About 20 minutes ago, I sat down to record this episode.
I lit a candle, I got comfortable in my chair, I pressed record and I started yapping.
And everything was going smoothly until the unexpected happened.
Out of nowhere, I got hiccups.
This has never happened before, okay?
I've recorded hundreds of podcast episodes.
I've never spontaneously developed hiccups in the middle of an episode, ever in my entire life.
And I kind of froze, I didn't really know what to do.
I was like, well, are they gonna go away, like, right now?
Like, I'm in the middle of something, like, are they gonna go away right now?
So I just kind of kept it rolling.
I was like, they'll probably go away in like a minute or two.
They did not go away in a minute or two.
I had to turn off my recording equipment and sit and stare at the wall for 20 minutes and wait for my hiccups to go away.
As you can hear, the hiccups are gone.
I'm back, we're trying it again.
Everything's going great this time.
I'm actually like kind of afraid that I'm gonna get hiccups again.
It was kind of a, not to be dramatic, but it was kind of a traumatic event because I was so like in the zone.
I was so fucking ready to chat with you guys.
And then hiccups, it was just, it was unbelievable.
It was terrible. But I'm here, the hiccups are over.
I fucking hate having hiccups.
They hurt a little bit.
I don't know if that's just me and like I have something undiagnosed, like maybe hiccups shouldn't hurt, but for me they hurt.
It's like uncomfortable.
It's miserable, so I'm just happy to be here.
Anyway, abrupt topic shift alert.
As many of you may know, if you listen to anything goes, about two or three months ago, I made the decision to get rid of majority of the clothing in my closet.
I'm talking about 90 to 95 % of the clothing in my closet donated.
You probably know this if you're a listener to anything goes because I have unfortunately made it my entire personality.
It is a reoccurring topic for me.
I cannot stop discussing the realizations in epiphanies that I've had from getting rid of majority of the clothing in my closet.
It's actually kind of sad how profound this experience has been for me.
Most people's profound events are a bit more deep.
Getting rid of majority of the clothing in my closet, like that's not that deep.
I didn't have a near death experience.
Like shit didn't get that real.
Like it shouldn't be as profound for me as it is.
However, the experience of getting rid of majority of the clothing in my closet for me has been profound.
And objectively that's kind of sad, but I think anytime anything is profound in life, we should welcome it with open arms and say, you know what?
Any experience that invites conversation I think is positive.
No matter how surface level it may seem from the outside.
I've had many epiphanies from this experience and I've talked about a lot of them on this podcast.
So some of these epiphanies may be familiar to you, but I'm gonna list the epiphanies I've had thus far.
Number one, the true value of quality over quantity in clothing.
Something that I was aware of prior to this experience, but I wasn't really living out in my life.
I definitely had a quantity over quality before.
Whereas now I definitely have quality over quantity.
And I think only upon enacting it in my life do I truly realize what it means in building a wardrobe to have quality over quantity.
Next epiphany, owning more clothing will not make you more stylish or fashionable.
If anything, it will hold you back.
It will probably make you overwhelmed.
I would say for majority of people, decision fatigue happens.
If you have too much stuff, you get exhausted.
You don't wanna make a choice.
If your closet is filled with different options, that doesn't mean that you're gonna be more creative and come up with more innovative outfit ideas.
It probably means you're gonna get overwhelmed and end up wearing the same thing every single day because you don't want to attack the beast that is your clothing collection.
Is that for everybody?
Is that true for everybody?
No, but I would say for majority of people it is the case.
And it definitely was the case for me.
Next epiphany, the concept of a capsule wardrobe I would say is underrated.
It's not like it's something that nobody is utilizing, but I don't know, it's not like trendy to discuss a capsule wardrobe.
I feel like what's trendy more than anything is to be like, look at all this stuff I just bought, look at this haul, which by the way, I'm guilty of.
I've done a lot of hauls in my life and career.
