I don't have to see the whole outfit to know I would buy this outfit in 5 seconds flat. I can tell by the distinctive sheen that this is white cotton at its most luxurious. It reminds me of my bed sheets, so perfect and white that every night when I get into bed I say to my husband "I love my bed, do you love our bed?" I will spare you his response which quickly veers from the subject of sheet quality to a more adolescent male response and we have the chuckle that qualifies a very long marriage. For me, there is a sense as I slide between our cotton sheets yes, we iron them that the day is ending blissfully, I am cocooned between crisp layers of white cotton and soft layers of goose feathers. Not a bad way to end the day. In other words, I want to wear what will make me feel the way I do each night when I tuck myself into my wonderful bed. Not a bad way to dress.
All this white and ivory got me to thinking how I love white, ivory and shades of taupe or greige, especially during the hot summer months. But you wouldn't know this by looking in my purged closet which I am finding dreadfully boring at the moment perhaps I over-purged. I look at my clothes and think to myself "these clothes are not me at all". It can be interesting how long it takes to see your personal style emerge. It is only recently that I have gained a sense of what I am most comfortable wearing. And that is the distinction right there..........what suits me. My body, my life, my taste. As it is now.
My style is much simpler than I would have guessed even a few short years ago. Over the years as I shopped and filled my closet, I don't think it was with any particular style or thought in mind. Always rushed, always impressed by the latest find on the rack, I was more focused on the item, the fashionable whim of the moment than how it would fit into my undefined personal style. So what has changed? Why at 57 years. old am I thinking about personal style for heavens sake?
Because I have changed. Because I recognize that my eye rests on simplicity and fabric structure in fashion more often than it does on bling and boastful fashion. Because I wear the same items in my closet over and over again ruled by comfort. Not necessarily the comfort that comes with loose fit and easy maintenance but the comfort that comes with giving way towards what feels right, looks right, without giving up style that effortless look. Realizing that I am far simpler in my style taste than I thought. More willing to edit my purchases. Spend time to think it through. Looking to be smarter about how I spend my fashion dollars. Funny how that happens.
So, my question is this. Is it too late to change a personal style and re-invent yourself later in life?
Do you know your personal style?
Photos via Pinterest
Excellent post, I think personal style is a journey and let's just say that there are some trips I like better. The images you have posted are all stunning and easy to love. I love white cottons and natural materials.
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molto belo il tuo blog o dato un occhiata e mi piace fiori ,fiochi fotto dettagli perfetti ,io un po in ultimo tempo sono appassionata di foto ,fiochi e dettagli tutto che a me piace e qui sei grande ti seguo volentieri lili buona domenica
ReplyDeleteIt's never too late, and i think we do it naturally at stages when we need to. am a bit older than you, but i find a new comfort with clothing is evolving. i dress more simply and look for fewer, nicer pieces. i think it's just another stage. enjoyed this post.
ReplyDeleteGirlfriend - it is NEVER too late to re-invent yourself! I find that my style is ever-evolving, and the older I get, the simpler, more classic I find myself leaning towards. We are forever growing, and that speaks on all levels of our selves - style included! I was just talking to my husband last evening about how much clothes matter to me, because my day truly is impacted by how I feel in what I am wearing - wonderful fabrics with a great cut for "my" body do wonders for my disposition~
ReplyDeleteHave a marvelous weekend,
xx
I love this post! I think that we don't change our personal style as much as we grow into our own style. Like you beautifully said here, it's trusting our on sense style, really, knowing ourselves and what works for us - not just what others are doing or what is current. Only from trusting ourselves can we have our own style.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I also love this line:
"the chuckle that qualifies a very long marriage"
It's beautiful, and speaks to goodness of who love grows.
Hello Sande,
ReplyDeleteI love your photos! Your post really touched a chord. To re-invent, live simply, organize life! It is something I have been working on without actually verbalizing it. Thank you for the inspiration.
~olga
http://olgaduron.blogspot.com/
No, it's not too late and I wish I knew my own personal style . . .
ReplyDeleteI love this post Sande. The white cotton and linens are a beautiful look for summer, and a great way to kick off reinvention.
