An outsiders view on the world of fashion

*So just as a disclaimer - you don't have to read this post...it probably won't be very exciting, but this has been on my mind a lot lately with the seasons changing and me having to switch into wearing fall/winter clothing. Anyways, here goes my long splurge of recent thoughts after these shoes I ordered finally arrived in the mail yesterday which I absolutely fell in love with.*

I was always kind-of an awkward little kid. I'm sure everyone can think of the tom-boy down the street that would want to play in the mud and catch crawdads; who never wanted to wear skirts or dresses because they were totally non-functional, and "What is the point of them? Boys are gross anyway, and who wants to get cooties?!" Well my friends, in case you were wondering, that little girl was me. For the longest time I had bangs that would wing out, scraggly non-brushed hair, mismatched clothing, and mud on my face. I'll admit that on occasion I would play with barbies when I was younger, but after a few minutes they would be thrown to the side with my attention either switched to racing their cars against each other, or exploring the wonderful world of the outdoors.

My family in 1998 (I was 12). From left to right: Robert, Me, Corinne, mom, dad, mike, little Jenny, Thomas

After moving to Washington, DC I've noticed that there are a lot of very fashionable girls in our ward. They always wear very adorable clothes, not necessarily expensive, but they put things together and it ends up just working. I think it is a gift for some people that comes either naturally to them, or they get this love for fashion from their friends and family's example. I didn't really have either. My friends were tom-boys themselves, and my family would spend their money on other things besides clothing. I can honestly say that I've gone shopping with my mom maybe 4 times my whole life. It was always a painful experience because we would always end up in a yelling match. She thought things were too tight or too low, and I just wanted to be somewhat in fashion and show off the goods that my parents blessed me with :) I think that if we went shopping with her now, it would be really fun, but there is no way you could make me do it again in high school. Plus - I never really had any money for clothes in my high school and college days and if we (us kids) ever wanted anything extra i.e. go to the movies with friends, buy a yearbook, or clothing we had to provide the means for it. This led to me buying very basic, non "in style" looks because they weren't as functional. My view of it was you can get a lot more use out of a solid color top than a cute patterned stylish top that people notice. I would always go the simple, non fashionable route.

When I look at my friends sometimes feel like all of those beautiful fashionable girls are in this gorgeous fashionable house, and they "get it", meaning being able to just throw things on and it looks great! ...And then there is me... still standing outside in my holey jeans, winged out bangs and mud on my face looking in through the window trying to figure out how this whole 'fashion' thing really works. Trying to find out how to put different colors with different patterns, learning how to pair those adorable shoes and purse with that outfit eventhough they don't necessarily "match". One of my favorite shows is "What Not to Wear" on TLC. I know that I'm a little bit of a better dresser than most of the people that go on that show but I wish that I had the eye for style that Stacy and Clinton have. That, my friends, is talent. I am constantly learning new things from that amazing show. I keep wishing that they would put pictures of their outfits on their website so I can refer back to them before I venture out in to the shopping world.

Right after Tyson and I were married we decided to put a budget in place to track our financials. This has been such a blessing to us. We each get our "monthly money" that we can spend on whatever we want. If we didn't have this budget I would probably never go shopping just because I would feel like we didn't have money for it. Now I can save it up and buy those amazing shoes that I found, or jacket that I would never spend that much money on. One thing I have a hard time with is I will find something I fall in love with just to be let down after looking at the price. I mean who would seriously pay $188 for a wallet? I mean granted, that thing was adorable, but that person is not me (at this point in our lives). I am gradually adding pieces that I love to my ever so small wardrobe. Now comes the hard part - putting these pieces together to make them even cuter. So as this holey jeaned, winged out banged girl continues on her quest to become a little more "fashionable" and go to the stores that are a little more affordable, I just wanted to show you the new shoes I just bought and fell in love with, and hopefully I can find something to pair them with that will do them justice..... (Anthro - be looking out for me in 5 years!!)

My family August 2008 from left to right: Jenny, Robert, me, Tyson, mom, dad, Mike, Ashlyn, Erin holding Madalyn, Corinne and Brandon, Thomas