Melanie Kluger

Embracing your Personal Style

Hello my darling!

How is your holiday season going? I just wanted to pop in and say a holiday hello! This month has been a complete whirlwind of shopping, photo shoots, guest posts and features. In between that I was rocking holiday party outfits, chasing a toddler around the house and spreading holiday cheer (obvs).

One of my favorite things to talk about (especially around the holidays) is embracing your personal style. While this seems like an easy thing to do, I find that so many women struggle with OWNING their style. Is this something you have ever encountered? It can be challenging to know "Is this me?" which often makes us frustrated and confused.

A few years ago, I found myself in a little bit of a "style pickle". When I was single, living in Manhattan I liked to push the fashion envelope. I loved being inspired by theatre and movies, as well as jumping at the chance to wear some fun vintage piece that I found in a cute little consigment shop in the West Village. I relished in standing out and wore heels on every date. Then, my life changed. It was certainly a welcomed change that I'm very grateful for, but my old style didn't really suit my new lifestyle. I wasn't running around the streets of Manhattan anymore. I was chasing my baby around a playground and shopping with clients in suburbia. Heels and vintage dresses no longer seemed appropriate. I made a very important decision one day that has shaped how I dress today. I decided that this didn't need to be a negative thing.

You don't have to long for your old style and life if you love your new style and life just as much.

I think we often compare ourselves to a younger version as if that younger version was better. To me, having more confidence in who I am (as I get older) has helped me define myself and my style even more. This gives me the ability to still test the fashion waters in a way that works for who I am now, not who I used to be.

Constantly asking the question "Would I buy this in a store now?" keeps your closet fresh, current and unique to you.

This year, we started to get invited to a lot of holiday parties. This is the first year in awhile that I wasn't pregnant or in the world of 24/7 infant spit up so I wanted to tap into that old part of me that liked to "go for it" with fashion. It was fun to mix the old me with the new and make fun combinations. It was also a great lesson for me to learn that even though I'm a different person who isn't going to be galavanting NYC at 3 am in a faux fur coat, I can still wear that faux fur to a holiday party at a friends house and feel just as fabulous.

I can choose to "Go for it" in my every day clothes too. Maybe that means wearing polka dot sneakers or doing my hair and makeup a little more playful for the day. Whatever makes you smile and confident.

So as Christmas approaches, and the New Year is about to begin, I want you to think about your personal style. How can you OWN it in 2015? What makes your style unique to you now? What do you LOVE about yourself that you can showcase more through your clothes? Over the next few weeks I'll be focusing more on this so we can really start to ask ourselves the right questions. In my opinon, having a really confident sense of style is one of the easiest ways to showcase who we are. It's a form of expression and gives us a chance to be proud of ourselves when we leave the house. If you want to hear more on the subject you can check out my guest post over on Verily Magazine last week here. Have a wonderful week full of fun fashion choices and relaxation!

xoxo,

Melanie

Coat, Jumpsuit, Bag, Shoes, Necklace, Vintage Bracelets, Ring, Ring

Photography by Krista Marie Photography and Hair and Makeup by Melissa Hoffmann

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