True Fashionista: Desiree from the blog Pull Your Socks Up!

The difference between you wearing clothes and clothes wearing you is attitude, and Desiree from the blog Pull Your Socks Up! wears her clothes with brazen confidence.  She is the epitome of a True Fashionista.

Desiree’s blog is a breath of fresh air. She wears what she wants, not what society deems as appropriate. She's smart, sexy, and blends sparkle, shine, sheer, and the spectacular together just for an everyday jaunt around town. Age is just a number for Desiree; clothing styles don’t have an expiration date for her, and she fabulously rocks leggings, platforms, hot pants, and more. While she does wear whatever she wants, she always picks silhouettes that flatter her figure and make her feel authentic.

Desiree doesn’t care about being politically correct or impressing readers, but by being so candid and raw she is even more charming. She celebrates the fashion blogging community, regularly linking to her fellow style bloggers, receiving gifts from readers and showcasing their style on her own blog.

As a mom of a budding fashionista, I love seeing the relationship between Desiree and her daughter (known on the blog as The Stylist) as well as her other three children. With “The Stylist”, she encourages her to wave her own sartorial flag while being a young girl and teaches her (and all of us readers) that fashion can be a heck of a lot of fun, and shouldn’t cause one stress or body image woes. One doesn’t need to “dress like a mom” (whatever that is) to be a good mom, even when the child feels embarrassed (oh haven’t we all been embarrassed by our parents during some part of our childhood?).  I know “The Stylist” and the rest of her brood will look back and be so proud to have a mother who didn't lose herself when she became a parent; her sartorial boldness inspires me as a fellow parent.

Desiree is proof that you don’t have to spend a ton to look fantastic. She wears thrifted and vintage goodies with upcycled and refashioned looks, DIY projects (love how she made her wedding shoes sparkly), and even a men’s tee shirt from Kmart. She designs headbands for sale and for her own wear. And the finished ensemble is wacky, wild, and completely utterly wonderful… completely Desiree!

As with every other True Fashionista, I asked Desiree to answer the same five questions:

How would you describe your personal style?
Constantly evolving.
My style IS personal and I have many eccentricities when it comes to dressing.
I love vintage clothing especially from the 1930s and 1940s but I never dress top-to-toe in one era.
Not only do I find vintage-purism dressing rather ageing, but wearing it makes me feel dull and lifeless.
So I throw in maybe some African and Indian jewellery, some 1950s three-strand granny beads, leopard-print, carry two handbags from different eras, crazy-print tights, tacky plastic earrings and bangles and sometimes vintage underwear as outerwear.

Where did you get your passion for fashion?
I grew up in a big family, the youngest of seven, with an extraordinary number of much older relatives, many of whom dressed in the same clothes they'd been wearing for 30-odd years.
Combine that with some pretty hip sisters wearing cool modern gear in the 1970s and I felt like people's clothes told a story about their lives.
I was surrounded by women of all ages, all of whom loved their clothes, old or new, and began to take notice of the tiniest details, fabric, tactility, colour and cut.

Where do you find sartorial inspiration?
In the oddest objects and in some fascinating people : knitted tea cosies, children's drawings, old portraits, crochet blankets, cooch dancers and trapeze artists, graffiti.
Clothing boutiques are the last place to find inspiration.
I decide on how I'm feeling in the morning, put something together and that's my uniform for the day.
Sometimes there are two or three outfits a day.
I don't recall ever wearing the same ensemble twice, I guess because I never feel the same from day to day.

What is the difference between fashion and style?
Fashion is what talented designers are paid to churn out up to four times a year, in many cases at great personal and emotional expense.
Style is the opposite.
It's like slipping into a dream.
There's excitement, fear, hesitation and you learn to fall into yourself.

Any advice for a woman who is starting to find her personal style?
Savour your sartorial memories.
They'll make a reappearance once you start to connect with your true style.
Add more jewellery, wear a hat, try colourful shoes.
More is more!

The purpose of the Friday True Fashionista series is to show women who use clothing to express their personal style. Each woman has a different, unique look and opinion on clothing and fashion. These women inspire me in my clothing choices, and possibly their bold sartorial statements will inspire you. Stay tuned, there will be a featured True Fashionista every Friday for the next few weeks. And if you know of a True Fashionista in your life, tell us about her in the comments!