Creative Every Day

Creative Clothing

August 6th, 2008

Below is a bunny in a field spread for a sketchbook swap. The sketchbook just made it's way up to New Hampshire today!

I've been absolutely loving the outfit picture posts from Andrea at A Cat of Impossible Color and now our newest "Creative Every Day 2008" member, Audrey of Frassy. It's so much fun to see how people put their clothing together. As a teenager, I was a much quirkier dresser, but when I worked as a nanny for six years in my 20's, my wardrobe took a dive. I didn't want to wear anything that might get ruined by kids or the family's dog. Earlier, in art school it was much the same way, anything nice could easily be ruined through art-making. I used that as an excuse to dress sloppy and I also developed an overly negative body image that made me feel ultra self-conscious when trying on clothes. Recently, I started taking an interest in my wardrobe again, finding some quirky things that reflect who I am on the inside which made me feel surprisingly fantastic. It takes some time to overhaul a wardrobe and I know it will be some time before I own a full wardrobe of clothing that I totally love, but bit by bit I'm getting rid of the clothes that are worn out, don't fit right, or don't suit me at all (I have a ton of hand-me-downs and clothes that go back to high school.) I feel lighter with each piece I let go of. And somehow I feel more myself and more confident as I express myself outwardly too. Recently, I've been admiring loads of shoes, like these cute art deco shoes from Anthropolgie. I like the buckle. And the color. But how cute are these yellow flats on Andrea? Too cute!

I'm totally a voyeur. I've been realizing this about myself. I love real estate websites where I can peek into people's homes and see what they look like, how they decorate, and what cool architectural details people have hidden away. That's definitely one of the fun part about blogging, peeking in on people's lives. And both the hubster and I enjoy people watching in new places. It's fascinating to me! So, I suppose it makes sense that I totally love seeing what people wear. I'm much more interested in what regular people wear than in what celebrities are wearing.

I was thinking about all this, because people will often ask, "is this creative?" One of the reasons I wanted to do the "Creative Every Day 2008" challenge was to challenge my own notions of creativity and find the creative in my every day life. Truly, there are infinite opportunities to be creative every day. Yes, making art is creative. But so is cooking something new (or something old in a new way), getting lost on purpose on a walk around town, wrapping a gift in non-traditional recycled wrappings, putting together a fabulous outfit, arranging photos on a wall, doodling on receipts, writing in your paper journal, dancing through your living room, making up silly games with your kids, drumming a beat on the bongos, collecting colorful leaves that you find outside... you get the idea.

The beautiful thing is, the more you focus on living a creative life, the more opportunities you will discover for being creative in small and large ways.

So, do you wanna play with clothes perhaps?

• Check out polyvore, where you can create online collages of interior design or fashion or any crazy combo you desire. And you can see what others have put together too!
• Another fun site where you can see what folks are putting together is Weardrobe.
• There are loads of unique handmade and vintage clothing goodies on etsy. And oh so many accessories, my favorite thing to shop for. Lately, I'm loving little bobby pins with fabric covered or vintage buttons and whale earrings.
• Secondhand shops can be a great place to find some cool lightly-used things. And of course, if you're handy with a sewing machine you can always re-purpose clothes you find or pieces you already have! Check out the Repurposed blog for ideas!
• Get some wardrobe inspiration in this wardrobe re-mix flickr group or this group or this one!
• Thinking about creativity with clothes reminded me of a toy I used to have using plates that you can mix and match and use crayon rubbings to put together a look. So much fun!
  

Keep on having fun with your fashion and your creativity. It's o.k. to play, to experiment, to express yourself. Life is short, live colorfully and creatively!

 

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