So I wrote two weeks ago about stylish daily dressing and shopping tips I practice and preach on the regular. And it was all 100% true. I have put myself out there as a fashion blogger, stylist, fashionista, shopaholic (and the list goes on), and seem to have convinced people I have legitimacy.
My Sunday outfit of pressed Incotex linen blend shorts, pressed Acne Studios plain white tee, red canvas Ralph Lauren flip flops (not pictured), and a Nike ball cap to cover my bed head, was blissful.
I also pin like crazy, visit twenty or so online stores on a weekly basis to check new arrivals, and soak up luxury goods. You wanna talk Bottega? We can talk Valentino…
And yet, I feel like an impostor. A teenager in dad’s closet.
Upon inspection, I see three causes of this inferiority complex:
(1) For as much as I’d like to push boundaries and surprise people, I just love the basics. See my post about flip flops. It doesn’t help that we live in a place where accessories become fiddly and irritating if the humidity is high. And you can’t wear suede in a monsoon. And you sweat through everything.
(2) I hate dressing up. I will always choose comfort, and I suppose it speaks to my introversion that I would rather lounge than feel choked by a dress shirt and tie. And my experience with “slim fit” suits has been that they toe the fine line between being baggy in the wrong spots thanks to bodily curvature (like at the waist), and being awkwardly tight (across the chest).
(3) Fashion is expensive. Exhaustingly so. And if you like it enough, it ruins your financial health. I sometimes wish I didn’t care about quality or cut, because I could wear a uniform from Target and be done. Instead, I wear a uniform of higher cost and consideration, with lots of shoe, wallet, belt, and accessory choices.
I sometimes wonder if addressing item 3 by having more disposable income would in turn address item 2, since I would have more ability to commission a bespoke suit, or something close to it. Maybe someday I’ll find out.
I also ponder how steadfast I would stick to item 1, should I have more money to throw at my wardrobe. Would I buy more outrageous pieces? Probably, since fashion is supposed to be fun.
On the other hand, I find myself lusting after very expensive staples that don’t look terribly exciting from afar, but in zoomed view, show the quality of hand construction and fine details you get from brands like Isaia, Boglioli, Barena, Berluti, Brioni, and Missoni.
Christian Louboutin is to Kanye West as Tom Ford is to _______?
You get my drift.
A typical weekday look: jeans, a polo shirt, and accessories!
