The other day I discovered that one of my lovely readers mentioned me on this forum where people talk about fashion blogs. She said mostly very nice things, but with the caveat that I’ve had a lot of “TOTAL misses.” Yes, “total” was in all caps. For a second I had sort of a Mean Girls-style “that’s only OK when I say it” moment. After crying over a pint of ice cream for a couple hours, I embraced the criticism.
Thank you, reader whom I shall call Regina. Thank you for noticing that I don’t conveniently forget to post my not-so-perfect outfits. Thank you for noticing that I like to experiment. Thank you for noticing that I am not willing to freeze to death just to look more fashionable.
You rock, Regina. And this outfit post is dedicated to you.
I’m not a huge fan of how it looks to have this black tee peeking out at my waist. I think a white tee would have looked a little better, but I only have a short sleeve one, and I wanted long sleeves to add some warmth. In a perfect world, I would have worn this without any shirt underneath and without tights and I would have worn it to some fabulous brunch. In June. But I wore it to work in February. I do the best I can with what I’ve got, and I share it with you no matter what.
So thanks once again to Regina and to all the rest of you for supporting me and my imperfectness. There’s plenty of faux-perfection in the blogosphere. Thank goodness you have me to screw up once in awhile (but not THAT often, right?).
similar Shirt // Skirt (on sale) // Bag // similar Shoes (on sale) // similar Sunglasses // Earrings
Great post. This is why this is a great fashion blog. Love reading this blog more than anything when I’m up at 1:00am rocking my baby to sleep.
Total misses….I don’t think so. I love your blog, mostly because of your cute outfits. I also love your writing style…witty, funny and sensible.
Even though you are a lot younger than me, I’ve learned a lot from you.
Keep up the good work…Regina go phone yourself.
To be honest, the fact that you are “not perfect” is the reason why you are my favorite fashion blogger. You are real woman who lives and works in the real world, and your clothing choices reflect that.
I think it’s great that, not only are you willing to take risks with your clothing choices, but you’re honest about those risks, too.
Don’t change!
Thanks for keepin’ it real!
Oh my…..you own it girl! Your style is PERFECT for YOU and I love how you wear it! We all have different tastes and your choices are real and refreshing.
Yeah…so the reason I love reading your blog so much is because you’re a real person and you are hilarious as all get-out. So basically, you do you, woman.
Also, for what it’s worth, and as a regular non-fashion person, it’s probably not worth a whole lot – I love all the clothing pieces in this outfit, including the genius shirt under a buttonup! I believe it may look more cohesive and a little ‘lighter’ with navy tights. Then again I may look better with ‘nude’ tights under a dress instead of grandma ponte pants, but whatevs. Avoid hypothermia first; donuts second; everything else third.
Good gracious! Total misses? I don’t think so! I think you’re wonderful just the way you are. Not perfect or not, just like the rest of us. Keep your chin up!
Totally forgot to mention in my previous post that I love that skirt on you!
Great post! Regina can go read those other blogs that are TOTALLY fake, the anti real-life style blogs. I saw a post yesterday with a girl in stilettos in the snow – ridiculous. Not what THIS reader or blogger is looking for or inspired by. Keep up your imperfection! Much more interesting!
Don’t you love it when a negative thing brings us all together? Just like the title of your blog….real life is just what you are showing–having to do with what we have (not all of us can go buy new clothes every day), and having outfits look better in our head than on a two dimensional screen! Besides, all of us following you like your style!! Go forth and conquer! Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
I echo what the other lovely commenters are saying – I come here because you keep it real. I may not love every single outfit you post, but that’s because my sense of style is slightly different from yours, not because you did it “wrong” or didn’t get it “perfect.” I think you’re absolutely right that there is too much faux-perfection out there, which makes it feel like beauty and fashion are unattainable for the average girl. You make fashion real and fun and celebrate differences. That’s what I appreciate the most. So, you keep doing you and we’ll keep coming around! 🙂
NCsquared Life
Oh, girl. I’ve been there. I, too, have had mean things said about me on the site that will remain unnamed. But then someone stood up for me and said that some of us wear practical clothes and don’t refresh our closet every season. Like you said, there is faux-perfection and I’m not interested in that.
What have we learned?
That ice cream fixes everything. Boom.
Also clearly we all love you, so you keep doing yo thang.
I don’t think in a thousand years do you have any TOTAL misses. I think those of us who post are actual outfits on the internet and those of us who are trying to figure out our own style and how it works with our real lifestyles will not always have THE BEST OUTFITS EVER. I know I look at even pictures from a month and go “hmm…..not the best” but that’s where you learn the most from.
If nothing else, just think that you are important enough to be mentioned and that they still like you 🙂
Awwwwe, boooooo. You’re cute as hell and a TOTAL awesome blogger. I admittedly like to read what you post first and look at what you’re wearing second and always come back for more of both. You go girl, be REAL!
Awesome response and keeping it real! I love your sense of humor and your willingness to experiment 🙂
Everyone has off days. EVERYONE. Except maybe Kate Moss. We have magazines and web sites for perfection. We have you for real life. You rock.