0:40

Welcome to Being Boss, a podcast for

0:40

creatives, business owners and entrepreneurs who want to

0:44

take control of their work and live life on their own terms.

0:44

I'm your host Emily Thompson. And in this episode, I'm

0:50

joined by Kathleen Shannon to talk about developing your

0:50

personal style as an outlet for exploring your creativity

0:57

and expressing yourself. You can find all the tools, books

0:57

and links we reference on the show notes at

1:01

www.beingboss.club. And if you like this episode, be sure to

1:01

subscribe to this show and share it with a friend.

1:12

It's no secret that I have a soft spot for product bosses,

1:12

those of you who embark on a business journey that includes

1:18

making or curating physical products. And even if that's not

1:18

the journey you've chosen for yourself. There's amazing

1:25

lessons to be learned for all kinds of businesses from the

1:25

world of product business, which is why you need to check

1:31

out The Product Boss a podcast hosted by Jacqueline Snyder

1:31

and Minna Khounlo-Sithep brought to you by the HubSpot

1:38

Podcast Network, the audio destination for business

1:38

professionals. Take your physical product sales and strategy

1:44

to the next level to create your dream life with host

1:44

Jacqueline and Minna as they deliver a workshop style

1:51

strategy hour of social media and marketing strategies. So

1:51

you can uplevel your business. Listen to The Product Boss or

1:58

wherever you get your podcasts. Kathleen Shannon is the co founder and former co host of the

2:03

Being Boss podcast joining me for the first 240-ish episodes

2:09

of this show. With several one off episode since. Kathleen

2:09

is a partner and creative director at Braid Creative, a

2:15

branding agency she founded with her sister over 10 years

2:15

ago, Kathleen has always lived by capturing shaping and

2:21

sharing who she is whether that's with a blog post a

2:21

podcast, or on social media. Well, welcome back, Kathleen.

2:31

It's good to be back.

2:34

Again, again, oh, we actually recorded the

2:34

last episode that we did together yesterday. So it's

2:40

especially kind of funny for us today in this moment to say

2:40

that. But I think the most exciting thing is that you and I

2:50

are taking a trip together this weekend.

2:52

Yay. We're going to NOLA our stomping

2:52

grounds.

2:58

Yep. Indeed, our stomping grounds. We were

2:58

talking this morning, and you brought up the curse that we

3:07

have been under for the past year, I guess.

3:13

Yeah.

3:14

There were two times that Kathleen and I

3:14

were supposed to have gotten together and 2021. And my kid

3:19

got sick both times. Both times. And so we had to cancel two

3:19

trips. I was going to go see Kathleen in Michigan. Kathleen

3:28

was going to come to Tennessee to see me later in the year.

3:28

And when we got together to figure out well then what are we

3:35

doing? Like I can't come see you. You can't come see me. You

3:35

were like, Let's go to New Orleans. And I was like, well,

3:43

obviously that's what the universe was waiting for was for

3:43

us to be like, let's go to New Orleans.

3:50

I know and you're going for a Being Boss

3:50

trip. So I was like, Well, can I just come too basically. So

3:58

we're meeting up a couple days early before you have to be

3:58

on. I'm also going to be hanging out with some bosses. But

4:04

it's fun because like it's not my job anymore. But I get a

4:04

pop in like I know, you know, there's such a shorthand

4:11

having cofounded Being Boss with you and having been around

4:11

so many bosses all the time. A lot of these are people that

4:19

I already know, or people that I know I'll get along with.

4:19

So I'm really excited to kind of pop back in.

4:25

Yeah, me too. Me too. I was thinking we

4:25

haven't been there together since 2018, which feels like a

4:31

lifetime ago. But I feel like aren't we always there

4:31

together?

4:33

I know it really does feel that way. Like every 6 months or something.

4:35

Wow, we really haven't been there for five years together.

4:36

Yeah.

4:36

Wow. Wow. And I don't know that we've ever

4:36

been there without working. Have we always been working

4:50

while we're there?

4:53

Yes. I mean, I feel like the lightest was we

4:53

went for just like a photoshoot. So the book photo shoot,

4:58

but that was also like that was a lot of work.

5:01

No, that was a lot of work.

5:04

It was some grueling couple of days. So

5:04

yeah, it's always been for work. And so we're going to be

5:10

there for a couple of days just for fun, but three of the

5:10

bosses who are in the C-Suite right now, we're part of the

5:17

VIP group from that 2018 trip. So it's almost like we're all

5:17

getting back together five years later.

