If you enjoy looking at lovely books, Style Statement by Carrie McCarthy & Danielle LaPorte is that kind of book. If you love doing quizzes and exercises to find out about yourself, it is also that kind of book. If you want to find out what your style is… yep, you’ve come to the right place!
I have several books with spaces and lines to answer questions. I used to fill them in. Then I noticed the downfalls of doing it:
- It mars the book, especially if I’ve made an error and crossed things out or the ink has smeared.
- If the book is in a public place, like my living room where all our books are housed, anyone in the living room can pick up a book and read my most personal experiences, thoughts and dreams.
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- This has come to bite me in the butt online, as well. I am transparent in general but occasionally I share things I wouldn’t share in a public forum with a trusted group. Let’s just say a friend or two decided they no longer cared to keep a confidence. Betrayals of this kind can be very hurtful, as you might imagine.
- If you want to go back and retake the quiz or redo the exercise, you cannot UNsee the answer you gave before.
So, now I use a separate notebook and label it with the book, page(s) and answers.
All that said, this was one of the books I filled in – right from the get-go. Can’t do anything to change that now. One neat thing… at the end, it asks you to have a friend or loved one answer some questions about you. I had my husband do it. Super neat to have that there.
The subtitle for this book is “Live by your own design”. The tagline: “This is an invitation to make more powerful choices… to create your life with intention… to communicate who you are in all you do.”
This book will tell you what your style is and how to incorporate it in all you do, including (I would argue it is mostly about) how you dress.
It appealed to me because moving to Canada totally changed my wardrobe. In my native California, I was a flowing gauze dress with sandals kinda person. Or jeans, tees and running shoes. When it got cold, I wore my dresses with boots, socks, long vests, blazers… and in the 90’s, I wore hats, scarves, ties, pins. Think Annie Hall. I worked at a college, so I fit right in, no matter what I wore. It was a Birkenstock kind of place. (PS: I love the style I linked!)
Then I moved to Canada. Dresses and Birkenstocks? Maybe possible… three months out of the year, if you’re lucky. And really, let me get real for a sec. Not even then. When it’s warm enough for Canadians to wear flip flops, I’m still in knee-high boots with socks. Sweater weather? Two weeks in May. Summer? Sweltering humidity for 8-12 weeks, suitable for shorts, though I wouldn’t be caught dead. This is my dress and sandals time.
Reminder: After 37 weeks in boots, it takes time to get the feet back in shape for viewing.
Pet Peeve: Crunchy feet.
Story: It was a fire drill at work. We all met on a grassy knoll outside the front door. A few of us sat and were chatting. A small group came out and stood in front of us. One of the women had sandals and her feet were literally right in front of my face. Her nails were gnarly and her heels were very ashy and had cracks large enough to stick a quarter in. I’m not laughing as I share this and I would never body shame anyone on purpose. I get that there are some things that can’t be helped but seriously, throw some lotion on and file your toenails. I know not everyone can wear polish… I have to be careful of it, especially after a winter in boots. Just look down before you go out and do the best you can.
Ahem. Anyway. This book. It is fabulous and made me think about all kinds of stuff, like how my mother wore Arpege perfume. Sadly, they discontinued the original formulation and she had to stop wearing it. It always took me right home to the nights when she and Dad would go out and leave my sister and me with Miss DeSanto. You won’t know her but she was this sweet little lady who came to watch us. She was meek. I was not. Poor Miss DeSanto. But I digress.
Do the stuff in the book… and by the end, you will have A STYLE statement. Mine is Comfortable Vitality. I love that! I want to be comfortable (and need to be since I have some fabric allergies) but I also want to be vital. I can accomplish this with color, jewelry and accent pieces.
Now, I’ll be honest in saying that after eighteen years here in Canada, I have yet to completely integrate this style into my wardrobe. I do fine in Spring and Summer, layering flowing pieces with little shells and light sweaters… but winter? The bulk of the year? Yeah. Well. I have seven pair of black pants – stretchy, warm, zippered, tight, loose, a short and tall pair of boots, snow boots (short & tall), a handful of sweaters that I could care less about… I just can’t get my head in the game. I often throw on the same earrings and watch… blah, blah, blah. Boring. I have the comfort part down… but the vitality? Yeah, going, going, gone.
Then spring comes… and I burst out of the cocoon! A butterfly.
*sigh*
Help me get back on track, will ya? I need some winter inspiration! Maybe I’ll reread this book. 🙂
Originally written and shared on this blog by me on December 16, 2017
The Self-Help Whisperer® 