to look for: Outfit Inspiration

This blogging thing has been going on for me for about 10 months and I'm pretty proud of my accomplishment so far.  If only because I totally annihilated my BF at our initial bet of "Who can blog/do P90X longer?"  And some personal fulfillment stuff.  I guess.  

In any case, I thought it would be neat to do a post on where the inspiration for the different outfits I post come from.  Some days it's been a breeze and others not as much so.  But no matter what, I tend to draw from the sources below.   So, without further adieu, here is the:

to look for: Style - Outfit Inspirations

1. Other Bloggers: The web is just a veritable treasure trove when trying to work out your personal style.  Do a search on fashion bloggers.  Scroll through some blogs, see who's style you like.  Rinse. Lather. Repeat.  I like to find a handful that I like and then dig through their blogroll to find more (yes, I do have one too -- check out the left side of my blog).  If you like their taste in clothing, you'd probably like their taste in bloggers.  Then save their pictures to your computer or Pinterest and try not to be a creeper about it.  (j/k.  If you're a creeper, I'm a creeper too.  I guess we could start a creeper club). 
2. Magazines: I'm a reader (paper and Kindle thankyouverymuch), but oh man, do I love my brain candy in the form of magazines!  A smorgasbord of colors, outfits, narratives about what's in style.  My personal favorites are Lucky, marie claire, People Style Watch and InStyle.   
3. Catalogs: Yes, seriously.  If I love the vibe of a particular store, I make sure to take a look at their catalogs on a semi regular basis.  Same reason I look through magazines, really.  I tend to like the ones from Anthropologie, J Crew, Madewell, and Mango.  
4. Look Books: Similar to catalogs, but not exactly!  I frequent a lot of the ones that are web based, especially from smaller retailers.  In addition to the stores listed in the catalogs above, good look books can be found at Club Monaco, Ruche, Zara and Modcloth. 
5. Pinterest:  I want Pinterest to mate with my fashion blog and make fashion-y babies.   Seriously, I use this to look at things I've pinned in the past or just to surf what others have pinned, and it's a great way to get outfit ideas at the drop of a hat. Need an invite?  I got 'em, just let me know. 
6. Polyvore: Oh this amazing app.  If you haven't been there, you need to check it out!  Fashionistas abound clip images from around the web and put together collages with total outfits.  AND you can do it yourself!  It's a pretty amazing art making tool in its own right.  Lots and lots of inspiration here. 
7. TV: Uh, HELLO Project Runway!  Or whatever else floats your boat -- What Not To Wear, America's Next Top Model, Sex and the City -- so many shows with fashion in the forefront.  Not to mention ladies who have relatable personalities to boot!  Well...maybe not on Top Model.  You can always mute the TV though, no one's judging. 
8. Art - I'm pretty sure this is how top line designers get their ideas too.  Paintings, sculpture, metalwork -- all of these can inspire an outfit.  Jewelry can give an outfit a whole new twist.  Prints can give you new ideas of colors that match you may have never thought of (hot pink and yellow?  Awesome!).  Sculpture shapes may help you think of a silhouette you may want to create.  The sky's the limit!
9. Single article of clothing - even a single article of clothing can serve as inspiration for an entire outfit!  I acquired a Chevron patterned A-line skirt through a swap a few months ago and I immediately envisioned a Madmen era outfit.  Some Chucks next to a mini skirt could give you the idea to go glam grunge.  Go ahead. Pick a piece that speaks to you and build your outfit around it. 

Now, there are going to be days when all of these inspirations fail me and others where I can't change my clothes fast enough.  So,  how do I keep a consistent flow of outfits going?

1. Blog-specific notebooks:  I'm a writer more than a "typer".  I don't know what it is.  Possibly because I can type almost as quickly as I think and I can mull over my thoughts better when I write.  But I always keep a tiny notebook (I like Moleskines)  handy so I can write down outfits when the inspiration hits. This is also a good place to track blog ideas in general. 
2. Pinterest: This is an AWESOME way of keeping track of fashion inspiration.  I have a board dedicated to style inspiration (inspiringly called, you guessed it, "my Style Pinboard).  Whenever I find things on websites that call out to me, I just pin it!  Btw, if you need an invite, I can totally hook you up.  I'm just a baller that way.  If you just want to follow me (stalker!), you can find me under "Thessa B". 
3. Post-it marked magazines: This works not as well.  But sometimes, I'll look through an old magazine for the 2nd or 3rd time and find notes.  And viola! Inspiration.  
4. Inspiration Boards: Nothing like an old standby.  I recently acquired an X-acto knife for the communal PACMAN costume, and now I'm going to use it to cleanly cut pages out of mags and what not!  It's fun to look at these in current and past seasons.  

What do you do to get inspiration for getting dressed day to day?   What do you think of these ideas? Share in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by!