5:26

Yay. I'm just really excited and I know

5:26

I've said this before, but I'm just really excited and

5:32

really proud of our friendship, you know, like, we owned a

5:32

business together. We dissolved, you know, my partnership in

5:41

it, I sold my half of Being Boss to you. And that could

5:41

really, I don't know, like that could be a make or break

5:49

moment, right. And it wasn't, it was definitely a place

5:49

where, you know, we kind of probably individually had to

5:57

like work through some things and like kind of create some

5:57

subtle boundaries around like what we could discuss or not

6:04

discuss. And I think with enough time and space,

6:04

professionally, I'm able to come hang out on Being Boss a

6:10

little bit more, I'm able to come hang out on a vacation in

6:10

New Orleans. But more than anything, I mean, through all of

6:17

it. Like I've really thought you're one of my people like

6:17

you are one of my ride or dies, and it goes beyond business.

6:24

And it was really scary knowing like, were we so close,

6:24

because we had a business partnership together or had we

6:30

actually become that close. And obviously, we're not getting

6:30

the same amount of frequency that we used to get as far as

6:36

seeing each other everyday podcasting, even though the past

6:36

two days, it's kind of been a little bit like that. Um, but

6:44

I feel like you know, you're always gonna be that person

6:44

where we're like, we can just pick up where we left off and

6:49

meet up in New Orleans five years later and feel like it's

6:49

been maybe six months.

6:54

Yeah.

6:55

That's where we're at. And I'm really just

6:55

proud of it.

6:57

I am as well, I'm glad you feel that way. I

6:57

was telling someone not too terribly long ago, I had

7:03

mentioned something about like having a business partner,

7:03

and they just like get that face like, oh, and I was like

7:07

no, no, not like that. Like, we're still great friends. And

7:07

we started talking about a little because they were very

7:12

curious about that. And I was like, actually, I can say with

7:12

confidence, that the dissolving of that partnership was one

7:21

of the things in my life that I am most proud of. Period,

7:21

how we were able to do that so amicably, and yeah, and then

7:30

be on this other side of it, where we can just sort of like

7:30

hop in and do whatever, whether it's very reminiscent to

7:36

what we used to do together, or just like a fun weekend in

7:36

New Orleans and tag some bosses onto it. And all of the feet

7:42

like it's it really is. I know that one day, I will look

7:42

back at my life and still feel like that was one of the

7:54

maneuverings that I am most proud of. And you are also one

7:54

of my people.

7:58

And I think, you know, we've done a whole

7:58

episode on this, and I can't really remember what we said

8:01

Yeah. there as far as breaking up our business partnership. But I

8:05

think that a big reason why it was so amicable is because we

8:08

But we knew it was important.

8:12

were having really hard conversations along the way the

8:12

whole time. Like we'd never shied away from really diving

8:20

into what our boundaries were, what our goals were, what our

8:20

vision was, and a lot most of the time that was aligned, you

8:27

know, like most of the time we were on the same page, even

8:27

if we weren't sure that we were on the same page, like we

8:33

would talk it out. And the way that we started that business

8:33

was very much under the guise of you know, we weren't as

8:40

like tight as friends then starting the business as we are

8:40

now I would say, but we still started it under the kind of

8:49

understanding that our relationship was more important than

8:49

it was like the most important thing, even though we didn't

8:55

have the same relationship then that we do now. Does that

8:55

make sense?

9:01

I think a lot of people though, say like

9:01

friends first. Right? But like, how often does that actually

9:06

pan out? Right, like, probably not as often as it said, I

9:06

would assume. So yeah, I feel the exact same way. I feel

9:16

like, you know, our relationship has evolved so much over

9:16

the years. And we really made the thing that we were saying

9:23

I mean, it was true then, but like we kept it true, I guess

9:23

Yeah. Which is quite a feat in itself as well. Okay, I can't

9:31

wait to eat with you.

9:33

Same. But I think that sorry, real quick,

9:33

and then we'll move on to like what we're excited about for

9:39

New Orleans. But I think that a lot of people say friends

9:39

first as a way to kind of have slippery boundaries. You

9:47

know, I think it's like a cop out of having hard

9:47

conversations by saying friends first. Yeah, sometimes.

9:55

Well, not us.

9:56

Not us. And not like not in my partnership

9:56

with my sister either. Like same you know, like we're we

10:03

have to say sisters first but oh sometimes that's like a

10:03

really hard boundary to draw on to figure out and navigate.

