Express Your Unique Style at Any Age

Let’s take fashion from Mindset to Mind Opener.

Let’s be fashion rebels in our own individual ways.

Let’s learn the rules, only to break them.  Stretch them and break them and tie them in knots.

Make the rule book of you:  your own set of rules that work for you.  Like:

leopard is a neutral, or

cobalt is my navy, or

this is my jean jacket.

The older you get, the more free you are.  Free and wise, too!

I encourage you to express your true self, at any age…

How Your True Self Will Make You Free and Beautiful

This is all about why I chose the name “Your True Self” for my blog.  And why age doesn’t matter to your true self within.

I am captivated when I see bohemian styles in fashion, decor, parts of the world, and in ourselves. By that, I mean our inner selves.

Rest assured that all styles are explored on this blog, not just boho. And I encourage you to mix up different styles that you love for the most interesting of outfits. Experiment, be bold and take chances. The main purpose of my blog is to share endless outfit ideas for women over 60. But age doesn’t matter.

So Why Did I Choose the Name “Your True Self Blog”?

One day, I was reading an introduction to boho fashion.  It explained that the bohemian personality not only dressed in a freely creative way, but also was connected to nature and was a free spirit who expressed her true self in words, deeds and surroundings.  Not all bohemians are alike.  They each express their unique personality, tastes and opinions.

Another definition of a bohemian is “a person who has informal and unconventional social habits, especially an artist or writer.”

I identified with that.  I come from an artistic family, have always been writing, speak my mind politically, believe in the preservation of nature and love to be out in it, prefer wholistic foods and natural cosmetics, and basically tend to “do my own thing.”

The basis of all that is your true self, your spirit, the you that never ages no matter what your body is doing.

In “Being a Bohemian Goddess: How to Wear the Boho Chic Fashion,” Rima Kh says:

“Historically, boho is quite a young style, having originated as such in the ‘60s. So it’s the style of artists, the style of free and beautiful people and just the style of those who want to be free! If we were to define the boho mood as such, probably we would use descriptive details like joyfulness and openness to the world. The constant search of new inventions and discoveries, the longing towards everything that’s artistic and beautiful and the absolutely free and at the same time harmonious inner world are what the boho style is actually shaped with.”

Dressing bohemian style is a way to express yourself and connect with the world and nature, as well as adorn yourself with the richest flavors of cultures. Today’s global awareness is continuously strengthening this type of fashion.

“Bohemianism is not a trend, it’s a timeless movement, a way of life both fleeting and enduring that reappears every now and then as a backlash against our bourgeois, mass market, easy access culture.” — Laren Stover, author of Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge.

In “Why We Should All Consider a More Bohemian Lifestyle,” Christin Sander says:

“Bohemianism is a lifestyle. It stands for those free spirits who are living a life away from the usual everyday life, the stress and pressure, a life in which we are disguising our own feelings and personality in order to fit into today’s society and its ideals. We become the “perfect” version of ourselves, living our allegedly “perfect” lives, rushing from one place to another because those 24 hours just aren’t enough to fit in ten hours of work, working out at the gym, eating, getting dressed, grocery shopping, and picking up the kids from school. You get the idea.

Living a life always hassling from one place to another isn’t always what we really want. We do it because everybody does it. From early on, we give our very best at school in order to get into a decent university. When we are at university, we give our very best in order to get a good job with some major company one day. And when we are at work? Well, we are giving our very best in order to please our bosses, to get a pay raise, or to finance the next vacation. At the same time, we are constantly working on ourselves, trying to fix our flaws, to get in better shape, to get a better look.