So I'm not saying that there's anything morally wrong with doing a haul or that people who do hauls are evil because I'm not evil and you're not evil.
It's not that, but what I'm saying is it's not trendy to talk about the concept of having a capsule wardrobe, which is having a smaller amount of things that all go together that can create a number of different unique outfits from a smaller collection of clothing that's more tactically created.
It's tactically a word, oh my God.
It is, I love that.
I love when I say a word and I don't know if it is a word and then it is.
And now for my most recent epiphany, drum roll please, it's been brought to my attention the real difference between being stylish and being fashionable.
Now I know what you're thinking.
Emma, who gives a fuck you freak?
Who gives a fuck? That's like being like, what's the difference between a turtle and a tortoise?
What's the difference between an alligator and a crocodile?
Oh my God, I almost forgot.
What's the difference between a frog and a toad?
Like what's the fucking difference?
Who cares? They look the same, they're close enough.
No, I know what you're saying, but hear me out, okay?
The difference between a crocodile and an alligator, the difference between a frog and a toad, these differences are minor, right?
A lot of times it comes down to like their environment.
One goes in water, one doesn't.
One is like an omnivore, one is a carnivore, whatever.
And those minor differences don't really matter to the average person, right?
Like to me, to you, I mean, depending on who you are and what your interests are, who cares about that, right?
But to somebody who is really interested in biology, the differences between a frog and a toad, the differences between a crocodile and an alligator, I keep forgetting which one's which and what the name of the other one is, the difference between those two things is very significant.
So my point of that is the difference between being stylish and being fashionable doesn't fucking matter to people who don't care about clothes.
If you wear clothes in a utilitarian way, you wear clothes for function, then the difference between fashion and style, it's neither here nor there, who fucking cares?
But for those of us who love this shit, why do I keep cussing?
Let me relax. Sometimes I'll like get into a mood and I'll just start cussing a lot.
And it's very cringe and it to me, like reminds me of when I was a teenager and I'd get, I don't know, like I'd feel super bad ass or something and I'd just cuss a lot or I'd get nervous and I'd cuss a lot cause I was like trying to be cool.
Like if I was around like a cute boy, I'd start cussing a lot cause I was nervous.
It reminds me of that and it's very cringe.
So I'm done cussing apparently, but there is a very fascinating difference between being stylish and being fashionable.
And I think if you're somebody who's into clothing, then analyzing the difference can be not only interesting, but also helpful for your own self discovery when it comes to your relationship to clothing and style and fashion.
So let's begin with what I used to think it meant to be fashionable versus stylish.
Because I always knew that there was a difference, but I had never taken more than a minute or two to think about it.
Like it never really meant anything to me.
It wasn't a part of like my own philosophy on clothing and expression through clothing.
Like it wasn't a super developed thought.
It was kind of jumbled in my brain.
I thought being fashionable, it was mainly about designer brands.
Like to be fashionable means to know about all the brands, to wear stuff with logos, to buy the latest trending item that's sort of viral, to be super on trend.
For the most part, leaning into sort of designer brands.
Not all the time. I mean, trends aren't always dictated by large fashion houses.
Sometimes they're dictated by urban outfitters and that's also in some ways at times a designer brand, not really, but you know what I mean?
Like I thought of being fashionable as being so predictably on trend that it's an art in itself, right?
Like wearing what's on the runway, even if it's like doesn't really fit you right or something.
It was more about money and status in my head.
I thought being fashionable meant wearing what was in fashion from an industry standpoint.
Does that make sense?
Like wearing what the brands want you to wear.
It's not taking any risks.
It's not inventive.
It's just taking what the brands are making that's currently trendy in the zeitgeist and wearing it.
There's maybe less personal style involved.
It's safe. It's arguably sort of vanilla.
You can be fashionable and look great, but you look no different than a model on a runway or a mannequin in a trendy store.
It's maybe a bit less interesting.
Whereas to be stylish means not just to wear what the mannequins wearing, but to style the clothing, okay?
