cheers to signature style

Reinvent new combinations of what you already own. Improvise. Become more creative. Not because you have to, but because you want to. Evolution is the secret for the next step.
Karl Lagerfeld  

Everyday style. The joy of flair. A sprinkle of comfort. Dollops of sparkle. Since my early days of hiking the hills of Oklahoma donning a bonnet and toting a purse, I've been a fan of getting dressed as an art form.

A social work classmate recently described my style as "Anthropologie Goth" while another pulled me aside after our final class to ask if something had happened to me since I always don noir. Hmmm, I'll take "Anthropologie Goth," merci!

As you'll see from the smattering of 2012 pics above, daily dress up continues to be a favorite part of my day and offers the continued opportunity for creative expression. This past year I played with pairing stripes and patterns, shorts with blazers and tights, and fancy, fluffy skirts with t-shirts.

Working in a corporate environment of closed toe shoes over the past few months at my social work internship has added a new way to play with self-expression within defined "normalcy." As you can imagine, quite different from a yoga studio. Adding colored tights and a reclaimed blazer over my TranquiliT layers is my go-to for weathering this creative challenge.

In a recent podcast with Courtney Carver, we discussed her Project 333 where you dress with 33 items for 3 months. J'adore this idea as many relate to having a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. Pairing down to what we do wear and releasing the rest is genius. After living out of two bags for six weeks of travel recently, I came home to find way more stuff than I needed and have been on a minimizing kick ever since. I've kept myself out of tempting stores such as Target (where I never left without a new pair of vegan flats), donated heaps of clothing I wasn't wearing regularly, and begun to narrow down to basics.

As we move into this new year, explore daily dress up as a work of art that fits your daily life. In the newly released Tranquility du Jour Daybook I describe this as "Let your daily dress reflect your personality, lifestyle, and signature style. Always add a dose of flair and don't forget your smile, good attitude, and vintage accessory."

Here's to a daily routine that offers you the exuberant joy you had as a little girl playing dress up. As the Queen (Madonna) says, "Express yourself, don't repress yourself." Bisous. x