Inherently Styled

Fashion has always played a part in my life. Not to say that from birth I was all that interested in what was the new black or the new pointed toe or animal print. Staying ahead of the curve, vogue-wise, is rarely tantamount in my book.  What I find most thrilling about style is the way it boosts your personality and reflects the way you feel. Picking out your own clothes when you're little is probably the first true expression of self. You don't even need to be able to talk to express to your parents that you'd prefer the purple leotard over the blue one.  Case in point... When lego and Lincoln Log-loving Mom put my two-year-old self in corduroys before a trip to the park I looked in the mirror and immediately started to weep for a dress. (To her credit, my mother has never indulged nor fought against my stylistically princess tendencies.)

Getting dressed in the morning has always been about what I find fun and exciting to wear -- who will I become when I put on a specific combination of clothes? Am I a dark, sleek business ingenue, a fringed bohemian queen, a skirt-swishing tribute to true-waisted, floral-printed 50s womanhood, or a sun-faded, neon bikini-clad California sun-worshipper? Fashion has the power to invigorate my mood and self-confidence, and I have the strong inkling this is the role it plays in most men and women's lives.

See how happy I am?? It's because of the yellow Tibetan scarf and printed cotton pants. The fact I've just ordered a scoop of chocolate-hazelnut gelato at Chocolat also helps.

Finding inspiration for my fashion choices is almost as much fun as wearing the finished outfit. I am a great lover of people-watching and have pretty-much categorized each area of my city (San Diego) according to what kind of people-watching can be done in each neighborhood. I also love making collages of beautiful images I find in magazines -- mostly my two favorites, Elle and National Geographic. In a partial effort to cull my enormous magazine collection, I'm hoping this blog will be a good place to deposit my inspirations, favorite images and ideas in one place. That's about all it is for now. But who knows?