Somebody who's stylish knows how to accessorize, layer, make things their own.
To be stylish is to be the microtrend final boss, okay?
Do you know what the microtrend final boss is?
Don't worry, I'll tell you.
Microtrends, let's break it down.
Microtrends are little trends that pop up on the internet every few weeks, definitely heavily dictated by the zeitgeist.
It's so deeply ingrained in the culture that if you're not online, you might not even notice that it happened.
It's little things like bows or certain patterns or the little healed sneakers from Isabelle Morant.
If you know what I'm talking about, those little healed sneakers are like putting charms and stuff on your purse, as it's called on the internet, Jane Birkin in your bag.
If you don't know what that means, Google it.
But putting all the little charms and necklaces in your watch and hanging stuff off your bag, all of those things are ways to style clothing.
It's one thing to just put on clothing.
Put on a shirt, put on a pair of pants, put on a shoe.
You can either do that in a utilitarian way if you're just wearing simple basics, right?
Or you can do that in a fashionable way.
You're wearing a trendy top, a trendy silhouette of a top and a trendy silhouette of a pant and a trendy shoe.
Or you could be stylish.
You could truly style the clothing, okay?
You could take a trendy bag, but then you could add a bunch of charms and then you could put on a pair of pants and then you could cuff them in a way.
And then you could wear socks, two different types of socks and then you could wear trendy shoe.
And then you could wear a tang top with a long sleeve shirt under it.
And then with a pair of glasses and then with like 50 barrettes in your hair, you know what I'm saying?
Incorporate as many fucking trends as you possibly can.
Microtrend final boss.
That's what I thought being stylish was.
I thought it was to be the microtrend final boss, to be a fashion person, right?
To constantly be evolving and changing personal style, to be constantly trying and experimenting with every single trend.
To ideally at times be ahead of the trends.
It's to be doing the fucking most, okay?
That's what I thought it meant to be stylish.
It's not about wearing expensive clothing.
It's about knowing how to create a vibe and knowing how to put together something that no one's ever fucking seen before.
That's what I thought it meant to be stylish.
And to be honest, I was kind of haunted by what my definition of stylish was.
Like this definition of stylish, for me, haunted me.
It was kind of exhausting.
I was like, God, it's so much fucking work to be stylish.
Like I wanna be stylish.
I don't wanna be fashionable.
I wanna be stylish.
This is how we truly express ourselves and are unique and use fashion to truly show who we are, right?
Is to do the fucking most.
To take every single thing that you love on Pinterest and put it on you and become that.
Is to find the things that work for you and then do all of them at once.
But then to also constantly be exploring and actively trying to fix.
Like, okay, what's the next thing though?
What's the next thing though?
Constantly be on top of it.
Be one step ahead. I realize now that my definitions were wrong.
Were they completely wrong?
No. In fact, they're pretty close.
But there are some key differences.
They are so minor. They're so minor that some of you are gonna roll your fucking eyes and be like, Emma, I mean, seriously, you're just fucking grasping at straws at this point for podcast topics.
Like, what the fuck are you talking about?
At this point, you're taking a metaphorical microscope at every single thing on planet earth.
And my God, is it exhausting for you probably.
But then also for everybody else, Emma, please give it up.
No, you're wrong. There is a key difference between what my definitions used to be and what I realized the definitions are, what it truly means to be fashionable, what it truly means to be stylish.
Okay, what I realize now is that to be fashionable is far less simple, okay.
I thought it was just like wearing designer brands sort of being a mannequin, right?
Like being a walking mannequin from stores, okay.
So like wearing an exact Louis Vuitton runway outfit, leaning into the logos, leaning into the brands, right.
Wearing exactly what an urban outfitters mannequin is wearing.
They signal to the world very clearly and very loudly, I'm aware of what's trendy, look at it, it's on my body.
I'm into fashion, look.
