A Spiritual Approach to Connecting With Fashion

It's amazing how we collectively agree to shift behaviours so suddenly. During the lockdown we no longer have to dress for others, and the result has been casual lux, at best. We are opting for loose fitting clothes, which to me is simply a return to our true nature: free and flowing. I am reminded how one of the first lessons of yoga that I learnt was to wear loose fitting, natural fabric clothing.  Today as I work in my pre-pandemic wardrobe, I wonder if I always noticed how tight and restricted I felt. And now not only am I opting for loose-cut items, I'm even going up a size, by choice, even though I've gone down a couple of pounds. I suspect we will not give up certain freedoms in post-pandemic living, and being comfortable in our clothing will be one of them. After having seen and experienced for ourselves that we can be comfortable and still look good and feel confident without fully revealing ourselves, this seems like a fashion revolution to me.  What I've lear...

After being subject to a second lockdown in 2020, that is continuing to at least February moving forward, I began to connect more with my health and wellness passions, and less with fashion.  But after an interesting Zoom meeting, I realized something very important about fashion - it allows us to show up visually as our best selves, and it connects us to each other. There is something highly rewarding about wearing items that are on trend, colours that are in style, and fabrics that compliment the seasons. As I have mentioned in a previous article, I never felt truly a part of in fashion. Being 5'4" on a good day, and having previously been unable to budget, keeping up with trends or even really feeling good in my clothing didn't seem to be in the cards. I therefore maintained a beauty regime through cosmetics and hair, leaving very little resources left for clothing. But something that I have discovered as of late, is that it's not about perfectly fitting clothing or...

Fashion is making efforts to be eco-friendly. While it is a leading culprit in pollution, 1 , 2   I wanted to still celebrate the efforts that many designers are making in order to at least in some way reduce their carbon footprints.  Here are some brands that I personally work with, and some of the steps they are taking to become leaders in sustainable fashion.  Cinzia Rocca eco fur Weekend Max Mara virgin wool Tagliatore cupro ("vegan silk") Mackage responsible down certified Save The Duck with PLUMTECH® instead of down 360Cashmere  Traceable Cashmere Sanctuary recycled polyester/plastic (and super soft!) Frame sustainable cashmere Citizens of Humanity denim (The Harlow Ankle) "Act local, think global" are words I live by, and with so many brands becoming more conscientious, it is an exciting time for fashion, even amidst a pandemic. While this industry still needs to address the problem of excessive waste on a packaging/shipping level, more and more desi...

And just like a folk song, our love with be passed on...  - Taylor Swift, "Seven",  Folk Lore   A powerful theme in fashion fall 2020 is country. Something about being in lockdown and going back to basics, I think we're ready for this folk-threaded trend! Gucci Liberty floral crêpe dress Bella Dahl flowy button down Frame Le Cropper Leather Mini Boot

I am back in fashion! I now work at a Canadian company, working with product that is comparable to a luxury department store. I call it a “mini Saks”, and while I miss working in a big company, where I am at is safe and clean and a has potential for growth. Today I was presented with an opportunity to model in stylist picks to be featured on social media. I realized a couple of things. First, I still have a lot to learn about discerning what suits what body type, and second, I have a lot of hold ups about every part of my body. Being faced with the dilemma of finding a flattering outfit that would accommodate my insecurities made me see what true styling is. I catapulted into a new understanding of fashion, and for a brief moment I felt once again inferior, but I didn’t let that take over. Instead I decided to learn what brands we sold that I truly liked and that I want to be loyal to. Stine Goya , Frank & Eileen , L’Agence , and Sanctuary are several designers who I want to ...

Cardigans are in fashion. I’ve waited my entire adult life for this moment. Listed are some of my top picks. Images taken from Saks Fifth Avenue app.