10:11

That's a completely different scenario and

10:11

thing to say actually.

10:15

Yeah.

10:16

Not the same.

10:17

So we're going to New Orleans, it's going

10:17

to be so fun because we've got two full days, just us. We

10:23

are going to eat some food. We've been Marco Polo going and

10:23

Google mapping and pinning all the places that we're

10:30

dreaming about eating at. I literally Googled romantic date

10:30

night restaurants in New Orleans because that is our vibe.

10:39

That's how we do.

10:42

It is the vibe and I love that David was

10:42

standing there earlier or whatever you said that on Marco

10:48

Polo and he got incredibly tickled about it because he

10:48

knows, he knows that that's the vibe. So I am, I am so

10:55

excited about just, I was texting you and saying, one of the

10:55

things that I really want to accomplish out of this is I

11:00

want like a long, slow late dinner. I want to like, get a

11:00

bottle of wine. I don't, we don't have to finish it.

11:11

I know I'm so scared right now between

11:11

late and wine. I'm like, okay, one my bedtime is like at

11:18

nine so I don't know how late you're wanting to go. Two.

11:23

Yeah, well okay, so East Coast though nine

11:23

is 10. So it'll be late for me not so late for you. We'll

11:30

have the same experience but in different ways.

11:33

Is New Orleans East Coast or Central Time?

11:36

Central so it'll feel late but not be.

11:38

Yeah, so it's gonna feel even later.

11:40

Yes.

11:41

And then that means we need to have dinner

11:41

at 6pm. But we can hang out there for three hours.

11:46

Romantic date night my ass. More like

11:46

geriatric midday supper, whatever. No, I love it though.

11:59

Same same. I'm talking a big game. Okay. A glass of wine.

11:59

Not a bottle of wine at lunch.

12:07

We're Golden Girls, we're going to be

12:07

Golden Girls.

12:10

Yeah, I think we're already kind of there.

12:12

Eating late. I mean, eating early, but

12:12

being fabulous.

12:15

Yes, yes. I'll bring up my caftan. How about

12:15

that? Perfect. I'm very excited about this as well. I can't

12:22

wait to see where we get into. But mostly it's going to be

12:22

food. And that is literally the most exciting thing of all.

12:27

Well, speaking of caftan.

12:29

Speaking of caftans, I am super excited

12:29

about having this conversation with you today. This is a

12:35

little bit of like a spin off of the personal branding

12:35

episode that we did at some point in the recent past. So

12:44

that's in the show notes, if anyone wants to go find that we

12:44

talked about personal branding. And we talked a little bit

12:49

about personal style in that episode, and I wanted to come

12:49

chat with you about personal style. Because it is such an

13:00

element of personal branding. It's also something that I

13:00

think a lot of people a lot of folks do kind of struggle

13:07

with, like really developing and like owning their personal

13:07

style. And I think that talking about it from two people who

13:17

are creative and have a good eye but have no like

13:17

professional experience in being stylists talking about what

13:24

it looks like to develop a personal style. Could be a fun

13:24

conversation.

13:29

I'm here for it. I whenever thinking about

13:29

this episode, though, I do kind of, I think I'm going to

13:35

approach it just as speaking from a personal style point of

13:35

view, I don't really know how to tie it back into personal

13:41

brand other than whenever you really start to develop your

13:41

personal style, you will leave an impression and you will be

13:48

memorable. And that's what having a personal brand is it's

13:48

simply making an impression and having a reputation and you

13:58

know, like visually sharing on the outside what people can

13:58

expect whenever they get a little bit deeper. But for me,

14:07

I'm just talking about like cool clothes.

14:10

Good. Yes, yes, yes. And I think there's

14:10

like showing people on the outside what they can expect

14:17

inside, but also just dressing in a way that makes you feel,

14:17

regardless of other people's perspective, confident,

14:25

comfortable, I'm gonna be talking about that a good bit

14:25

today. And we're talking like clothing style. But I also

14:32

want to bleed this over into interiors. Because this is also

14:32

something that I'm talking to a lot of my boss friends

14:37

about. You know, we all get to these phases where we're

14:37

buying houses, friends, who are getting divorced and moving

14:44

into their first house by themselves and have the

14:44

opportunity to really express themselves in their spaces.

