MEN'S FASHION
Finding Your Style BY MATTHEW BANEVER
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ccept. Change. Leave. These three words can be powerful when applied to one’s life. Life is full of turbulent times and these three words can help guide us through life's most challenging storms. No need to check the section at the top of the page; yes, you are reading a Style column and not a Self-Growth piece. Finding one’s style can be daunting - I work in fashion and I will be the first to admit it. But a running theme in my columns is to be the voice you’ve always needed to hear. Finding clothing that fits is annoying; trying clothing on is frustrating; envisioning an amazing outfit in your head only to put it on and see Potato Head staring back at you is... well... just deflating. But here is the piece you have always known and just need to hear again, out loud: you just have to do it. You have to go to a few stores and try things on. If you do this once, and I mean give it an honest one- or two-day no holds barred try, the rewards will be everlasting. Excuses you need to throw away: “well, I’m just not that stylish,” or “you can wear that, I can’t.” Have you ever heard someone say (or said yourself), “I’m just so bad with names.” No. NO you are not. Be honest, you’re not trying to remember their name. You’re probably focused on a million other things during that interaction. This wake-up call also applies to style. Style is not the same as fashion. Style is wearing clothing that fits and makes you comfortable. Fashion is pushing boundaries with colors and patterns. Go to West Hartford Center, or any shopping destination (I prefer the Center because of the personal attention the stores give me) and just tell them what you like, what you don’t
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30 Vol. 11, No. 2, 2021 west hartford magazine