In the pandemic, I was temporarily laid off from my job with Ted Baker, and while I am not sure of my official fate with the company, I have decided to do my best to get back into high fashion. While there were a couple of MONTHS in the pandemic when I threw my hands up and believed that retail would never rebound from this crisis, where I considered upgrading my education and tried to think of digital careers, as we now enter the 9th week, officially now in the third month, I had a shift in thought and feeling. I really believe fully now that luxury fashion selling is where I want to be. And seeing that women are already buying now that the stores in some states are reopening, I am so optimistic. But really, I always felt secure in high-end fashion selling, even in brick-and-mortar, because when women are spending hundreds to thousands of dollars, they want to be in a store to see, touch, try on, and finally, get professional assistance.  And while I also reached an entir...

Well, Paris Fashion Week 2020 has come and gone, and I didn't blog about it. That's not to say that I wasn't paying attention, however, and I must say, the Chanel show really blew me away. I have a huge soft spot for Chanel. She was the first designer I really learned about, it's an accessible brand if only for fragrance and cosmetics, and Karl Lagerfeld passed away during my first real job in fashion when I worked at Saks Fifth Avenue as a style advisor. This is Chanel's second collection to be shown after the death of Lagerfeld (the first for the fall/winter season), and I love the direction that his right-hand and now new artistic director Virginie Viard has taken. For the first time watching a runway show, I actually could imagine myself in the pieces, and the way they would feel on me and the beauty that I would feel in them. A part of this visualization also has to do with my new-found confidence and knowledge acquired by working at Ted Baker, and also havi...

I am back in fashion! It is the best feeling. And just in time for a new year! As I reviewed my blog dashboard preparing for this post, I saw that despite my five month hiatus in luxury retail, I only missed writing in the month of October. This is a real testament to me that I have come a long way in my passions and what is important to me. During my brief affair in administration, I noticed the sadness I felt when visiting my professional profile on social media and seeing a disconnect from all of the amazing connections I was no longer identifying with, and all of the inspiring vocations in luxury sales that I was no longer able to aspire toward. As I start my journey at Ted Baker next week, I do experience fear. Ted Baker is a powerhouse, being in the top 100 luxury brands in the world. But in 2019 Ted's took two enormous hits. First the founder had to step down at the beginning of the year for misconduct, fully resigning mid-year, and then the company fabricated its assets...

I have always been connected to the French culture. From my laissez-faire demeanor to my under-stated appearance, I found confidence in my style when I turned 40 and realized that I was in fact fashionable, even when my wardrobe wasn't trending. I remember when I was 20 visiting my Nanny in a new outfit. She greeted me as I walked up the stairs to her porch and said I looked "Very French". She was an austere woman, and I believe that's why I have so few memories of her. But when she was clearly pleased with me, I knew something special was happening. I knew I was receiving a huge and rare compliment, and so that is a memory of her that I hold dear to my heart. In the present day, having had a career as a Style Advisor and taking strides to learn and grow for my business, I now navigate another twist of my spiritual journey through fashion. Unravelling the emotions that are intricately woven in labels, sizes, trends, money, celebrity, and society, taking me one l...

Images taken from the Saks Fifth Avenue app.

I was truly hoping to write a September piece, but wasn't really sure it would happen. The Spring 2020 fashion marathon started yesterday, so I was optimistic, but not entirely convinced. Then I had my first real moment of missing my job in fashion, just a few short hours after I completed the last day of my first month in my new job. I saw a picture of Kate Middleton , and I knew exactly a designer or two who I could have referred a client to, should someone have been wanting that "look" (and in some cases, even the designer label itself). After seeing the image I felt for the first time in 4 weeks that maybe I made a mistake leaving luxury fashion sales, but instead of letting fear overcome me, I decided to go onto the Saks website and see what was new. As I wrote in a  previous piece , there is an excitement in retail where there are many moving parts that work fast, and a little re-arranging even of floor plans or backdrops can lift the mood and foster inspiration,...

