My Obsession with Style Blogs

I am not sure when or how it happened, but in the past six months or so, I have become obsessed with style and style blogs. I don't want to say fashion, because I'm not looking at anything about runways or designers. My obsession is more about looking put together, nice and chic-ish (can I say chic-ish? I just did.) for everyday life.

It all started with my discovery of Putting Me Together, a blog started by Audrey Tom in California. As far as I can tell, it just started with her personal decision to update her wardrobe and put a little more effort into her style. Here are a couple of screen shots from her site.

 

As you can tell from these pictures, a big thing for her is the "remixable wardrobe," a wardrobe full of pieces that can be worn in several different ways, dressed up or down, with dresses, skirts, jeans or trousers, etc. As she says, "One of my hopes with this blog was that I'd be able to build a mix-and-match wardrobe that I could get more mileage out of and ultimately cut down the felt need to buy more.  I wanted to bring depth to my closet instead of continuing to go for breadth." 

I've been wondering lately what it was that drew me to her blog. Why did I, someone who never cared that much about clothes, suddenly find myself shopping online more and trying to put together outfits that felt casual but still stylish? Why did I want to be stylish?

I think it came from wanting to feel a little more adult and/or professional. I'm not a student anymore, but I was going to work wearing all the same clothes I wore throughout college. I work in a pretty casual office, so unless we are meeting with a client, our work attire isn't an issue; there's certainly no dress code. I bought a couple of very professional-looking outfits when I started my job, and quickly realized that I almost never needed an outfit that nice (and then I lost weight and the outfit was suddenly too big and I couldn't wear it even on the occasions that I needed to look like an actual businessperson). So once I realized I didn't need the business clothes, I went back to wearing jeans, T-shirts and cardigans to work most every day. 

But once I discovered Audrey's blog, I realized I could look nice for work without feeling overdressed. I could feel put together and well-dressed without wondering if people were looking at me strangely for overdoing it. And I realized that I could do it without spending a ton of money. 

So for the past six months, I've been slowly rebuilding my wardrobe, taking out pieces that I never wore, or could only wear one way, and replacing them with pieces that can be worn over and over in different ways. I've discovered things I never wore before, like blazers (my new favorite) and dresses (I rarely wore dresses for anything but special occasions). 

Somehow, I started really wanting to start my own style blog. I don't know why I would need to, since I basically do just about everything Audrey does, and there's no reason to copy her blog. But yes, I went as far as taking some pictures of myself and starting a Tumblr that was to be my style blog (I've since deleted it). Also, it's hard to take good pictures of yourself, and after an awkward photo shoot when I asked my boyfriend to take pictures of me (the red dress pictures below), I decided I couldn't make it work.

This picture at least had another purpose: to prove to my sister
that I was wearing the scarf she gave me for Christmas.

                  

 

I think part of my desire to start a style blog is simply that I'm really (pathetically) proud of myself for putting more effort into my appearance. However, I'm also constantly fighting with myself, slightly embarrassed by my new hobby and reminding myself "It shouldn't matter what I look like, my clothes shouldn't matter." The feminist in my head says, "Stop putting so much effort into your appearance! Don't spend money on clothes! Buy more books!" Then the other feminist in my head says, "You aren't doing this for other people, you're doing it for you; you aren't wearing clothes that are uncomfortable because they look good, you are wearing clothes that are both comfortable for a full day at work and make you feel better about the image you present to people you work with. Don't worry so much." Then the frugal woman in my head says, "Stop spending money on cardigans!" (There are lots of people in my head.)

So I guess I'm just going to take advice from all of them. I do need to keep spending in check, but I don't have to worry so much about what my hobbies "say" about me. I'm not a bad feminist or a bad woman for enjoying clothes and style and putting together outfits. As long as I'm wearing outfits that make me comfortable and help me to feel confident, who the hell cares if I look at style blogs to get inspiration?

In case you are interested, here are some of the other blogs I've found. Putting Me Together is always my first stop, but all of these blogs have provided some inspiration (though not always shopping tips, since some of them feature more expensive clothing). 
Blue Paper Lanterns: her blog is based specifically around a budget, which is great!
Wendy's Lookbook: she tends to feature clothing that's expensive, but her looks are great for inspiration. Plus she a fabulous YouTube video on 25 ways to tie a scarf.
Mix and Match Fashion: this is a new discovery, so I don't have much to say about it yet, but so far so good. Seems to feature more affordable stuff.
Kacie's Kloset: another new discovery that I'm still getting to know, but I've seen a few things here that I really wanted (specifically this blazer).