14:49

And those sorts of things are maybe you know, you're setting

14:49

up your home office or whatever it may be. I think this

14:55

bleeds over a lot into interior styling as well. And us as

14:55

creatives and business owners who are here to do things the

15:03

way we want them done. I feel like we are naturally pulled

15:03

to this idea of wanting our space and our like outward

15:10

appearance, to represent something to really speak to who we

15:10

are. And so I think this can just be a really fun one. And

15:18

I'm excited about doing this with you. Because this makes up

15:18

a whole lot of our just general conversations, right what

15:25

clothes we're wearing, or what we've bought or found or some

15:25

inspo or our spaces, we're always showing each other that

15:31

like, you know, Facebook marketplace find that we got or how

15:31

it is that we styled this corner in our house or whatever it

15:38

maybe this is really what Kathleen and I are talking about

15:38

behind the scenes in addition to food.

15:44

Uh, yeah, food, clothes, home, and on the

15:44

clothes front. I'm also a lot of time asking what your

15:52

daughter's wearing lately, like, what she's into what her

15:52

style is, as she's becoming a teenager. I'm just so curious.

15:59

And she's my child. So of course, there's a.

16:02

I mean, you might.

16:02

Yeah, there's a lot of stomping, I can tell

16:02

you that. Kathleen walks around with very heavy feet, you

16:10

can hear coming from a mile away, and my kid does the exact

16:10

same. I told you the day like please stop stomping the

16:12

You might you might you can actually too.

16:16

You might need to pick up a dazzler.

16:18

houses too old, it will fall down. It's a real thing. I also

16:18

want to just note, why I think it's important to have this

16:19

How about I'm bringing a dazzler to New

16:19

Orleans.

16:27

conversation have bosses hear this is because this sort of

16:27

styling of yourself and your surroundings is a really easy

16:27

Wait what?

16:28

If you have anything he won't be dazzled. So

16:28

for a long time I've had a joke with David's mom and in

16:35

way to I don't want to say expend creative energy in a way

16:35

that like you just want to get rid of it. But we do have a

16:44

lot of pent up creative energy, like we want to make

16:44

something we want to do something. And it's really easy for

16:52

us to get into this idea as creative entrepreneurs that we

16:52

then need to sell the thing, right. But this is a great way

17:01

to express your creativity in a way that does not make you

17:01

money and just nurtures your life without you going and

17:09

picking up like some other hobby. Like you don't need to go

17:09

to the craft store to be creative with the clothes you have

17:18

in your closet. particular about the dazzling things. And this year for

17:36

Christmas. She bought me a Be Dazzler and I was so excited.

17:44

It's not like the name brand one but like it. It will put

17:44

rhinestones on things.

17:50

Is it rhinestones and studs like do you

17:50

have all the things? Yes, I'm going to bring some things.

17:56

Yes, bring whatever you'd like. And we will

17:56

bedazzle it together. Yeah.

18:02

Do you have enough rhinestones?

18:04

Oh my god, like 1000s.

18:06

Okay, okay.

18:07

1000s of rhinestones. Yes. Whatever you

18:07

need.

18:11

So now I know what we're gonna be doing

18:11

after our late early dinner we're gonna be bedazzling some

18:17

things and watching HGTV.

18:20

Absolutely, absolutely. So okay. Oh, I'm so

18:20

glad you brought that up. Because I've been meaning to tell

18:25

you that I was bringing it. Because also, I was thinking

18:25

about the other day I have this BeDazzler. I keep like

18:31

looking at it thinking what am I going to bedazzle like, I

18:31

don't even know. And I don't just want to sit there and do

18:36

it by myself. And I can do with my kid that is not her style

18:36

at the moment. Who else would I want to bedazzle with in a

18:43

group of bosses? Yeah, like who more than a group of bosses.

18:43

So I threw it in my box of things that I'm taking to New

18:50

Orleans so that we can bedazzle and then I can we can

18:50

brdazzle with the C-Suite bosses as needed. We're going to,

18:56

we're going to add rhinestones. But I do want to bring up

18:56

that earlier this week, I was hosting a new moon circle in

19:03

the Being boss clubhouse. And one of the questions because

19:03

it was Pisces season at the time of recording. And one of

19:12

the questions was, how are you being called to express

19:12

yourself creatively. And everyone had the the like gut

19:23

reaction to want to go into something they wanted to create

19:23

for their business. And then every one of them also followed

19:31

that up immediately with. That's not what I should like go

19:31

into immediately or that's not the only thing I should do.

19:39

And they either put what they were wearing, or their space.