Today is the last day of the month of August and I decided this early evening to write a post. I was not completely comfortable not writing for the month of August as my goal for this blog and for my spiritual blog (linked in profile) is to write at least one piece a month. But on August 10th I left the fashion industry and in so well suspected the demise of this blog, my "journey through fashion". Two or three weeks prior to leaving the fashion industry I also apparently left my boyfriend. He was the proponent behind my industry writing. All of my fashion projects outside of my style advisor job was really him propelling me, encouraging me, and giving me strength to be more than an employee just doing my time, but to study, apply, be informative, and influence others. I will be moving into my fourth week in a new job that is such a fringe industry I don't even want to describe for it is not important at this time and in this fashion. Pun intended. But I do miss workin...

I’ve been feeling inspired after working with a first-time Saks customer who I am hoping will become a client, as we set out to find her a dress for a wedding where there will be complicated relationships and themes to adapt to. Often times when I am approached by a customer who wants to find a dress, I want to run the other way - especially when that dress is from the ball gown department. And something I realized last night while discussing my sales work and my fashion writing with this lovely beautiful woman is that a reason why dress shopping is so difficult is because of the emotions involved in the dress and in the expectations of the events for which the dress will be worn. I can sell denim no problem. I have reached such a level of blazing confidence with denim that I can even sell brands to women who are not familiar with that particular cut or wash or who were looking for their "comfort" style but I will hand them something originally unthinkable to them, and t...

I'm doing much better at my job as a Style Advisor. I have gained more confidence and am building relationships with my customers who are becoming clients. I am becoming much more comfortable with fashion and have been basking in my accomplishments of meeting my monthly targets and gaining more trust from management. So it's been a bit more difficult to come up with a new article this month since I haven't felt as much need to look ahead. I have been simply staying in the moment. So much so I have had no ideas of what to write! Therefore this piece is going to be a bit more personal: an update of my relationship with fashion over the past couple of months, and I hope it's relatable! My journey through fashion more recently has been up and down. The other week I finally started trying on clothes at work. It was a slow night and I decided it was time to get more intimate with what it is I'm selling. I tried on blouses, denim and dresses of my favourite designers, a...

"Fashion is part of the daily air and it changes all the time, with all the events. You can even see the approaching of a revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes." - Diana  Vreeland After a difficult transition in sales from winter to spring, I noticed that by changing the floor plan of the store I work at, it lightened up the atmosphere dramatically. A little more than a month later, as I moved through the floors to get to my department this morning, I saw how the Easter-time display, a brilliant destination get-away theme, was getting old. Some of the clothing on the mannequins are now on clearance. And while the display is stunning and intricate, it's time to revamp. Upon reaching the top level, I noticed the racks spread out very nicely, with beautiful clothes neatly hanging from them. I thought, how blessed am I that I get to work in such a beautiful store, with beautiful merchandise. For the first time, I saw the fast turn-over in ...

Something that has been brought to my attention, that I would have never noticed otherwise (and an example of how societal programming works), is that models no longer smile in advertisements. I even saw an image of a scowling child for a hospital campaign in the mall the other week, an appeal to "Join the fight". It is an age of anger, confusion, uncertainty, and bullying, and this is now being expressed, or possibly perpetrated, in fashion advertising. While the public might have been growing tired of the images of fake smiles and strange enthusiasm of people in posters, this new direction is indicative of even more strange times to come. A time of complete falseness - a new breed of "false advertising". In my research I found studies have shown that while broad smiles show friendliness, they also depict less competency.  One article explains that in fashion or retail, it's okay to have less competency, whereas for a medical advertisement, it's more ...

"They say couture is dead. Maybe for them, but not for us." - Karl Lagerfeld I've been meditating on the concept of impermanence, on progress, on endings and beginnings. A big reason has been inspired by a challenge presented: change now or be stifled. After personally feeling the crunch from retail jobs being taken over by computers (such as cashiers being  replaced with kiosks , live agents with  chatboxes  and sales associates with online shopping ), I have woken up to the fact that my job too might be on thin ice. But I recall what my yoga teacher said to us well over a decade ago, before the 2008 recession and before a time when our communities really started to feel the heat of job performance being outdone by AI - Figure out what it is that you can bring to a job, that a computer can't. Fortunately I have the privilege of in fact being in a position to offer a service that a machine can't, and that is establishing human connection by selling somethi...