Keeping it Casual || Jeans + A Tee

Call it living in California for too long, but I'm a sucker for casual cool.  Give me a flowy dress, a cozy sweater or jeans and a tee any day.  I'm just not into anything that's super fussy. I recently read an essay in InStyle that Leandra Medine penned on personal style.  "Look at street-style photography," she writes. "We often complain about how downright fake the photos from Fashion Week can feel. But we’ve been conditioned to believe that the craziest, loudest outfit wins. And here’s where we run into a problem: If you’re trying that hard to achieve originality, is it authentic? Isn’t genuine nonconformity effortless, like breathing or blinking?" Isn't it, though? How often do we text a friend to see what they're wearing to the party before committing to our own ensemble or dubiously change seven times before hesitantly walking out the door?  On the contrary, do you ever feel like you downplay your personal style, so as not to attract attention? I'm curious, what do you feel most comfortable in?  For an embarrassing jaunt down memory lane, do continue reading...

I can honestly say that when I go back through the last few years of outfit posts, there are very few regrets. That's not to say I think they're all awesome or that I would wear them all today, but they feel like me. They feel authentic.  Head back, though, a little further-- circa 2012 and before-- and it gets a little spotty. I see my style in some and others feel downright costume-y.  (Like this Fourth of July post.  The pom poms?!)  I was still styling full time then and I felt like each outfit post was a new editorial or job that I was creating the direction for, it had so little to do with my personal style.  As a stylist always creating looks for other people around their personal style or looks around a brand's vision, it stunted my personal style awareness. It felt like my style was always changing. (I love this post that Catherine shared with us about using Fashion Feng Shui to identify your personal style.)

All of that to say, I've never felt more comfortable with the clothes hanging in my closet than I do now. You will likely never see me in a Harper's Bazaar NYFW round up or on the cover of The Sartorialist, but that's a-okay with me. I'm pretty happy with the skin-- and tee-- I'm in.

Photography by Katie Jameson

Tee, Sol Los Angeles via Anthropologie || Hat, Madewell || Jeans, Alexander Wang (Similar) || Bracelets, Noonday Collection || Sunnies, Warby Parker || Sandals, Hanna Andersson