What I realized was in the age of the internet, it's far more complex than just copying what's on the runway, you know, if you have the means to do that or copying, you know, the urban outfitters mannequin, it goes so much deeper than that, okay.
Being fashionable today just means being chronically on trend, whatever that means at any given moment.
And nowadays the internet has such a fucking chokehold on fashion trends, like the internet has its own trend cycle sort of situation that a lot of times the brands can't even keep up with, okay.
But the brands can't even produce fast enough.
The fashion kids online are so fucking fast, they're not even waiting for shit to be produced anymore.
They're making it happen themselves.
They're, you know, making certain references go viral and then they're making it go mainstream before the urban outfitters of the world even catch on.
So like at times certain individuals may rely on designer brands to be fashionable.
They may rely on the prestige of designer brands to portray an interest in fashion that is merely just that sort of an interest in fashion, not really a sense of personal style.
That definitely exists and falls into the category of maybe a fashionable person, somebody who is into fashion.
But that's not it. I used to think that, you know, relying on designer brands, relying on companies who are on trend, that was the definition of being somebody who's simply just fashionable.
But I realize now that that's not necessarily it.
Like right now thrifting, secondhand shopping, vintage clothing is trending.
So it's sort of like now everything's fair game because of the internet, I think.
It's gone from being like, well, you're just mimicking the mannequins and the models for certain clothing stores that are trendy.
Now it's, you're mimicking the trends of the internet, which are, it's the wild, wild West on the internet.
Now, when I think what complicates it is the trend over the last few years, online, if you look and see what fashionable people are wearing, what is currently trending is mimicking people with personal distinct style.
Stick with me here.
People in the past who have maybe taken risks, innovated, who are maximalist, who have shown really distinct personal style, those people have now become icons.
Their personal style has now become a trend, okay?
A great example is Jane Birkin.
Jane Birkin had a very strong sense of personal style.
And one of her staples was her Birkin bag.
It's a bag named after her.
She wears this bag every day and she dangles a bunch of stuff off of it.
Many of you know this if you're into fashion, but if you don't, then here I am explaining it again.
She would like hang necklaces off of it, charms off of it, her watch off of it, all these different things, right?
And it was such a distinct Jane Birkin thing.
Like nobody else was really doing that.
Like it was very unique to her.
She had personal style and that was one of the key elements.
And now that is a trend.
Another example would be like, a lot of artists in the past have had sort of a certain aesthetic.
We've seen so many cool people on Pinterest wearing sort of an odd, unusual outfit, but it's so intriguing and it's so cool.
But now that is the trend.
I don't know how to explain this, but it's like now the trend is to mimic people who have distinct personal style.
I personally was fooled into thinking that being the micro trend final boss meant being stylish because participating in all these different micro trends and especially doing them all at once sort of mimics the appearance of somebody who has a really distinct personal style.
But now it's trendy and the outfits are being done over and over again.
It's not stylish. I think it was stylish for the people who maybe did it originally, but I think now it's a trend.
And so now more than ever, I think it's challenging to be stylish and being stylish meaning having a sense of personal style that is unique to you that sort of in some cosmic way is just you, that's harder than ever because the trend is to fabricate having personal style by copying people who do.
Now there's nothing, the way I'm discussing this is making it sound sinister.
It is not. We can wear whatever the fuck we want.
We can copy people when it comes to style.
I mean, as long as we don't take credit, right?
We should give credit where it's due, but like we can wear whatever we want.
There's no moral hierarchy.
It's down to personal preference.
Do I personally think that one is more favorable?
Yes, but before I continue, I want to be clear that I do not attach moral value to this stuff.
I love looking at people who are fashionable.
I also love looking at people who are stylish.
I love watching trend cycles.
I think it's very creative.
Even when you're following trends, there's so many ways to follow trends in a way that's creative.
I'm absolutely amused and visually delighted by looking at somebody who is very fashionable and participates in all the trends and is keeping up.
I enjoy that. And most of the time people put a little bit of their own spin on it.
