Signature Piece.

Is there a certain clothing item that all your friends and family associate with you - something you have on 5 days out of 7? Do you love red shoes? Headbands? Stone jewelry? Denim skirts? Flip flops?

Sometimes we try to "brand ourselves", but most of the time it happens on its own. We love a certain look, or certain item, and find ourselves constantly pulling it out of the closet or off the sales rack. It's only when someone else comments on it that we realize - "Hey, yeah, that's me!"

A word on "signature pieces": Is there an item that you know has become "you," but you really don't like? Do you wear headbands - even though they don't flatter your face shape (nothing against headbands) - simply because they are easy to toss in, and you feel like you can't do better? That's terrible! The Bible says if a woman has long hair it is a glory to her; I think that's a hint that God wants us to take care of our hair and make it pretty. If you don't feel like what you're doing with your hair - or clothing - is pretty and compatible with who you are as a person, do some experimenting! It may not be as hard to learn the french braid as you think. Clothes - especially signature pieces - mark our personality. They should complement it, not clash with it.

There are some things I know are me: scarves are, for instance. I love them because I love love love color; and scarves come in a myriad of colors and prints.

Other things I choose for comfort's sake: ballet flats.

I didn't realize how much these had become a part of "me" until I was making gingerbread men with a friend this Christmas, and we jokingly began to decorate the little figures to look like people we knew. I did one of her; she did one of me. And she specifically pointed out that she had put me "in my little ballet flats."

Looking back, I find that extremely funny. I do love my flats! I used to wear tennis shoes with everything - comfortable, but not extremely feminine-looking, right? Then I wore little heeled boots with everything. More appropriate for the skirts and dresses I wear most of the time, but when I wore them in the summer it looked a little like I stepped out of "Little House on the Prairie".

I didn't like flats because I thought they made my feet look big. But my older sister made them look beautiful, so I gave them a try. Then I saw multiple pictures of Audrey Hepburn wearing them, and everybody says she's a style icon.

Now I wear them almost daily in the fall and winter, unless I choose boots for warmth or style. They're great in the spring and summer too! And I love them!

Cropped Jean Jacket - You've seen this item before. Again, it's one of those things that fits my torso, but not my long arms. So I always wear the sleeves rolled up! It adds a nice layer of warmth, and the deep jean up near my face suits my skin type, which looks washed out if I dress in all light colors. Hand-me-up from a younger sister.
T-Shirt - Guess why I grabbed this shirt off the Good Will rack? That's right - COLOR! I love orange. I wore this shirt all last summer. Lately, though, I've been feeling that perhaps it's a little transparent (or maybe it's been washed too many times!) so it may not see much use this summer. To make myself feel better about that, I decided to use the shirt for layering. As you can see, it adds a happy touch.
Brown Skirt - Hand-me-down from a friend. Free! :) :) I wear this thing constantly. Brown goes with almost everything in my wardrobe.
Aaaaand yes, my brown leggings and flats! I actually like leggings and flats together. They make me feel like Audrey Hepburn or something. I don't know. :)
I'm wearing my hair loose and curly - a rare moment. :) :)

This is a really simple, basic outfit, ya know? I could do anything in it - run errands for Mom, play a board game on the floor with my siblings, do laundry, spend hours in the kitchen, sit and write or sew....It's comfortable, but I feel put-together. That's great. Because it means I can forget about my outfit and concentrate on what's really important.

But back to signature pieces. Do you have any?