Iconography

Our guest blogger this week is another of the lovely Reruns ladies, Brianna Lamberson. You may recognize her as the tall lady with flowing long brown hair and a killer sense of style. Or perhaps you recognize her as your personal stylist? Either way, she’s awesome and she has an equally as awesome philosophy when it comes to fashion and life in general.

A style icon is an ever-changing image to which we look for inspiration and encouragement. This is a very popular phrase but in reality this concept has been around for ages. Simply put, a style icon is a mentor.

Bob Dylan, 1966

It is a person, known or unknown, young or old, dead or living, woman or  man, who speaks to you and I mean who truly speaks to you. What you value in others and wish to have in yourself, you already possess.

Diane Keaton, 2000’s

But we look to them because they say, “I am brave since I dare to be me and so should you be you.” That is why we love them, because they show us we’re not the only ones and that there is no reason to play it small. These wild women and men are pioneers who challenge the norm to boldly flaunt their individuality. They are trailblazers in art, fashion, music, literature, and politics.

Diane Keaton in Annie Hall

Contrary to popular belief, style cannot be bought, nor is it a privilege though the current trends in the fashion industry would have you believe otherwise. Style has been and is today the purest way to represent oneself and it flourishes in the most obscure places.

Yoko Ono, 1974

As a stylist and multi-passionate lifestyle expert, I know from first hand experience that style is something that is deeply personal, constantly evolving, and fun!

Esperanza Spalding, Jazz Musician

Our clothing tells the story of our life. It tells where we have come from and where we hope to go. So I ask: Who are you? Where do you come from and where  do you hope to go? Who is your torch-bearer that reminds you we must always be true to ourselves?

After all, well-behaved women rarely make history.

Become Brianna’s Friend and follow her on Twitter for more inspiring commentary and helpful lifestyle and wellness tips!

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Lovely Paris Woodhull

Our blogger this week is Paris Woodhull.  You may recognize her as the spunky young woman often wearing one of her own creations or as the little lady that designed the awesome dresses made from recycled materials that were displayed in the Arnstien Building during the holidays.  Either way, her face is probably familiar to you because she works here!  I must say, Paris may only be 17 years old but that girl knows what she’s talking about.  But enough of my rambling, sit back for a minute and read what this firecracker has to say:

“For years I limited myself when it came to wardrobe choices, probably from a fear of making “mistakes” and then having stupid kids at school making me pay for them. I wore everything from Chacos to Toms to Northface.

In high school its an unspoken contest to see who can reach perfection, when in reality those stuck up preps will never brush perfection with their finger tips. And you know why? Because they are just as scared as me of “messing up” in the world of fashion. The funny thing about this is that fashion should not be scary at all. Fashion is a way of expressing how you feel inside. Fashion can also be a form of therapy because it forces you to look inside yourself and interpret who you are through what you wear.

Now that I think about it that is kind of intimidating! And I’m sure that most people don’t think of fashion as something that goes that deep. But as the author and Harvard Professor Cornel West stated, “It’s the person who wears the clothes. The soul. The spirit. The body inside the attire. That’s where style comes from.”

What if every person in the world dressed like themselves? Do you know what I mean? What if every person felt comfortable enough to express all of themselves in the open by how they dressed? What a wonderfully interesting world we would live in! I know for a fact I would just want to sit out on the sidewalk for hours and watch people pass me by.

So after two ho hum years in high school I finally cracked, broke down my junior year and decided to take a risk. I was so tired of not becoming myself. At first it was difficult because my school has a dress code but I took it as a challenge. So after reading the school dress code word for word online I set off to become a distinct person not at all concerned about making myself appealing. All I wanted was to say something real, be noticed. So slowly but surely I started breaking every fashion rule I knew. I wore different patterns together. I wore high-waisted long skirts (not commonly appealing to the opposite sex). I wore pink neon fishnet tights. I wore socks that didn’t match. And all sorts of other fashion no nos. You might be thinking “but didn’t people make fun of you?” Of course they did! But I knew the secret to surviving high school: Project confidence and don’t give a flying flip!

After a month or so of my craziness I started having random people come up to me in the hallways and tell me how much they loved and admired my sense of style. Wow! Who knew that people would actually admire originality! This has been one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. All of a sudden I realized my deep passion to become an artist and I started painting my soul out in addition to creating one of a kind window displays for Reruns. I felt a growing feeling that I was doing what I was meant to do, which is by far the most incredible feeling that one can feel. Who knew that my life could completely change just by changing what I put on in the morning.

Now I’m not saying that you should go home and throw out all your clothes and take a walk on the wild side. All I’m trying to do is encourage you to take a small risk. Throw caution to the wind for a day. Whether it be wearing black and brown together or wearing those sexy red heels you’ve been hiding in your closet. I promise you, it will feel incredible. Bon voyage!”

The Best Style is Your Own Style

Instead of a guest blog this week, we have some words from one of our very own employees.  We introduce you to 22-year old Kristin, the lady behind all the Reruns Boutique social media.  In her stylist biography, Kristin tells us that she loves to mix masculine and feminine textures as a way to create a dynamic and interesting ensemble.  She’s got a little more to say about her style philosophy, so read on people, read on!

Fashion is something that I have always loved and enjoyed.  I’ve gone through many phases (some better than others) like wearing way too many bracelets, layering everything, wearing obnoxiously bright colors, and wearing only neutrals to name a few.

Working in a restaurant for years, I generally dressed extremely casual and not particularly feminine or masculine, just basic.  Now working at Reruns, I have learned to implement more formal, feminine features into my more causal look to create a nice blend of masculine shapes with feminine accents .  Recently, I visited Charleston and purchased a pair of ivory high-top sneakers with lace cut-out on the side.  It seems frivilous, I know, but it truly felt like I had found my shoe soulmate (!!!) because it’s the perfect combination of a casual, masculine shape with that perfect feminine twist. Love it!  I can pair them with the perfect pair of skinny jeans, a chiffon top, and some great coral lipstick OR I can just pair them with a cute little dress.  Either way, this serves as a perfect example of how I love pushing the envelope but in a very subtle manner; it adds just the perfect amount of intrigue to my personal style.

I feel strongly that one of the ways a woman can feel empowered and confident is through creating a style all her own that rebels against any and all fashion rules or constrictions.  If you want to wear navy and black, more power to you.  If you want to wear things from the 90’s, go for it.  If you want to wear stripes every single day, who cares?!

Fashion should be fun and, more importantly, fashion should be creative and liberating.  Don’t waste your time memorizing the various arbitrary rules of fasion–spend your time contemplating ways you can uniquely challenge those rules and look great while doing it!  Go get ’em, y’all!