxedo is my favorite trend and my now go-to outfit. 

I thank my 30 year old self for the courage to try out that trend, something I wouldn’t have done in my teens or early 20’s.  I also learned that embracing these little  discoveries plus not worrying about what others thought about what I was wearing = the development of my own personal style. Ahhh the illusive personal style. I worked over the past year to really cultivate that, not cause I wanted to be cool (cause really, how cool is it to be known for your own personal style?) but because I knew that is the only way you should be living. Comfortably in your own skin, wearing whatever the heck you want, and not giving a poop about what others may think.

My own personal style includes: little to no makeup but a bright, bold lipstick, short hair, in my natural God given color, bright colored and patterned clothing, avoid pink at all costs, nail art is a life’s necessity, no pair of heels should surpass 4.5 inches, and socks are never a good idea. This is my formula for dressing every morning, every time I have an event or enjoy a dinner out with friends or my husband, and even for work.  

On my quest to develop my own personal style I have decided to dress according to my spirit rather than my age.  Ultimately my big revelation these past two years has been that life is short. Life is in fact much too short to dwell on small angers, live with hate in your heart, wish you had done something, or hadn't done something. So in my own cheesy way I want to close with my advice to speak your mind, buy the shoes, and then buy another pair, wear something "obnoxious" once in awhile. Say I'm sorry, reach out to someone you miss, and while you're doing all that wear whatever the F you want no matter your age! I'm pretty sure that's what Karl was saying when he staged a "fashion" protest at his latest runway show this past September.

So tell me, what have you learned about your own personal style and about yourself as you hit 30, had your first child or even just turned another year old in your 20’s?