And I think that's interesting and fun.
And that is a hobby, but there is a difference.
I figured out sort of a test to determine whether an outfit is fashionable or stylish, the Mannequin test, okay?
Imagine you were to take a Mannequin and put one of your favorite outfits on it.
Now bring in 50 people that you know.
Some people are like your best friends and loved ones.
Some people are your teachers, your bosses, your coworkers, like you barely know them.
And then you take two other Mannequins and these two other Mannequins are trending outfits right now.
And now you ask everybody which one is your outfit.
If people can figure out immediately which one is you, you're stylish because you stand out.
You're not copying, you're not trending, whatever.
And if majority of people would struggle to figure out which one is your outfit, then good chance that you're fashionable.
And that's cool too.
Now I've never tried that test and I won't ever.
But I think if you imagine in your head this test occurring, you can kind of guess what the results would be for yourself.
I ended up realizing how rare it is that people are truly stylish.
I think most people in the fashion world are fashionable.
And that's great. But I think many people wanna be stylish.
I wanna be stylish.
That's a goal for me.
So now what do I think it means to be stylish?
I realize now it's not about styling outfits in the most maximalist way possible to make the outfit feel unique, utilizing every single micro trend in one outfit, layering in a trillion different ways to create something that literally no one has ever seen.
It's not that. Instead it's sort of undefinable.
Instead it's about having a truly distinct sense of style that feels unique to the person wearing it.
That could mean accessorizing and styling to the max.
But it could also mean wearing something shockingly simple that is just a unique pairing of specific items.
It's maybe a bit unexpected.
It's not something that you could find on Pinterest.
It's them. They thought outside the box and they've not even necessarily created something new, but they've done something that feels so authentic to them that it just makes sense.
It feels like they were born wearing it.
You know, I think truly stylish people are balancing technically good styling, right?
Styling meaning how you put a bunch of pieces together.
Truly stylish people are good at creating an outfit that feels balanced.
And technically good styling means putting together an outfit that clicks.
And I think people who have really strong personal style also have that, but they're balancing that with things that they personally love, couldn't live without, things that are staples in their personal style and potentially trends.
I don't think people with personal style don't participate in trends at all, but I think they do it sparingly and only when it matches their personal style in a genuinely authentic way.
And it is something that they'll wear regardless of the trend cycle.
And if you were to put someone with personal styles outfit on a mannequin and do the mannequin test, it would be easy to figure out.
I like to believe that I'm at a place now where for the first time I would argue I have a truly strong sense of personal style.
And I exude that on a daily basis.
I have a very specific capsule wardrobe.
Every single item in my closet is something that I don't want to live without or it's like a basic and I wear it every day.
It's something that I truly utilize to the max.
I feel like I have my own sort of personal color scheme and various silhouettes that I wear on a reoccurring basis.
Everything sort of goes together.
And I think at this point now, people in my personal life would know it was my outfit if it was on a mannequin next to two Pinterest outfits.
I really believe that.
And I think that is because I had no choice but to figure out what my personal style was when I got rid of all of my clothes.
Because I had to narrow down what's staying and what's going.
And what ended up staying was stuff that's truly the most me, right?
It all just makes sense.
It all goes with each other.
Everything matches.
It's all kind of falling into one aesthetic that is not really one thing that you can put your finger on, but it's just me.
And I would say there are some trendy stuff in there.
I don't know, I'm not reinventing the wheel.
Like there's definitely some trendy stuff in there.
But if it's trendy, it doesn't matter because I'll wear it for the next fucking 10 years.
There's distinct qualities, whether it's a color palette, or the fact that like you wear the same types of little pins on your clothes every day.
Or you wear the same stable pair of sunglasses every day.
Like these little things add to your personal style.
Like it's almost something that you can't even explain.
You can only see it and feel it.
It's kind of cosmic to be honest.
So there's my sort of updated understanding of what it means to be fashionable versus what it means to be stylish.
