Three Steps To Becoming A Fashionista

Present-day Screen Sirens don't need a stylist (Zoe WHO?!), they just need to remember three simple tips...


#1 DEVELOP YOUR OWN STYLE (Be Observate)

When I was younger my Mommie thought it was ADORABLE to dress my older sister and me in homemade matching smocks. They were basic smocks: sleeveless, two-front pockets, below-the-knee. Smocks cut generously so as to allow the addition of a blouse, turtleneck or tee underneath. Mine sometimes had aprons that matched but were detachable. I HATED these smocks! The love that went into them...the economy of their durability did not soothe my detestment. They were like a bland uniform for the family's daughters. My older sister- a girlie girl- added 'flair' to her smocks: ribbons, scarves, brooches and motto buttons. I was a tomboy who only owned hotwheels toy cars...they did not easily attach to clothing.

When I began competitive equestrian sports, I also began paying attention to the ensembles the young models were wearing in the accompanying photos of other fashion magazines besides the ones from which I ordered my gear. I liked the long skirts with blazers, sweater vests and colorful blouses underneath. My mother- overjoyed that I even wanted to wear skirts- began buying me these types of outfits; and I wore the hand-me-down smocks from my older sister (she was emancipated from our uniform at ten) about the house. I kept to my 'country shire' style with khakis, plaid A-line skirts and corduroy slacks for a few years before I began experimenting with other styles...inspired by my studies at the Institutes of Art and Dance.

#2 DARE TO BE AVANT GARDE!

I was dressing like Lisa Bonet's character "Denise Huxtable" before she existed on TV. I was doing an "Annie Hall" with my mother (under my uncle's hat collection), when I decided that matching military with ultra-femme was "kewl". I would look at the original outfits of the art students during my summers at the Institute and think 'what made her/him put THAT together?'- not judgmental, just curious. I found out it was about expression: what you felt, manifested outwardly.

I began going to stores with a new eye: no longer looking for something that resembled what was mode. I bought too large boys blazers and shortened the sleeves, adding floucies of lace to them to wear as overcoats; I used satin paisley printed material to cover lapels on wool blazers, adding several antiquated cameo brooches down each sleeve; and belted dresses that looked like wardrobe from "Little House on the Prairie" with equestrian style belts and black tights. Then there were the 'flashdance' outfits: torn sweatshirts with striped buttondowns underneath (I was modest). I wore Fedoras over my Holly Hobbie hair. Once I began to seriously travel, my fashion opened up to more eclecticism.

#3 TRAVEL THE WORLD (even if it is just through the pages of magazines)

I stole Valley Girl style from Cali; then a brief experimentation with Progressive style- think Goth Punk. All that pink and brightness can get to a girl! I did the Old-School Ivy League thing: I always looked as though I had just returned from the Hamptons. Then there was the NY thing: black, navy and grey- white to 'mix it up'. After we moved to Florida I left the continent completely....going East. I wore mirror-worked cholis with jeans and sparkley shoes; wore tanks with khakis and saris tied around my waist; full-on Bollywood hairstyles (complete with gilded hair jewelry), with A&F tees, worn jeans and embellished Chinese slippers. I still wear cheongsams over True Religion jeans and too-jeweled-for-daytime heels; or Thai jackets with complimentary saris to formal affairs. But my worst East-meets-West faze was the Kawaii/Kogal thing...it only lasted one year. Walking around looking like an overdeveloped twelve year old is not only odd but dangerous. One could do several blogs on the creepy men I reported to local authorities!


Also remember confidence is a must. If you act as though you cannot pull it off..you might as well PULL IT OFF!