While we are doing all this, we tend to forget our talents, our dreams, our true selves. We forget about the things that actually make us happy and fulfilled. This ‘perfect’ version of ourselves often isn’t ourselves. That is where Bohemians are one step ahead of us. They live the life they want to live, they fight for their ideals, they are their true selves, managing to live out their dreams. Even if that means that they don’t have a permanent place of residence or a hefty savings account…”

In “Boho:  Fashion History and Bohemian Style,” Dolores Monet says:

“Bohemian style evolved into a cult of the individual, a person whose very appearance became a work of art with carefully planned outfits and accessories. The word bohemian suggested a sense of arcane enlightenment, sexual freedom…

Though fashion often embraces boho chic, the life itself – the yearning for individual freedom, the rejection of modern materialistic concepts, the dream of utopian ideals, and production of hand crafted goods remains a powerful alternative to mainstream culture.”

In “5 Traits of the Spiritual Bohemian,” Jennifer Van Leuven says:

“Rather than simply a ‘clothing style’, dressing Bohemian expresses an alternative lifestyle, one that isn’t made for modern trends or industrial living…

One of the most important aspects of truly dressing as a Bohemian is the idea of self-expression and enjoying who you are as a unique human being. When you find yourself putting clothing pieces together that speak to you, no matter if they fit in with the trends or styles of the era, you are putting together the pieces of a puzzle that are to be celebrated.

Use this affirmation when dressing each day and remember to stay true to your individual style.”

Are you more and more free and true to yourself as the days go by?  Is your style bohemian or something else?  Please leave a reply below!

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Who Are You? Free Your True Style

I was struck by the fact that a couple of articles from “InStyle” magazine were about being true to yourself.  That issue is central, of course, to my philosophy presented in Your True Self blog.  The first question to answer is “who are you?”  Once you have the answer to that, you can free your true style.  I think these articles can help with this.  Age doesn’t matter.  So, I am going to discuss them in this post and give you the links.

Caroline de Maigret

The first is a guest article, “America, C’est Chic,” by French style star Caroline de Maigret.  She said, “If style is about personality—about conveying the very essence of who you are through your clothes (and I truly believe it is)—then I owe more to the U.S. than I knew…But however you choose to present yourself to the world, the most important thing is to make that look your own.  That’s the Parisian in me talking—if there’s one thing we’re really good at, it’s sticking to what we feel is authentic and making it a signature…So I guess in the end you could say my style is American, but I wear it like a French girl.”

Leandra Medine

The article following that, “Being an Original,” was written by Leandra Medine, creator of the blog Man Repeller.  (How nice!  I’d love to have guest writers the like of these…let’s consider them guests on my blog today, shall we?)  She is truly an original, as you can tell by looking at her!

She said:

“…But the heart wants what it wants! So who are we to deprive ourselves of what the trenches of our gut say we need? Our gut is sometimes annoying, and it’s pesky, and we can get it mixed up with weird, negative voices in our heads; but it’s also very rarely wrong. Being in tune with and consistently working to cancel out the noise of what’s happening outside of you is the only way to discover what’s inside—and, I would argue, the path to real originality….Here’s what I recommend: Instead of thinking, ‘How can I stand out?’ ask yourself, ‘What would make me happiest? What do I need to do to get there?’ And then do that. Check in with yourself. Make sure you’re being true to who you really are.”

What You Love Shows Who You Are

I used to think that getting the basic wardrobe items was important; that fitting in with the occasion was important; and that it was too expensive to buy what I love.

But getting older means getting bolder.  If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to go ahead and show your true self.  It’s life affirming.

You probably already own a core wardrobe of basic items.  Keeping those in stock is not hard.  It’s a lot more fun to buy what you love, add touches of what you love with do-it-yourself projects and enjoy what you wear.

And there are ways to get what you love and still stick to a budget. Such as, you can wait for sales and go to outlets, in stores or online. You can also shop second hand or vintage in stores or online.  You can shop at places like T.J. Maxx and Marshall’s.  You can hunt through discount sites online and still get the kinds of clothes you love.  You can rent the runway.  Or, you can make your own creations.

So, who are you?  What makes you happy?  What you really love will show who you really are.  Let it shine!

Parting Thoughts

Please share with us your true self and what makes you happy. What is your favorite outfit ever? Let us know by leaving a reply below.

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Thank you for visiting Your True Self Blog!

Angie