Fashion Zen
Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 1:41PM 
Photo by Ellen von Unwerth, Vogue Nippon, courtesy of www.ridingpretty.blogspot.com
Fashion Zen occurs when Art and Science collide to provide the perfect breeding ground for serendipity to fulfill your wardrobe desires!
The Science of Wardrobe Planning
Get clear on what looks good on you by editing your wardrobe. Yes, I sound like a broken record but it's so true: Editing what you already own gives you a clue as to the shapes, styles, colors, and fabrics that work best for you. See the right hand side bar? I’m giving out the Everyday Glamour Wardrobe Edit Workbook for free. Key word: FREE!
Then use the Core Wardrobe technique to narrow down with laser beam precision what item or items you most need or want to shop for now to get the most bang for your buck.
Editing your wardrobe and the Core wardrobe technique represent the Science part of your shopping equation. No, it’s not beakers, bunsen burners, and control groups, smarty pants, but you get the idea—this is the clinical observational stage with a mixture of hard-boiled psychology. Step away! Step away from the Prozac! I can help!
Photo by Ellen von Unwerth for Lula Mag, courtesy of www.thecoollist.com
The Art of Wardrobe Planning
Once clear on what you need or want, the Science part, you must relax and be open to finding the sometimes unexpected but perfect answer to your sartorial question. In effect, you must allow serendipity to step in. This is called Fashion Zen. Did you just hear the clear ring of a bell? Ting!
Relax your ardent choke hold on what you think you must have. For example, if you are looking for the perfect shirt dress to pack for a summer Mediterranean getaway, it is best to understand your individual basic requirements but not to narrow down every last detail. Individual requirements could be that the shirt dress be a simple, classic design that emphasizes your waist. But there is no need to specify the details of the dress too closely, like that it needs to be a specific shade of tangerine, or that it must under all circumstances be a wrap style shirt dress.
Photo of Rose McGowan by Ellen von Unwerth, courtesy of www.sequingown.wordpress.com
Mindful Shopping
You can hit the stores now. Avoid online shopping as much as possible. Online shopping should only be used as a last resort, perhaps because you live in a remote area and have a hard time traveling to acceptable stores. Fashion Zen requires that you try on a lot of stuff and be open to the unexpected--two things that are monumentally more difficult to achieve online. Results are always better when you hit the brick and mortar.
Remember, my Everyday Glamour Chicks, (E.G.C.'s):
Prepare. Relax. Stay open. Be happy. Smile and breathe.
Shopping tips in Fearless shopping
Reader Comments (10)
Thanks to you Kate I feel the zen! I have edited, then re-edited my closet. I (you) selected my spring/summer core wardrobe and now I'm finding the key pieces to fill in the gaps. I physically separted my s/s core so that it's all I'm 'dealing with' on a day to day. I'm feeling very focused about what I NEED and I'm loving how easy it is to find something appropriate to wear for any occassion.
(bowing) Thank you Zen Master...(GONG)
(P,S, I hope that bitch going on the med cruise finds her perfect shirt dress) (from page 195: please deliver to the back door and DO NOT ring the doorbell, leave it behind the garbage cans, and park at the church) (honk twice once you've left it there)
(bowing back) Your welcome, Grasshopper. Stay humble.....(GONG)
P.S. Psst...pssssst. Hey Bitch! Yeah, you!...pssst....Shirtdress, page 195, check behind your garbage cans....HONK HONK!!!
*peels out of the church parking lot, in a cloud of dust*
Kate, I adore all 3 of these photos, esp. the girl in the tree!
You will be very happy to know that I have hit fashion zen in one area: I used your Core Wardrobe technique (possibly your best post ever) to put together my work wardrobe. I mostly shopped my closet, only ended up buying 4 new pieces & 2 pair of shoes - and I have at least 30 different outfits! Love it!
Now to do that for casual & going out clothes too. You are the best, your tips & advice are magical!
Lee, the photographer for all three is Ellen von Unwerth, and I really love them too!
As for your new and improved wardrobe, keep it up! I'm seriously delighted that you will be entering the workforce dressed to impress.....and that you didn't break the bank getting it all together!! Congrats! :)
As with every post, this is bookmarked. Something tells me this one will be printed off because if there's one thing I need in my life, it's some fashion zen!
Milla, glad to hear it! Now I know that without a doubt, you have an amazing shoe collection--so when you are done editing, feel free to send any cast-off Jimmy Choo's my way... ;) :D (ha ha, worth a try.)
I'm so interested in the last part of this post, because of me going to stores, keeping an open mind and trying on everything usually results in a lot of poor choices. Online I tend to be better focused and more savvy. What's happening to my fashion zen?!
www.styleonthecouch.com
Lovely S.O.T.C.,
Here's my diagnosis: I think the key in your particular case, is the preparation stage, or the Science part. You are so creative, so it's hard for you to narrow down choices. You enjoy the freedom and fun of finding something totally unexpected! It's like telling a gourmand to write a grocery list before they hit Zabar's. But the result for some people, (I don't know about you), is a huge, huge, overflowing wardrobe, which is fine, but it's not the LESS IS MORE way. Just like the unrestricted gourmand who runs willy nilly through Zabar's without parameters--they are bound to get fat! Ha ha ha!!
The key to the fashion zen is a ton of preparation, and remembering to focus on your shopping list. So you still have to exercise self-restraint, but the zen part is knowing not to force it--knowing when to be open and when to walk away. :)
I’ve decided that I can no longer shop in department stores or large clothing stores. Maybe it’s just me but even when I do my wardrobe homework and know exactly what it is that I want, anytime I step into one of these stores, I am seduced by the siren song of displays of the hottest designers and the latest fashions. And all these pretty clothes jump off the racks and into my arms, hurry me into the dressing room to try them on, and then drag me to the register and slip my credit cards from purse so I can take them home.
So for my own sanity and serenity, I’ve started shopping at a few local consignment boutiques. The selection may be smaller, but the variety of clothing and accessories is always more eclectic and unique, sometimes modern and sometimes retro (which is my sort of style). What I really like is the simple joy of discovering an unexpected find, those one-of-a-kind little treasures that become a big part of my wardrobe. I never thought about it this way, but it is a very Zen form of shopping.
Peace & smiles! Elise
Elise,
You are not alone. The stores love to seduce!
There are a couple kinds of shopping, and both are valuable. The first one is
1. Write a list, stick with the list, and put your blinders on to the rest in order to focus. This is what I help my clients do most of the time.
And
2. Free exploration. Best used when shopping vintage, and abroad. A lot of women find this type of shopping fun, but it can quickly get out of hand. I like to play the "bad cop" with my clients on this one, I shake my head and tell them to move it along or they'll get fined.
Peace :)