Taylor’d wi Style
A Personal Preference By JeanAnn Taylor If you have been following me for a few years, you know I like to write about personal style in January. It’s the perfect time to reflect on your life—the past year’s accomplishments and your New Year’s dreams and aspirations. You may also know that your signature style is directly related to your success. Your question may be, How do I determine what my style is? Your individual style is influenced by your age, body type, and lifestyle. It includes your clothing, personal hygiene, mannerisms, and even your home decor. Your “style” is “your” style, not what is “in fashion.” To begin, have faith that you do in fact have “style.” We all do. If you usually wear silk dresses with heels, your style may be classy or formal. If you choose to wear torn jeans and t-shirts every day, a casual or lackadaisical look is your style. If you wear mismatched clothing and gaudy accessories, your style may be kitschy. Your clothing tells the world who you are and what is important to you without saying a single word. Our style evolves as we mature but we typically stay true to our core personality traits throughout our lives. I am ultra-feminine and always have been. As a young child, I remember crying to my mother, begging her to let me wear dresses even when it was more appropriate to wear pants. That’s not to say that I don’t or can’t wear anything other than a pink ruffly flower print dress. We all have one strong characteristic with elements of other traits mixed in. I can rock a pair of blue jeans and flannel shirt. The twist for me is that the shirt is usually pink plaid with a touch of lace. Most of the time, I stay true to my core characteristic because that is where I feel the most comfortable and confident. Page 12
Personal style is important because it influences how you perceive yourself. We can all relate to times when we felt as if we could conquer the world and times we wanted to crawl back into bed. I can almost certainly say that what you were wearing had an impact on your state of mind. To know and embrace your unique style means you can be fearless, confident, secure, and content every day. Some women try too hard to be fashionable, resulting in appearing artificial or pretentious. Dressing just to be trendy or fashionable lacks essence. Style icons are perfect examples of women who are completely confident in who they are and how they present themselves to the world. They are not icons because they wear the fashions of the day. They are icons because they wear clothing that truly expresses the essence of their personality. Jaqueline Kennedy was not the only woman in the 1960s who wore pill box hats and boxy Channel suits. However, she is remembered for wearing them because she wore them with such poise and ease. Grace Kelly was elegant and feminine. She created her harmonious look with swing coats, pearls, and ladylike dresses. While Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s is credited for catapulting The Little Black Dress into indelible fame, her personal style of cropped pants and ballet flats fully expressed her true minimalist nature. Many of today’s “icons” simply dress for shock value and publicity. Rihanna’s completely see-through dress and Lady Gaga’s raw meat “dress” say more 50 + Living | January 2019