ReplyDeleteI do know my personal style. I know what I love, and I have always taken much pride in what I wear. But truthfully, since having children things have gotten a little lost. It's been a few years now where I have been just buying things I like, but not really building a style.. There is a difference.
Reinvention is part of the process. As we move through life, and feel and think differently, we want our appearance to reflect that. The outfits you have chosen really speak to woman who is comfortable in her skin. Clean and Natural beauty, the best kind.
Great post for a Sunday morning ..
It's not even close to too late:). Even those of us who have been cursed with a very strong opinion of what we want to wear, from early days, still remake ourselves over and over again. You are 57, I am 54. I am semi-retired, and in corporate wear rehab:). Heck, there's a whole squad of us midlife bloggers who focus on style. So you are among friends.
ReplyDeleteLooking at your images, I have to ask. Do you read Tomboy Style? She has a great love of this clean and classic look. Or Janet, at A Gardener's Cottage? Or, you know, me at Privilege:)?
I wish you great fun in this project!
It's never too late to change anything...the important thing is to have personal style and that is what you have a million times over Sande....xv
ReplyDeleteI am quite classic but in my mind I would love to be an eccentric, maybe soon?
ReplyDeleteNow you have me wondering what kind of sheets you have... brand and style. I have worn my 2 sets of 9-year-old Pratesi sheets to the point they ripped like tissue paper the other day. My Dear Husband is wont to spend the money to replace them with more luxury sheets. But in the end, your description of how you feel slipping into your bed expressed my feelings so well. I will have Dear H read your post (about the sheets anyway) and I am going out on Tuesday to replace them with something just as lovely. What are your favorite sheets?
ReplyDeleteI think you can change your style a million times in your lifetime. The catch is -- you either have style or not. So if you have it, you have no matter if you wear suits or if you wear jeans. So, go ahead -- change your style. You have it, so why not flaunt it!!
ReplyDeleteSande, well first let me say that I love the feeling you're describing about bed linens. No one understands my passion for precious white cotton...and now I know you do. On style: you have it in spades, my friend. Intelligent people are always evolving, changing in subtle ways. Apparel is the easiest thing to change. Bravo to you for recognizing you don't "need" to do the same things you used to do. And, I love those colors & fabrics for summer too. xx's
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lisa and Vicki - it is never to late to change your style, to reinvent it or yourself!! You so clearly have style that I'm sure extends to your wardrobe as well!!
ReplyDeleteOh great post Sande...no it's never to late to change.
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of your bed!
xoxoxo
Sande, I am your age---and after I had my three boys, I used a personal shopper from one store for everything. The store's management changed, she moved on and now I'm lost! The sad thing is, I was always complimented on "my style"---but I was a fraud, a victim of over-dependence on a personal shopper.
ReplyDeleteA person can change their style at any point. Take me, for instance, I recently had a breast reduction which allows me to try styles that I've never been able to accomplish before. Nothing used to fit me and now I feel like a whole new person!
ReplyDeleteKat
Fabulous post! I definitely have changed, matured as far as style. Some of my own get-ups crack me up! I'm much more attracted to simple and smart at this stage in my life.
ReplyDeleteThat cotton is luscious...but that scarf is absolutely perfect. It is all about fabrics to me...not a lot of print but letting the quality of the weaves tell the tale!
ReplyDeleteSande, I don't look at it as reinventing because that makes it sound as if you are trying to be something totally different. I look at as becoming the best YOU you can be and I think that takes time and maturity and at our age I think we can claim what ever style we are comfortable with. afterall what are we waiting for. I say go for what you love and feel good in, no matter if it is on trend or not. I am a preppy kind of gal and you will see checks and stripes in my closet. I still am not sure how many white pants is too many or how many striped shirts will make me seem a bit obsessed, but I do wear what I love. I like to pump it up with fun pieces, but the base is like a well decorated room, If you have good base pieces you can add new pillows or lamps and give it a whole new look. It sounds to me like your wardrobe base is perfection!! Kathysue
ReplyDeleteDear Sande,
ReplyDeleteSo so fresh! This is always my most favorite combo no matter what season it is it works for me:) I could swim in white cotton & linen~~
XO
Simply gorgeous. Style is ever evolving or so I've been told & pray so because mine has evolved as well & as I've aged (mind you, like a fine wine ;), cleaner, simple lines have become more divine. I'd wear any of the wonders you shared. Less is more unless its quality, then theres never enough.