19:39

And so even like, like bosses are feeling this and they're

19:49

getting it so it just it all sort of wrapped up to be the

19:49

perfect time to have this conversation.

19:54

Let's do it.

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21:06

Let's look at curating your personal style as I want to look

21:06

at it through the lens of like you are expressing your true

21:14

self like outwardly on your body, in your space. I think

21:14

this can be a little bit intimidating for some people, which

21:23

is why I think it's fun for us to have this conversation

21:23

because we're gonna dive in as two hobbyists, right? No

21:28

professional training, I didn't go to fashion school, I'm

21:28

certainly not an interior designer. But we both do the

21:34

things. And we've both sought help like we've consulted with

21:34

interior designers, or stylists or whatever. So we we know,

21:42

just enough to get us in trouble. So we're gonna spread that

21:42

trouble to you guys. So then let's start with where you

21:51

would start Kathleen, when it comes to personal style, where

21:51

are you beginning?

21:59

Well, I was born on May 5 1982. And I came

21:59

out of my mother's womb with some style, right? I really do

22:11

the I know that you say that we're not professionals, but it

22:11

kind of like, you know, we styled ourselves for a photoshoot

22:21

that was then on a book and on all of our our website, like,

22:21

we've done a lot of styling. And yes, just because we don't

22:29

sell it doesn't mean that we're not well versed in it. So I

22:29

will say that I really do think though, looking back at

22:38

This, this is also literally my job at

22:38

Almanac which I had not actually considered at all like when

22:45

it comes to what my job is in that business really, really

22:45

is making sure that store looks fabulous.

22:56

And it does.

22:56

Noted, I was incorrect.

22:58

I was just telling my sister the other day

22:58

about Almanac and how you are so naturally gifted at

23:05

merchandising and setting up a space and it just is

23:05

beautiful. Like you are so so good at it. So yeah, all of

23:13

that to say I think that whenever it comes to being a

23:13

creative and having an eye, if you are a graphic designer,

23:20

which we both are, if you are a merchandiser, or a retailer,

23:20

you know all the things, it's all the same principles, it's

23:26

all about color composition, creating a tone and a style. So

23:26

we've got it. So let's not diminish, you know what we've got

23:35

whenever it comes to this sort of thing. But also speaking

23:35

to the perspective of someone who might be a little bit more

23:41

intimidated or not know how to find their style, here's

23:41

where I would begin. So I would begin by looking back. And I

23:48

have found that through my whole life, I've had certain

23:48

points of inspiration and certain points of style that I've

23:56

always gravitated to. So I would look back and think about

23:56

from zero to seven, what were you wearing? Were you being

24:03

dressed by someone else I was dressing myself. And so I

24:03

think that that was the beginning of really truly my parents

24:10

nurturing my own sense of style. And me just picking out

24:10

what it is I wanted to wear in putting together combinations

24:17

for better or worse, right? And then thinking about my

24:17

teenage years, and what was I attracted to then funny

24:24

enough, I've been coming back around a lot and maybe because

24:24

it's kind of what's in style now. Like some 90s y2k stuff is

24:31

going on now. And so it really is reminiscent of that. But

24:31

back then in the 90s, I was wearing a lot of 90s those 70s

24:39

look and feel like I was wearing a lot of bell bottoms a lot

24:39

of like polyester matching, like jumpsuit type things.

24:48

But like even as a kid I was always really drawn toward

24:48

military style. And okay, so this is another thing you might

24:53

do is like look back on, you know, what your style has been

24:53

throughout the years and what you've come back to over and

24:59

over again. And I think that that is a big clue as to what

24:59

some foundational pieces of your personal style are. Um, but

25:08

thinking back whenever I was little, and I still do this

25:08

now, I was always really inspired by characters in movies or

25:15

shows. You know, I really wanted to be Sarah Connor and

25:15

Ellen Ripley whenever I was a kid. And so at this time in my

25:23

life as I think I was in the sixth or seventh grade, I would

25:23

wear combat boots and flight suits that I would find at the

25:32

it's not the thrift store, but what's it called like the

25:32

army surplus the army surplus store, I would find Navy

25:38

peacoats, flight suits, combat boots and loved it. I had

25:38

some like a lot of camouflage. And I was mixing it in with

25:46

band T shirts. And I'm still dressing like this today,

25:46

basically. But now my inspiration is probably a little bit

25:53

more broad, but I do always come back to these badass women

25:53

like specifically Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde and Mad

26:00

Max. And you know, thinking about Ellen Ripley that's played

26:00

by Sigourney Weaver, in Aliens. I'm also recently was really

26:10

inspired by her character in Ghostbusters.

