The Aftermath.

There have been some tangible changes as a result of my realizations this summer. The biggest one is, I’m back to wearing jeans and t-shirts! I’m no longer taking hours thinking about possible combinations that I can wear the next day. I’m not thinking about juxtaposition and proportions. I’m not “styling” myself in the morning, I’m getting dressed. SO much simpler. Basically, what I did for 30 or so years of my life.

I also went back to my old standby: traditional cardigans. I lived in them for years until the blogs told me they were old and stuffy. Yet all the cardigan alternatives I’ve picked up the past two years leave me stumped in the morning! I mean, I can eventually figure out what to wear…but I look in the mirror and feel so uncomfortable. Who am I trying to be? Last weekend, I wore plain, everyday cardigans and felt free. (They’re from Talbot’s, by the way. I was and will not be compensated for stating that. I just really, really like them, and they wash fabulously. Unlike a thinner cardigan I bought from another mall store, which wrinkled all down the button area. Boo.)

This is related to my second change. I’m no longer trying to be someone else! I’ve ditched the “style persona” idea that has been haunting me. I was stressing over not being able to find a few words that described me, not being able to find Pinterest pins that exactly represented the look I wanted, not being able to dress in a way that everyone would say, “oh yes, that’s so you!“.

It is silly to write out, but here goes. If I am cold, I put on a regular ol’ cardigan. THERE. Warm and toasty.

Here’s what I would’ve said a few months ago. If I am cold, I go into my closet and pull out my drapey genuine leather jacket to see if I can finally make it work after a year of non-wearing. I like it, but… I look like a b!tch in it. Take it off, toss it on the bed. I pull out my faux-leather drapey jacket. It’s better, but… the waist just kind of ends in the back and looks a little too short for what I’m going for. (I do not know what “going for” even means right now.) Toss it on the bed. I shake my head at my two extra-long itchy merino wool cardigans (why do I even still have these? I know I can’t wear wool!). I wonder if I should try a sweater instead. Oh wait, they all have three-quarter sleeves (insert expletive here at how dumb that is, but they are stylish!). My blazers are all too formal. My modern denim jacket is too stiff and I can’t type in it. Ugh! WHAT can I wear so that I’m not so cold?? I have nothing; I’ll need to go buy something!

Lovely.

I cannot put into words how happy these “boring” cardigans, jeans, and t-shirts have made me over the past week. I am now so calm in the morning. And I still look fine.

A Staged Life.

This is the story of how I fell for the fiction.

I was minding my own business a couple of months ago, probably trying to find reviews on something I’d just bought, when I was hit over the head by The Truths.

Can you handle them?

If so…

Truth #1 is that the world portrayed in style blogs and Pinterest doesn’t exist. Those carefree poses in perfect outfits… they last just long enough for the photo shoot, and then the t-shirts and jeans come back out and the makeup comes off. It’s a staged life, really. Do the bloggers ever get to be real, or do they have to be walking Photoshop all the time?

Truth #2 is that bloggers are paid to sell. It’s their job to create a frenzy for a dress or shoe that we really don’t need. Just click that link to give them the money! (No really, don’t click their links. It gives them all the monies even when they don’t disclose that bit of information. Or, click if you want to. But be informed about what the clicking does!) They are given very expensive items to showcase on their blogs. Or lots of inexpensive items. Or, if they’ve really made it, a collaboration! As long as they showcase! And sell those same items to unsuspecting clickers! And wear those items for at least 60 seconds while glee-faux-ly prancing down the street! Some bloggers then sell the things that they got for free. What else are they going to do? They can’t possibly be photographed in the same things again! And who knows if they actually even like what they got for free.

I’ve always loved to shop, but over the past 3-4 years, the problem had become a different animal. It was all related to the truths above. When I first started following style blogs, I wanted to be like the bloggers. I wanted to look impeccable, and it ached to know that I couldn’t dress that way daily. I tried to find ways to incorporate the types of things I was “supposed” to be wearing to be current, but I still couldn’t manage it. I really thought I just needed a bigger budget, more clothes, more shoes.

But, I also needed somewhere to go. And a nightlife. And a passport. Or something. I needed to have something significant to do so that I could look the part. I had nothing… just some at-home part-time work, errands, and school things with my kids.

I was missing the life that accompanies the style blog “look.”

This summer, I came to the conclusion that even the blogger “life” is not really true at all. It’s all a stage. It’s a timestamp of supposed perfection.

I am an intelligent person, but I did exactly what I was supposed to do: I got caught up in the facade. I really believed that I had to have the “must-have” things of the season. The things the bloggers “lusted after” would complete my wardrobe. Oxblood skinnies. Chunky scarves. A mustard sweater. I’m ashamed to admit that I was “dying for” the ubiquitous studded shoes, though they would have at most zero wears in my lifetime. But I needed them in my closet!

If I didn’t like the way something looked on the blogger or model, I just had to adjust my eyes to the look. Eventually I’d come around and like the style. So, I started purchasing things that I thought looked unflattering. I bought a pair of heels so that I could start training my feet to accept the pain. You have to wear heels with jeans, right? (Nevermind that I’ve never, not once, seen that combination in real life.)

While I used to shop for fun, I started to feel like I was on an impossible mission that would never be finished. But I had to do it! I was so close to finding exactly what I needed.

No.

Exactly what my computer screen was telling me I needed.

There are tons of women who have fallen the same way. Maybe those with shopaholic tendencies are worse off, but I bet some women started to become shopaholics thanks to blogs and Pinterest. I hope they are able to catch themselves and stop now.

This doesn’t only affect women. I’ve been researching a typically-male item on a dominantly-male forum. They use the word “obsessed” just as much as the female bloggers. There was a thread talking about how much purchasing that type of item had increased significantly as a result of that particular forum, how budgets were constantly blown, and how wives/girlfriends/significant others had to be placated so that they can continue to buy/sell/flip more of those items.

I’ve missed too much being caught up in this world. I’ve wanted to get back to reading good fiction, but spend all my free time reading harmful and dangerous material: style and fashion blogs. My 8-year-old has unexpectedly become an avid reader and I want to catch up with him. We’re going to read a book together soon. I want to get caught up in the world of well-written fiction, not shopping-inducing fakery.