I Don’t Buy Clothes to Wear Places and/or Events, to Look Like I Belong There. I Belong There….

When I moved to Bend in May of 2017, I was immediately filled with relief that I no longer had to walk the endless hospital parking garages and hallways wearing heels and business casual outfits, get dressed to the nines for corporate dinners, and worry about what to wear on business trips to ‘big cities’ or conferences. In fact, the shift to wearing scrubs for work full time and filling my entire closet with Patagonia happened faster than I care to admit. I fit in perfectly.

As the years have passed, I have found that I missed the individuality my style had brought me, and my passion for style and fashion re-emerged as I started traveling and spending a significant amount of time in Europe. I mean NO judgement when I say it is very easy to spot American travelers based solely on their clothing choices.

My personal style and fashion are yet another area where authenticity is key to the confidence and swagger that a look can portray. There is no need to ask the question ‘Can I pull this off?’ because all my clothing serves the purpose I own it for.

I don’t buy clothes to wear to places and/or events to look like I belong there. I belong there.

I really am a business lady who gives presentations and takes client meetings in classy corporate attire. I love a high fashion moment, sporting a unique accessory that makes the entire outfit even though it doesn’t seem to match at all, I am more of a gangster street style hood rat than you’ll ever know, I am athletic and love to get sweaty and muddy. I thrive in the outdoors and don’t mind a sleeping bag on the ground, a cowgirl with perpetual horse shit on her boots.

When you participate in the activity that the clothing was designed for, and you pair that with your personality, creativity, and features— you will never look out of place, like you are wearing a costume, over styled, or age inappropriate. It is simply YOU.

I do not follow fads; I follow my own instincts, one of which I call the ‘squeal factor’. If I try something on and it makes me squeal literally or figuratively, I know that it is special and I will likely purchase it. The additional instinct which is deepening with sophistication and time is the ‘stops me in my tracks’ factor.  

I have become intrigued with legacy fashion concepts of certain pieces, styles, a color, texture….a mood.  Artists, culture being shared through clothing. I love it, and if it speaks to my own style, I feel proud to represent it as part of my own expression of who I am.