This past fashion week season I put a little more care into my looks. Typically I would buy a few key pieces and haphazardly throw outfits together each day. Those looks didn't turn out terribly, but I noticed putting in a little more thought than the 10 minutes before I hopped in the shower had better results. Who would have thunk it?
Each day had a different look, but everything seemed more cohesive. My style was tailored and defined. It was my best fashion week yet for many reasons, but the outfits I pulled together were one of the top reasons.
Then fashion week ended. I'm no slob on a daily basis, but there is a significant difference between fashion week Alexa and regular Alexa. I'm less daring and there's no denying that I put significantly less effort into my appearance.
A couple days after fashion week, I asked myself why? Why is fashion week the only time I challenge myself? Even if for no one other than myself, why shouldn't I look more chic on a daily basis?
I decided then and there that everyday for the next month I would dress like I'm heading to designer's show. I would obviously scale back a bit as fashion week attire is not always appropriate for the office, but the thought process would remain the same.
When I'm putting together a look for fashion week I ask myself what makes the outfit pop. Is it the color and/or print? Is it my accessories? Is it my makeup? All of the above? If it is missing the spark I always try to find a way to add it.
During fashion week I usually give myself a lot of time to get ready. For the sake of my sanity I decided I could not give up sleep to look fashion week ready while I do this challenge. That was the first obstacle in the beginning.
Putting together a stylish look requires thought and when you're rushing to get into the office it can get tricky. So there were definitely a few days where my looks either weren't quite at fashion week level or I ran a few minutes late.
The second obstacle was making sure that I didn't dive into shopping like a crazy person. I typically wear a mix of old and new for fashion week. Since I spent my shopping allowance for the next couple of months on fashion week I really had to tighten the purse strings. Meaning for the most part I needed to work with what I already had. I'm happy to report that with the exception of a romper (that was on sale) I did just that.
The third obstacle was finding the balance between chic and office appropriate (for the days I had to work). This was really a matter of common sense. The bralette and deep plunge dress I wore on the first day of fashion week might turn a few heads while I'm grabbing lunch in the cafeteria.
I also assist someone at an executive level so looking professional and polished is important to me. Luckily, I work for a media company where everyone is pretty stylish so my version of polished is different from say someone who works at a hedge fund or law office. There are still limits though, so I made sure to be mindful.
So here's what happened:
- I put a lot of pressure on myself in the beginning- making this style challenge pretty difficult. Once I reminded myself that the only person that knew about it was me I started to just have fun and stop overthinking it.
- Some looks were great, some were so-so. Logically there were some hits and some misses. We can't win them all.
- I got a lot less compliments than I normally do. I actually saw this is as a positive thing. When you look nice everyday people get tired of saying it. I also hate compliments because my response is always awkward and borderline rude. So the less compliments the better.
- What started as a challenge started to become second nature. It started with asking myself how to look fabulous that day. It ended with me just doing it.
- I am still dressing like it is fashion week. Why stop a good thing? There is no reason to slip back into lazy habits.
- My style improved. When you only really challenge yourself once or twice a year your style can get a bit stifled. If you do it everyday you see major growth.