More on Fashion & Style

I provided information about my life and my journey on my More About Me page. But I did not really talk about my personal history of Style and Fashion.

During my elementary and middle school years in an effort to save money, my mother would make most of our clothing by hand, primarily matching skirt and tunic sets. Today, if my mother were alive, I would love to be creating unique fashions with her and I would wear them proudly. But as a young child, I guess you could say I was embarrassed by it. (So much for being a thankful young girl!) While most of my peers were displaying the latest styles from The United Colors of Benetton and The Gap, I was humbly modeling the latest designs from “Made with Love by Mom.”

I do remember when I was about 13 years old, The Gap in our local mall was having a huge end of season sale and I purchased a black and blue striped cardigan for $10. I was ecstatic to be the owner of an article of clothing from The Gap! I wore that sweater until it literally fell apart. And fortunately for me, when the neckline and the placket started to fray and detach from the body of the sweater, it was the late 1980’s and the grunge movement was on the rise! So I jumped on board with my torn and tattered clothing and rocked that sweater some more! I had finally found my own little niche in the world of fashion trends. When my tights would run and there was no extra money to buy new ones, I would just layer two pairs of tights and proudly strut the shredded leggings look. I remember my first day of college in 1992, I was wearing some “distressed” tights, cut off jean shorts, combat boots, and a men’s flannel shirt. Grunge to the core, I made my statement in the ultra-conservative environment of my university.

Slowly, I started to conform a bit to the preppy styles around me, but grunge was the in thing during the early 1990’s, so I was able to hold true to myself somewhat. Then graduation came and I needed a job! Naturally, I found myself working in the world of retail. First, I was a sales representative at a small clothing boutique which specialized in bohemian styles. Then I moved on to corporate retail. I accepted a position as an Assistant Store Manager for a men’s clothing store called Britches. But men’s fashion wasn’t really my thing, so I quickly moved on to an Assistant Manager position at Talbots, Inc. where I stayed for a few years. While I was there, my personal style flipped completely to embrace the image that I was representing and selling. But I lost a piece of myself during that time. It took me some time to find myself again but that’s a story for another day.

So now we come to present day Shelbee…the bottom line is this: I love clothes and shoes and accessories and everything that goes along with creating a cohesive outfit. I love getting dressed in the morning and coming up with new and unique ways to style myself. The best compliment my husband ever gave to me was this, “I love seeing what you are going to wear everyday. It makes me smile.” And if he’s smiling, then I’m smiling!

I also love helping other women (if they need help) to find what works for them, what makes their husbands or partners or friends smile, what makes them smile. Because a smile is one of the most beautiful accessories a woman can wear. I want all women to feel like the best versions of themselves and if I can help them accomplish this then I have reached my goal.

If I feel confident in my clothing, I feel confident about everything else in my life. One mission I have for my blog is to have fun with fashion and feel great in the process. So let’s get styling.

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

You can also check out my daily outfit posts on Instagram.

And my Pinterest boards display so much fabulous style inspiration.