Fall 2011 Inspiration Board

While I still maintain that your early 20s are profoundly full of insecurities because you're going through a lot of huge life transitions, they are nothing compared to the teenager years. You're slowly influenced less by other people and focus more on what you actually like. And the more you focus on things that you actually like, the happier you become.

Finally, after years of wearing things that didn't really suit me just because they were trendy, I've kind of accepted my style. It honestly hasn't really changed since I was in middle school, it's just become more refined, I suppose. I'm more confident when I shop because I know what appeals to me, I know what I'll regret buying later on, what I'll get a lot of wear out of, what's worth investing in, etc. I've finally accepted that if you want to not look like crap, you have to stop buying crap. Going for the Forever 21 version of something is usually (thought not always!) going to look like the Forever 21 version. There's a reason nice clothes are more expensive -- they're nicer.

Of course, I don't have a whole lot of cash, so I generally rotate the same items over and over again. I'm constantly seeking creative ways to recycle. So, like usual, I made an inspiration board for the season. Something I can take a quick gander at when I'm in a hurry to get ready and am having a total sartorial brain fart.

Here's a peak:

In case you couldn't tell, all I wear is black pants, solid color dresses, blazers, scarves, stripes, leopard print and army green. Seriously, that's all I wear.

Now I know I'm committing a major blogger sin by not attributing where all the images came from, so for that I apologize. I usualyl just take screen shots when I see something I like and never take notes about where I got them. I can say, however, that these are some of my favorite blogs/stores/places to get ideas, and where many of these images came from:

• Net-a-porter: Where all of the white-backgrounded outfit shots are from. Totally out of my budget, but anytime I buy something I love and then don't know how to wear it, I find a similar-looking piece on Net-a-Porter and see how they styled it. Merchandising Gods over there, I tell ya.
• Wear it Both Ways: A newer blog that I think is adorable. Features a guy and a girl who pick a theme for their daily outfits, and each wear the trend in their own way. 
• Atlantic-Pacific: Everyone's gone batshit crazy for this girl. She's totally revolutionized the idea of being fashionably preppy in the blog world, where for the past few years everyone's been a little too obsessed with being overly weird and different. Not really my style. 
• The Glamourai: Aside from her great style, I die whenever she posts pictures of her apartment. It makes me want to move out of my mom's house (...) asap and start decorating.
• Sterling Style: Another fresh-faced prepster that I love.
• Gapeteria: I'm not really a Gap person (other than their workout pants and black pants collection) but I love the street style they post on their blog. Always some great ideas in there.

Reinvention

Do you know what's really strange?
I'm not going back to school at the end of the month.
It's weird as hell, you know? Not being a student anymore. My whole life, I've identified myself as a student. I'm an "adult" now. I'm a "working professional" now. Dude. It's just so weird.
I swear in the past month I've become an entirely different person. Well, not so much different as just a more mature version of my former self. I've been through some rough stuff and some really great stuff but through it all, I've had the pleasure of being surrounded my wonderfully giving people. I consider myself unfathomably lucky to have the friends that I do, each of whom are unfailingly generous with their reminders of how much they support me. If you don't have friends like this, find some. Stat. You're missing out.
In addition to attempting to become a more positive-thinking, generous person (I've spent way to much of my life prioritizing myself. Thank God that mentality is coming to a close.) I've been spending a decent chunk of my free time strategizing how to revamp my wardrobe.
I think my last semester of college was about the lowest I'll ever go in terms of physical appearance standards -- I rarely left the house in anything that wasn't leggings, a belted, over-sized button-down, and greasy hair. But now, much to the relief of all people who have to look at me on a daily basis, I'm starting to feel like myself again.
I've entered the corporate battle field armed with a troupe of pencil skirts and slim-fitting button downs. I adore dressing up.
I'm giving myself a few more weeks to save up money and allow the King of Prussia mall to empty of back-to-school-shoppers before I head out to purchase my fall wardrobe. But because I graduated from a large research university, there's not a single thing I do without doing heavy-duty investigating first. So naturally, I've been spending hours pulling from magazines and blogs and retail sites. I have a large stack of tear-sheets on my desk, which I will eventually get around to gluing into my inspiration book. In the mean time, I'll share my digital mood board with you (click to see it full size):

At the beginning of every season, I have the same realization: Preppy-with-an-edge never fails to appeal to me. My style has upgraded a lot over the years, but essentially it's still the same. The retail choices this season are hitting the nail right on the head for me -- classic items, nothing too trendy, very fit-conscious.
My shopping list as as follows:
-Utility jacket
-Fur collar
-Leopard print handbag
-White blazer
-Navy suit
-Grey jeans
-Turtleneck dress
-Leather jacket
-Black straight cut pants
-Boxy tweed jacket
-Wedge utility boots
-Motorcycle boots