Fashion versus style

I love clothes. And shoes. And jewels. And scarves. I like the way I feel when I get dressed up. Naturally, there are times when I slap on a pair of jeans and a tee but I like being dressed well so I tend to put a little effort into my appearance if I am exiting the house. 

After having had so many restrictions on my wardrobe for such a long time I went a little off kilter a couple of years ago. I am settling in to my style now. I am comfortable in what I wear and how I wear it. As such, I care not a bit when the guys at work give me crap about my attire. I truly like my clothes and, as such, their insults are like water off a duck's back. 

I have been thinking a great deal recently about how I have themes within my wardrobe. Naturally my work wardrobe contains attire suitable for the workplace and most items I would never choose to wear outside of the office. I still try to look good even though I am just sitting at my desk ninety percent of the day. 

I am no fashionista. I would never be able to blindly follow trends (e.g. Leggings are not outerwear). I pick and choose clothes based on what I like. I am not loyal to a specific brand or franchise. I am selective in what I spend my hard earned on and very rarely buy anything full price. I have the luxury of time so I only buy things when they are on sale. 

I'm so fussy that many of the things I would like in my wardrobe are not in stores. So, I keep a list of what I want and remove items from the list as I find them. For example, I had a yellow dress on my list for six years before I found one of the right shade and style. 

I am fussy and I will not apologise for it. Like all the important things in life, I would rather go without than have something substandard. 

I have started to step out of my comfort zone a little with clothing. Buying items I would have previously shied away from for fear of looking like a dick because I am not getting any younger and I don't want to have any more regrets than I already do. So, I own daisy dukes and skinny jeans. I have white jeans and daring red heels. I am happy that I am building in confidence to be able to wear what I want to. I feel liberated. I feel free. 

I know that my clothes are an outward expression of what's going on inside. If I have a couple of days in a row where I put little effort into my appearance I know that something is amiss and I need to turn to inward reflection to sort that shit out. Like sancing, it is one of my litmus tests that I use to determine my background level of happiness.