We Never Go Out Of Style

The older you get, the more you realize you need a handful of good, close, tight friends. It’s hard to tell you who has your back from who has it long enough just to stab you in it. You see, true friends are like diamonds – bright, beautiful, valuable, and always in style.

 When I started out this blog, one thing that I made sure of was that it was to focus mainly on style. I have said it countless times in interviews and magazine features... but it never actually became as clear to me as it is now. Yves Saint Laurent once said, "Fashion changes, style is eternal." Rachel Zoe once said, "Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak." Anna Wintour was quoted saying, "Create your own style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others." Diane Von Furstenburg said, "Style is something each of us already has. All we have to do is find it." Even Ralph Lauren had a few words to say about style: "Style is very personal. It has nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is over quickly. Style is forever." Everywhere I turn, it seemed, a lot of the fashion industry's big leagues and well-known personalities had something to say about style that I could probably make a book containing my favorite all time quotes and anecdotes of various people regarding "STYLE." 

PS: Scroll down for my funny rendition of Style as it makes its debut... haha! 
(Self deprecation at its finest!)

Now a common question I also get during interviews and fashion features is on how to define my personal style... Back then, I thought it was all about fashion and shopping and clothes so I would usually reply with something along the lines of, "I can't quote define my personal style into one category or type. I am very bipolar, I can wear a studded leather rock star ensemble one day and then a feminine pastel tulle tutu the next day without having to think about it." Of course, that was then and this is now and having spent a couple of years situated front and center of the industry and learning a few life lessons in and away from it, I must say I have a very different perception of style. See, I always associated the word "style" to fashion which was, to be honest, quite silly as it encompasses that and is actually a whole lot more than just that and while people ask me what I do for a living and I would respond that "I am actually Executive Director of an Educational Foundation..." which of course always seems to make everyone pleased to hear that I am such... (I don't know why...) then I add, "Oh... and I'm a part-time fashion and lifestyle blogger." Their gasp of shock over the incongruous paradox that is my life is something I expect and so far, I've had a 99% chance of predicting the blank stares followed by the question, "Oh, so how did you get into that?" as if to save me from humiliation over their very obvious state of shock. I don't really mind it. I have this thing with doing things that I want to do just because I want to and totally ditching those that I don't want to do. I find that it's a damned if you do and a damned if you don't kind of world so I might as well go along with it laughing and strutting in my 6-inch heels. Despite my paragraphs of random musings, ramblings and having an opinion or a reflection or realization or a commentary on practically everything in the world... allow me to remind you, in case you forgot because I've talked too much to the point of no memory, that THIS IS STILL A STYLE BLOG. Seriously.

I Know Places We Can Hide

There are some places in life where you can only go alone. Some steps that need to be taken alone. It’s the only way to really figure out where you need to go and who you need to be.  Embrace the beauty of your solo journey.

As much as I love my job with so much zeal and passion, I have to admit that I can't do it 24/7 and that being human and all... I also need to take a break. I've always lived with that mindset that when I start something, I need to finish it so I tend to fixate on things which makes me anxious and very neurotic. I am one of those people who sometimes forget to take a break until I burn out. Thankfully, I was able to find a way to have that much sought after work-life balance and I don't feel guilty or like a slacker when I take breaks. More so, the activities I engage in are more wholesome and enriching and I am happy to have matured...finally. I look back at my past self and can't believe that huge disparity between the person I used to be and the activities I used to do and the person that I am now and the activities I make time for. I've learned to prioritize, to keep a level head and to know there is a great big world out there. This necessary awakening was a result of taking much needed time off boys and dating. I guess I have to thank my ex-boyfriends and my break-ups for giving me the chance to be alone so I can grow on my own... and so far, I like the person that I am. I am more calm and stable. I am no longer impulsive and I've managed to understand the concept of applying myself despite a few setbacks I have. At some point, I also stopped feeling sorry for myself and actually carried on and did something with my life. I figured out what I want to be and where I belong and this level of transcendence and self-actualization would not have been in any way possible had I stayed in a relationship because I learned to stop defining my happiness and myself with the person I was with. Now I can say that the source of my happiness and contentment comes from myself and my advocacy. Suffice to say, I learned to depend on myself and I think I needed that a lot. I wouldn't be able to do all these things and realize all these unless I was all by myself. It's a funny thing when people say that when "God closes a door, he opens a window," because after spending sufficient time reflecting, I think the more appropriate thing to say is that when "God closes a door and shuts the window... it's because He is building an entirely new and better house for yourself..." And isn't that just a lovely thought?

Oh baby, you're a classic like a little black dress

I always believed in the little black dress as a classic piece and staple in every girl's wardrobe. I can not stress that enough. Every girl needs to have one or two or three black dresses. The thing about the little black dress is that it is appropriate for every occasion...it all depends on how you style it and it is the single most appropriate and versatile thing anyone owns. It dates back from ages ago but the most iconic moment it was brought to life was when Audrey Hepburn made it is "the dress" from her movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. I watched it when I was 11 years ago and from then on, I learned and how I capitalized on it is probably one of the proudest things I have done in my blogging career out of it. The ways I have been able to wear the LBD from ten ways to Sunday established me, back when I started in 2007. The Little Black Dress, and trust me on it, is everything.