It's two completely different lifestyles.
It's two completely different sets of priorities.
When I was younger, I loved getting dressed up and taking photos for Instagram and constantly be putting together trendy outfits and stuff like that.
If you love that, if that's how you express yourself, if that's a hobby for you, if you like making fashion related content, if you wanna be a fashion influencer, like whatever it may be, be fashionable.
That is the path for you.
That is the philosophy to hold near and dear to your heart.
However, that doesn't work for everybody.
And let me tell you, it did not work for me.
I love clothes. I love paying attention to trends.
I love all of this stuff.
However, in my own personal life, on a day -to -day basis, I would rather be stylish.
I'd rather have a really strong sense of personal style that is distinct to me.
I don't wanna keep up with the trend cycles.
I can't do it anymore.
I don't wanna do it.
I wanna come up with my own thing.
And that works better for me and potentially for many of you because number one, it takes you off the hamster wheel of keeping up with the trends constantly.
You can love fashion and not wanna participate in the trend cycles.
Hold on, stop the presses.
Yes, that is possible.
Yes, we exist, okay?
That's number one. Number two, there's something really appealing about having a distinct consistent fashion personality that is evolving in a much more controlled, tactful sort of way.
You may not always look on trend.
You may not be the one that people go to to figure out what's gonna be hot this summer, but you're gonna have your own thing going and that's fucking cool.
And I think it's also a better lifestyle in philosophy for those who do not like to have a lot of stuff.
I'm now realizing, oh my God, I have too much stuff.
I don't want stuff anymore.
I want less stuff. That is a very, again, that's a privileged position to be coming from to say like, I want less stuff.
It's bratty, it's annoying.
Listen, I get it. However, I think it's pretty common because it sort of became trendy to buy more fast fashion, more lower priced, trendy places.
That became a trend.
It became about having more, having options.
And, you know, I'm not really about that.
I'm not really about life anymore.
I just don't like that way of spending my money.
I don't like having too many options.
I prefer having a high quality item that I can wear for the next five years.
The collection that I have going now is gonna last me a really long time.
And it might ebb and flow and I might get sick of some stuff eventually.
But like, a lot of the stuff that I've been wearing recently is stuff that I've had already for a long time and I've already worn quite a bit.
And I'm just gonna continue to wear it, you know?
From there, you know, the question is like, how do you become fashionable?
Or how do you become stylish depending on what you want to do?
It's far easier, I think, to be fashionable.
I think I've been a pretty fashionable person over the years.
My recommendation for that would be use the internet.
Like study the runway, see what types of stuff is sort of starting to pop up.
Like, oh shit, a lot of brands are using the color maroon.
Like maybe maroon will be the color of the season or like, oh, it's kind of weird.
A lot of brands are doing shoes that look like flip -flops.
Oh, maybe flip -flops are gonna be coming in.
Like, you know, you can start to sort of predict being fashionable requires a lot of times money.
Whereas like style, anyone can have style.
Anyone, being stylish, you can do it on a budget, but it takes a lot more brain power and a lot more soul searching.
But I have some tips for you.
Some of you might be like, Emma, I don't believe that you're stylish.
I think you're fashionable and I think you're fucking cheap.
That's fine, but I truly do believe that I've stumbled upon my own personal style.
I don't know, maybe I'm gonna get shit for that.
I might get shit for that because people are gonna be like, I've seen that on Pinterest.
I mean, maybe, but it's like, this is what I've determined is my personal style and I feel confident.
It feels, it's clicking.
Do you know what I'm saying?
It's clicking for me and it feels right.
For the first time in my life, I feel like I actually do think I have a personal sense of style.
So I feel qualified to give you advice on how to find your personal style and hopefully you're okay with that.
So let me give a few tips and tricks on how to be stylish.
Number one, be intuitive.
Ask yourself, what clothing are you truly drawn to most often?
What clothing truly makes you feel the best?
Not what clothing makes me feel like I fit in the most.
