When (Style) Inspiration Strikes

For the past several days, my dad and I have been going downtown every afternoon to squeeze in as many photoshoots as possible before I head back to school. I’ve been throwing outfits together left and right (while simultaneously trying to pack and do all my laundry), and it’s been so fun to try new combos and discover colorful backdrops all over town! Needless to say, I’ve been feeling very inspired with my fashion lately, and I wanted to share what inspires my style choices with all of you.

Like anything, I go through periods where I’m completely uninspired and have absolutely no ideas for outfits. Everything in my closet is boring, or doesn’t fit quite right, or clashes with everything else… But other times, I go through phases where a million outfit combinations pop into my head while I’m lying awake at night, and all I want to do is sit in my closet to imagine all the possibilities! (Usually this results in a heap of clothing on the floor after I spend hours trying everything on. Can anyone relate?)

After one of my favorite photoshoots ever at a construction equipment yard last month, I started thinking about other cool and out-of-the-ordinary places I could take photos… which led me to think of CARS! Which, in turn, inspired me to take photos with this eggshell 1970 Volkswagen Fastback.

Naturally, I couldn’t wear just any outfit—I had to pick something that would go with the car. So I started thinking about 70s fashion… Visions of bellbottoms danced in my head, and I landed on these printed palazzo pants from Francesca’s (which, as you may recall, are “the coolest pants ever,” according to my dad). I don’t own any clothes that are truly 70s inspired, but these pants seemed like a great choice!

I tried on at least five different tops before landing on this cropped black sweater for a bit of a modern twist. Topped the outfit off with tall (yet hidden) black boots and a turquoise flower choker, although it was a tough decision between this one and two other choker necklaces.

70s chic, with a car as my best accessory!

So when I’m not getting my outfit inspiration from cars, or an equipment yard, where else do I turn when I’m in a style rut? One of my biggest sources of inspiration is the laundry room, believe it or not. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been doing laundry and have seen two items next to each other in the dirty hamper that look amazing together. But it’s always unusual things, things I wouldn’t think to pair together when I see them hanging in separate ends of my closet.

Like today’s outfit, which is firstly inspired by the Volkswagen Fastback and secondly inspired by the year of the car’s model, I also find the decades to be a great source of style inspiration. Wearing bold or neon colors and styling big hair is reminiscent of the 80s, and sometimes I like to throw on dark colors and a choker to mimic 90s grunge. Another go-to style for me is a very general “old fashioned” look, which I suppose includes elements of fashion from roughly the 30s-50s, and which usually entails brooches, pearls, fit-and-flare dresses, t-length skirts, etc.

If you’ve been following me since the original quarantine/shelter in place started last March, then you know I love drawing outfit ideas from movies and TV shows as well. You can check out my Binge Worthy Fashion Series below, featuring looks inspired by fashionable TV characters!

Binge Worthy Fashion: Mindy Lahiri from “The Mindy Project”

Binge Worthy Fashion: Jessica Day from “New Girl”

Binge Worthy Fashion: Jane Sloan from “The Bold Type”

Binge Worthy Fashion: The Ladies of “Riverdale”

Binge Worthy Fashion: Blaire Waldorf from “Gossip Girl”

Binge Worthy Fashion: Midge Maisel from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

And of course, if all else fails and I’m still feeling uninspired, I turn to Pinterest or other bloggers. It’s rare that I try to recreate an outfit exactly, although I think I should start doing that more—it’s fun to see what similar items I have in my own closet and to find out what combos work (and which ones don’t!). I don’t talk about it much on the blog, but I also wear a lot of outfits that do not look good. I try so many combinations on and only about a third actually look cute! And sometimes, I get the idea for an outfit in my head and get soooo excited about it, only to try it on and be extremely disappointed by how ugly it looks. It happens! My point is, as much as I love fashion, I definitely don’t have it all figured out (just look at any of my old blog posts as proof, ha). Fashion is a game of trial and error, and there’s often a lot of error before you find an outfit that looks and feels great.

Where do you get your style inspiration?? Do you tend to rewear your go-to outfits over and over again, or are you always switching it up? I love the challenge of trying to create a completely new combination every day, but some outfits are so good they just have to be repeated.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my groovy 70s-inspired photos!

Miles of smiles,

Grace