I Like Your Style

"A distinctive manner of expression..." is how Webster's defines style. Yes, distinctive, not according to what everyone else is considering in style, but how you define your sense of expression. A bit about me - first confession, I love clothes. I always have. I grew up in a small town in Indiana, and we didn't have much, but that was when I first learned what it truly meant to exude style. Anyone with the means can go out and buy a designer outfit they've seen in a magazine and appear to have it, but it takes true talent to use limited resources to create a look, and not just any look, but a look that serves as an extension of one's personality. It is an art.

As a little girl, my clothes never looked like the other kids' at school. I was belting my 6"4 Dad's XXL t-shirts in the first grade and calling it a dress. One might say that I was ahead of my time, however, those were my resources and I created the kind of dress that I wanted to wear - a usually very worn, very soft, and very oversized piece, belted of course so that it still felt feminine. I'll never forget a little boy making fun of me for it on recess. It was one of a million of my father's Indiana University t's - red with white trim around the sleeve. It was threadbare and perfect and hit just above my knobby knees. It's interesting the things that stick with you. I will also never forget my teacher, after noticing my distress once we re-entered the classroom, asking me why I was so upset. Teary eyed, I told her. That is when she said it, the first one to tell me, "No young lady, it is not what you don't have, it is what you do, and that my dear, is style, and I happen to like your style." Alas, a clothing obsessed star was reborn. Ever since that moment I wore what I wanted to school, and could care less what the other kids thought or said, and believe me I wore some things, and they said some things, but I always felt as though I was rocking what felt like me.

So, as I begin to post articles under style, I want to be clear. It is not really something one has, but something one feels. If what you wear makes you feel good, ya got it. But if you are someone looking to find what that is, well, then, I can help you with that! I am here to hold space for people to find their truth. That is what Deering Street Diaries is all about. I hope you continue to read my stories because they enhance your life, and bring you closer to yourself.

I do have a deep appreciation for high fashion and designer labels, however, I am still a girl on a budget. Maybe that will change over time and the course of this blog (one can dream), but for now you are going to get style inspirations that won't equal your rent. Thrifting is also an art, one that I've mastered. I draw inspiration from everything, but have found that I don't need to sell my car to achieve a look. Vintage is very dear to my heart. I love things with a story, with a little life in their threads. I also can't go into Target without knowing that I am going to spend the next three hours looking at everything! No matter where you are in life, there is one thing you can always have, er, feel that you have, and that is style. And darling, I happen to like YOUR style.

"Real style is never right or wrong. It's a matter of being yourself, on purpose."

- G. Bruce Boyer