What clothing makes you feel the most like you?
That's a feeling that is very hard to explain and you know it when you feel it, okay?
There are certain pieces in my closet that make me feel like me.
I've talked about these pants before.
I have these green pair, it's like this vintage green pair of work pants.
They just fit me perfectly.
The way that they look, the way that they feel.
Everything about them, they just feel like me.
I actually have another pair of pants like that.
They're like a dark gray with a little black button and little slit pockets on the back and they're kind of wide leg or whatever.
I don't know what it is about those pants, but I bought them and I immediately was like, these are my pants.
I have this pair of little flats.
They're not like ballet flats.
I mean they're kind of like ballet flats because they have the silhouette of the ballet flat but they don't have the little bow.
I never thought I'd be a girl who like loves flats but I started wearing these and I was like, where have these been my whole life?
I love the way that they feel, I love wearing them.
I love the way that they look.
They match every single thing in my closet.
They have such a great vibe to them.
So they have like a bit of a feminine element but they're not like super feminine which is very much my vibe.
They're just like the perfect shoe for me.
I have this like gray sweater that has like three buttons and it's just the fucking perfect sweater for me.
It's the perfect shade of gray.
It's the perfect material.
It fits perfect. I love it, I wanna wear it every day.
All of these different things, right?
Are things that I am like naturally drawn to.
Like I just love putting these things on.
I love the way that they make me feel.
They make me feel confident but also very me.
I just feel like myself when I wear these things and I can't quite explain why.
It's intuitive. So I think my first piece of advice is be intuitive.
Wear what you like wearing the most.
We very often will wear stuff that's like trendy especially when we're into fashion.
We'll wear stuff that's trendy that we don't even really like the way we feel.
We don't even like how we feel when we wear these things but we wear them because they're trendy.
That's not being intuitive.
Wear what feels good.
Next piece of advice, find your staples.
I already sort of said this but like find your sort of iconic pieces and allow those things to be the backbone of your closet.
Figure out like what you love wearing the most right now and then get rid of everything else.
Focus on those stable pieces and slowly but surely build around that.
Build a wardrobe based on stuff that have proven time and time again are staples for you because they intuitively feel good but they're also pieces that match other things in your wardrobe.
Like they all kind of go together.
They're sort of perfect.
Like I have pieces in my closet that are perfect.
They feel perfect, they look perfect, they're perfect.
I think we should absolutely be striving for that.
Moving on, focus on quality over quantity.
Get rid of the stuff in your closet that you never wear and moving forward only buy something you truly are going to cherish that's going to become one of your staples as well.
Buy stuff that goes with your staples that feels cohesive with your staples.
Buy things that fit you comfortably.
Buy things that you're excited to wear.
You're like, I could wear this every day.
Buy things that you would sleep in.
Buy things that are truly high quality and that doesn't necessarily mean expensive.
It just means it fits you right.
You love the material.
Is it itchy? Is it tight anywhere?
Like that's what I mean by quality.
And I've already sort of mentioned this a little bit but I feel like personal style a lot of times means having sort of one cohesive vibe and I might change my mind on that down the line.
Like I don't want to marry that idea but I think for the most part if you have a sense of personal style most of the things that you like are going to go together just naturally.
And at least that's my experience.
Like my closet today almost everything matches.
You know what I mean?
Or not matches but like it all has a similar vibe.
So everything can be mixed and matched very easily to create many different things because everything has this sort of feeling of Emma.
They might not even traditionally go together but in my head they go together for some weird sick twisted reason everything matches.
Everything feels cohesive.
I don't know. I really truly believe you will start to see your personal style coming together when you start to feel cohesion in your closet.
Suddenly everything just kind of works together.
Oh, I just realized I should have said this earlier but I'll say it now.
Shop in real life when you can.
I mentioned a few minutes ago quality over quantity.
When you try on a piece you can feel if it has the magic or not.
I mean it's like dating.
