The Fashion Artist

Shopping for clothes is a form of self-expression, depending on the look that you are most attracted to and/or what fits your lifestyle the most. It is all about wearing clothes that you are comfortable in because they feel like a second skin. Before you go shopping, it is best to know yourself well and be selective in your purchases. Analyze your needs and wants as you browse in magazines or catalogues for your particular look. It is also good to window-shop in the mall in order to be more aware of your options, environment, and surroundings before you buy anything.

I like all my clothes because I have always been selective when I went shopping. I have always bought each piece that I own for a particular purpose because I identified with that look for some reason, whether the color, style, cut, fit or comfort. I shop around everywhere, whether it is designer merchandise or clothes from street vendors that don’t have a brand name. It is all about the look, and not really about the label. Also, I think a lot before I make my purchases, making sure I can mix and match the new clothing piece with other clothes that I own as well as making sure it fits with my current lifestyle.

Window-shopping and browsing around has taught me to be more selective by being more aware of the variety of options that are out there. Furthermore, browsing through many fashion magazine pages of artistic photographs has helped me see different looks done in many different ways.

The more open-minded you are, the more likely you are more creative as well as better able to put together a coordinated outfit based on your own personal style. As I got older and wiser, I realized that I don’t need to pick a particular style based on a label, such as the casual look, elegant look, ethnic-inspiration look, artsy or funky look, romantic look, or the sensual look. I can still use clothing pieces from each of these different styles, and create my own personal style out of them. Or, maybe, create a combination style from two or three particular styles that I really like, and make it my own style.

Although all my clothing pieces that I own are from different styles, I have learned to mix and match different styles by coordinating such pieces based on color as well as not using more than three colors in one outfit. All outfits should be comprised of two complementary color and one accent color. If the two complementary colors are neutral or muted colors, the accent color can be a bold and bright color in order to make a good contrast. If the two complementary colors are dark or colorful, the accent color should be a neutral or light color so as not to compete with the dark or bright complementary colors and look like chaos. I sometimes use a color wheel and a book on colors that I had bought from an art store to help me coordinate colors better.