On Style

While this blog is marketed as a fashion blog, when discussing Wardrobe Oxygen to others I usually explain it’s more of a personal style blog. Wardrobe Oxygen isn’t a place to find the designer look for less, to learn about the must-have trends for the season, or to ogle the closets of celebrities and socialites. Since the beginning, Wardrobe Oxygen attempts to simplify getting dressed for women, provide real-life advice on what to wear, and to help women find their personal style.

Style isn’t having a closet full of beautiful clothing. It’s not about knowing what length to hem your pants when wearing a kitten heel, or having the skill to mix black and navy or stripes with florals. Style is personal. Style is an extension of you.

Style goes beyond the clothes you put on your body. Style is how you carry yourself, how you interact with the world, and the relationship you have with yourself. Style is trusting your gut, listening to your inner voice, and supporting it even if it bucks the norm.

Style isn’t fitting in, style is finding yourself.

Finding your personal style takes time, and it takes more than a weekend closet cleanout. It’s really getting to know who you are as a person and falling in love with yourself. Embracing your body, befriending your personality, laughing with your sense of humor, and defending your passions. This is harder than it seems, as we have been pressured by the media and our peers to try to achieve some common goal of beauty, of fashion, of life. Scrolling through social media or a copy of Vogue or even More can cause us to question who we are and the choices we make. Style is allowing those questions, but remembering that the answer is completely unique to each of us.

Sometimes my columnists and I stray from writing about clothing and beauty and discuss personal issues, but this isn’t straying from the topic of personal style. The two are one and the same. It’s important to understand that clothing isn’t the solution. Knowing, accepting, and loving yourself is the style solution.

Removing the you from your wardrobe is removing the style.

Whether we like it or not, clothing won’t solve our problems. A pretty dress won’t fix your life, and shopping to change who you are is just throwing money away. Sometimes the most stylish thing you can buy is a session with a therapist, a weekend getaway, or a great book and some bath oils. The stylish folk don’t necessarily have a large closet, a covetable bag, or a perfect face of makeup. They have confidence, they feel at home in their skin, they wear clothing and never let it wear them.

You’re good enough, RIGHT NOW. You’re worthy, and you’re beautiful. Seriously, you are and the one who is holding you back from seeing that is you. A new dress, a haircut, a makeover as a cosmetics counter can help you see yourself better, but it won’t change who you are. You need to do the work, but in the end you’ll have peace of mind as well as personal style.