Sometimes while shopping I'll see a piece of clothing on the rack and know instantly, "Well duh, that's going home with me." When this happens, and it happens quite frequently, I may as well just skip trying the item on. At this point my mind is made up. The piece in question has obviously been waiting for me since day one. The item is simply, "Just so Rayna."
The reason I put this last statement in quotation marks is because I hear this phrase from others a lot. I'll be looking through a catalog and my mom will poke her head over my shoulder saying, "Yep, that's totally you." I've had friends come to me after shopping trips they went on and state, "I was at this store and they had these boots that really reminded me of you." Actually, I'm even charmed enough to have one friend who recognizes my style so well he photographs pieces of clothing he believes I'll be interested in. Lucky for me this man has excellent taste and I owe him much praise for more than a couple fantastic pieces in my wardrobe. Lastly, the most surprising comment I've encountered was when a close friend of mine told me her husband once pointed out some coats at a store and commented, "These look like something Rayna would wear." I was fairly shocked to hear that this man I've spent little time with had an inkling of what my personal style looked like. It's here that I would like to interject that he was correct in his statement, I do own several coats made by the brand he was referring to. I guess what I'm getting at is every time I hear someone say that a piece of clothing is, "Just so Rayna," it makes me feel good. In fact, it makes me feel great because even though I'm an extremely decisive person in regards to the items I like, I'm not always confident on who I am.
I think every style conscious woman is trying to find a wardrobe that correctly reflects her personality. Unfortunately, I believe many individuals overthink this goal and end up fudging their character into someone they want to be. Likewise, I also think people often dress as someone they believe others perceive them as. I myself have been guilty of this type of thing many times. Often I've found myself paging through old blog posts and thinking things like, "Well I can give that shirt away to a 17 year old, because that's the only person it would be appropriate for." and, "Did I wear that that outfit for dress like a pirate day?" All joking aside, I admit to making some pretty extreme errors in the past as far as styling goes. However, I would argue that, "Hammer Pants," seem to have made a major comeback and who's to say they don't convey the true essence of Rayna?
The main point of this post is I seem to have a definite recognizable style. So when I saw the pants I'm wearing in the photographs above at a friend's store I instantly knew they would be going home with me. This is how my thought process worked: Extreme bell bottom cut...Check. Dizzying pattern and color palette...Check. Style reminiscent of the glorious 70's...Check. Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner people! Despite these glaring facts in favor of an article of clothing that just seemed obviously me, I felt a tad self conscious about purchasing these pants. Lately, especially since turning 36, I've been feeling like I don't dress my age. I mean, if the magazines are telling me that Fall 2015 is all about the fitted blazer, denim on denim, and tweed why am I so obsessed with fringe, 80's style cinch belts, and gold...well, anything? Reading my current obsessions now makes me wonder if I've been hanging out at the roller skating rink too much. Anywho...sometimes a person loses sight of what pieces really define them. It's times like these one feels forced to make a change.
Lucky for me, I repress most thoughts concerning change! I ended up buying the item in question and my confidence skyrocketed the day I finally wore them out of the house. During my only forty-five minute sprint around the mall I received three separate compliments from strangers regarding these seemingly fantastic pants. However, I must say the last compliment was my favorite since it actually was not said directly to me, but rather to another person. All I caught as I breezed on by was, "Those pants really work for her." Proof once again that sometimes even complete strangers know me better than I do myself.
-r.
Shirt: Lux
Pants: Purchased at L Couture Boutique. https://www.facebook.com/LCoutureBoutique
Sandals: Frye
Purse: Frye
Scarf: Thrifted
Necklace: Dead Things https://www.facebook.com/objetsdelamort
Bracelets: Thrifted
Sunglasses: Vintage
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