ReplyDeleteI loved this post Sande and enjoyed reading all the comments as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, NEVER too late to change your style- you OWN it! Drape yourself into a toga with those sheets if you want to!
I'll leave it at that because this is a subject that I could really go to town on and it's past midnight here. Which means I've already broken my new rule of no computer after 11 pm. I guess I just love to live dangerously :)
xx
SP
Love your post Sande and NO it is never too late to re-invent yourself. Bravo
ReplyDeleteJo xx
Eliza Interiors & Design
Ahh, white linen -- it may not be the royal fabric but it should be. I love when it wrinkles!
ReplyDeleteWhite linen. It oozes summer, the beach, gin and tonic and pure relaxation.
ReplyDeleteYou've nailed it!
ReplyDeleteStyle transcends fashion. It's a highly personal expression of self, recognizable in its consistency, ageless yet evolving as it matures.
Great personal style - like yours - clarifys over time as it more directly reflects focus and choice based on character, intelligence, and values.
Love those photos and no, it's never too late. Simple, comfortable (not track-suit-comfortable mind it) and understated is always elegant and beautiful. Have a great week xo
ReplyDeletenever too late ... life should be about change and reinvention and movement and evolution ... well done you :) le xox
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not too late - especially for one of the most stylish bloggers I know!
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog via Slim Paley and I must admit it does provide some beautiful eye candy. Would love to have you check out my blog as well and tell me what you think. I look forward to receiving daily updates from you.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I hought I posted. I didn't but I will. I loved your message today. It is so true - it is never too late to reinvent. On my vacation I have moved into a bohemiem style. I love it and it's fun, I am not sure if it stick but for now it works.
ReplyDeleteX
Comfort, comfort, comfort. That's really all I want now. And simplicity. For me it's paring down as I get older. I want a closet full of fabulous white shirts, some ballet flats, and a stack of black tees. I care less and less about fashion. The classics work...and I don't have to think about it so much. Leaves time to ponder the important stuff. Oh, and I iron my sheets, too. I know exactly what you mean.
ReplyDeleteRE: Ice Cream. My husband talked me out of buying an ice cream machine because he knew I'd go nuts with it. I have a million recipes I'm dying to try!
Catherine xx
Sande,
ReplyDeleteWonderful thoughts! never too late, I think with age we refine and our taste evolves into that level of comfortable confidence, and casual elegance.
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Hello Sande,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures! Oh, linen is my favorite — especially for Summer... I am entirely partial to the relaxed nature of it. Luxe yet natural. Perfection...
I think we may always evolve and change and define our eyes for what we like, and what reflects who we are... perhaps there are always a few things that have stuck with us throughout the years? For me, it's always been a foundation of femininity and pretty things...
Hope you are having a fabulous week!
xx, Sarah
Well, Madonna, they say, made her career of reinventing herself! What we wear says a lot about who we are at different stages, so yes, I think we are constantly evolving ...we wear/make our clothes and then our clothes wear/make us?
ReplyDeleteHmmm . . . I have been viewing my closet as of late, and as I decide what to wear for the day, wondering what was I thinking when I bought these clothes? My closet is crammed and I wear much of the same things repeatedly. I have a style but my body has changed along with my birthdays and I feel the need to refresh my image. A makeover next week with a friend and a positive outlook. I don't want to be the person forever needing to hold onto my youth, I want to be elegant and lovely for my age. At 58 I sometimes feel more limited and often leave the shop's fitting rooms empty handed. So, I have begun to focus on women that I admire. Perhaps a more simple and classic line with interesting accessories and focus on femininity. If I don't love it on me, I don't buy it anymore.
ReplyDeleteA great post today. I love my bed too. I buy the best sheets I can afford and smile each time I get into bed. Well, honestly though, my honey in bed with me, makes me smile too, not just the sheets.
Sande, I think you are never to old to change your style they say are lives go in 7 year cycles so I'm sure in seven years time we will be doing it all again :))) Loved your pictures I love the colours & style LOVE IT!! :))
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