You know it's like it's really hard to find a high quality partner.
And when you find it, it clicks and you're like holy fuck that's awesome.
But you know it's a lot of trial and error and it's really hard to do trial and error when you're ordering online.
Being able to feel how things feel on your body.
I mean, I'm so particular like very particular probably too particular to be honest about how clothes feel on my body.
Like it is not something I take lightly.
And I can't tell you how many times I've ordered stuff online and it's come and I've been like eww this doesn't fit right or eww the material feels horrible on my skin or whatever it is.
Then I either have to go through the hassle of a return or I just end up keeping it because I'm like well I'll wear it eventually and then I'm left with more junk.
Next tip would be to sort of block out the noise.
Listen, sometimes you need to take a break from current trends.
Like we're constantly being bombarded with what is trending on Instagram, Pinterest, trendy clothing stores, et cetera.
Sometimes you just need to take a month, get off Instagram, maybe even take a little break from Pinterest.
Which is crazy that I'm saying that because I literally am like the Pinterest girl.
Go on a different side of Pinterest, you know.
Start looking up like fuckin' holiday recipes instead.
Like use Pinterest for something else, use Instagram for something else.
Don't go into the trendy clothing stores.
Like sometimes you just need to sort of turn a blind eye to the trends for a little while so that you can let your own internal instincts speak.
It's very hard to hear your own internal instincts when you're being constantly bombarded by trends.
It's just, it's very hard to come up with your own original thought.
And last but not least, think outside the box.
Honor your weird ideas.
Like I'm trying to think of a weird idea I had.
I was shopping like probably, I don't even know, like eight months ago maybe, it was a while ago before I had all these epiphanies.
But I was shopping like eight months ago and there was this over shirt tunic like thing.
And I was shopping with my besties, with my besties.
And I was like, what do you guys think?
And they were like, to be honest, I don't get it.
So I was like, okay, let me try it on.
I have a vision. Let's just see if I'm onto something.
I tried it on. It's like this black, I can't even explain it.
It's like a black tunic.
I don't even know, with like a weird frill on the bottom.
It makes no sense. Like I don't know why I was drawn to it, but I was because to me it felt like me.
By the way, one of my best friends is quite literally my stylist.
We worked together for photo shoots or for events or whatever, him and I collaborate.
And he has a lot of fucking phenomenal ideas.
And I love talking fashion with him.
And I showed this little weird tunic to him and he was like, I don't get it.
And I was like, honestly, I get, I understand.
But just trust me. And he was like, as always, I trust you.
Because, you know, he doesn't judge.
My friends don't judge, but they didn't get it.
That was eight months ago.
I bought that weird tunic thing.
Cause it just called to me against all odds.
But it stood the test of time.
I got rid of 95 % of the things in my closet.
I still have that weird little tunic thing.
And I wear it and I love it.
And I don't know, like it was sort of something that was maybe like taking a chance for me.
But I thought outside the box and I honored my weird ideas.
And, you know, that helped me further figure out my own style.
Anyway, that's all I have for today.
That's it. The difference between fashionable and stylish and how to be stylish.
And that's it. I hope this was in the least interesting and at the most helpful.
That would be great.
Oh my God, this isn't, this is literally the longest episode I've ever recorded.
Why is it so long? I mean, it gets edited down cause I reiterate things a lot and stuff.
I've been talking for an hour and 30 minutes.
When you listen to the final cut, it could be honestly as short as like probably 40 minutes, maybe even, but like that is a long episode.
I love talking about fashion.
Anyway, that's all I have for today.
Thank you all for listening and hanging out.
It's always a pleasure.
New episodes every Thursday and Sunday.
However, I will be taking a few weeks off during this holiday season to recharge the brain and get prepared for next year so that this show can get only better for you and for me.
Find anything goes on social media at anything goes.
Find me on social media at Emma Chamberlain.
I love you all. I appreciate you all and I'll talk to you later.
Okay, bye.