26:14

So I find myself coming back to these women, whether it's

26:14

characters or the actual actors and actresses themselves.

26:22

Another person I've been really inspired by lately is

26:22

Natasha Leone, specifically in her show Poker Face. It's so

26:31

cool. She has this like bohemian meets Southwestern country

26:31

meets kind of like mechanic like working mechanic vibe. And

26:40

so she's wearing things like flared black jeans and a T

26:40

shirt with cowboy booties and maybe a trucker hat with like

26:46

a cool vintage 70s jacket and I've just been so inspired by

26:46

her. Um, so I would say, you know, look at one look at

26:54

things that have you've gravitated toward along the way your

26:54

whole life, like what kind of vibe or style and then look at

27:02

maybe who you've been inspired by along the way and like

27:02

look at what's changed and what hasn't changed? So like for

27:09

you, Emily, what what has been a style point that you've

27:09

come back to time and time again over the years? Or who have

27:16

you been inspired by over the years?

27:20

Wide leg pants, any color fabric. Like bell

27:20

bottoms? Yes, but wide leg pants are my favorite I think

27:29

about for me.

27:30

JNCOs?

27:31

Like middle school, I remember. Yeah,

27:31

absolutely. A brand that did not evolv well. let's just say

27:38

they still exist. Well, you can go look them up. But they

27:38

did not evolve well. They really missed an opportunity, I

27:45

think because I would buy them all. So wide leg pants is

27:45

definitely my shtick. I like to pair things together that

27:55

don't necessarily go together or just like wear weird

27:55

interesting things. Not quite like flight suits. But think

28:03

like animal print. Like I remember having like this leopard

28:03

print jumpsuit and high school that I loved so much and it

28:11

was weird. I remember getting some weird comments about it.

28:11

But I loved it. I whenever I think about the threads of it,

28:19

it's definitely I love clothes that don't touch me. It's an

28:19

ongoing thing and something I've I've realized as I've

28:25

gotten older I like just like really flowy like let me move

28:25

around clothes. And I'm a sucker for neutrals. Like since I

28:34

was a kid since I was a kid so I've always really enjoyed

28:34

pairing together unexpected things. I do love a bold print.

28:41

And I love things that are a little more baggy and flowy if

28:41

we can harken back to that caftan comment earlier that is my

28:49

like, ideal wardrobe piece period. And when it comes to

28:49

inspiration, you know, it's less people. I've never been

28:57

like much of a TV watcher. There's a couple of ones I'm

28:57

really surprised you didn't bring up The Craft like actually

29:05

that wasn't at the top of your list. And I also think of

29:05

like Buffy the Vampire Slayer like definitely that like

29:12

darker side. Like strong women don't really care what other people think

29:14

like just going to wear what they want but also practical

29:21

because you might be slaying vampires. Right? as needed. So

29:21

little less people were I've always gone back for

29:29

inspiration. And this is such a funny thing considering

29:29

everything I think but I have always loved streetwear

29:38

especially Fashion Week. Like if you look back at years and

29:38

years of Pinteresting or whenever I think about like when I

29:47

was a kid looking at magazines I wanted like I was looking

29:47

at what what what are they called like movie stars like

29:56

famous people. What are they called? I don't know what

29:56

people wearing like streetwear. Celebrities thank you that's

30:02

the word. So like the the streetwear sections in in the in

30:02

the magazines or like these days I will still Paris Fashion

30:11

Week, New York Fashion Week, Milan doesn't even matter. I am

30:11

looking up street like fashion week streetwear and that is

30:19

where I always gather probably the most of my inspiration

30:19

and whatever variation that is since I was a kid, I want to

30:28

be incredibly practical layered as needed. Lots of neutrals

30:28

and don't touch me, I want them to flow flow behind me. So

30:43

that's where most of my inspiration has come from. I do love

30:43

a really solid color palette, it's so it's less about like,

30:51

looking to inspiration in specific people or in specific

30:51

places. And for me, it's definitely more of a mood. I think

31:00

that I'm going for mood and comfort.

31:04

I love what you were saying to go and looking at. So and I

31:04

think you can go at this from whichever way you know, there

31:10

are the pieces that you had, when you were a kid that you

31:10

still remember of like, I wish I still had that pair of

31:15

jeans or that shirt, like whatever that thing was that made

31:15

you feel totally badass, as you know, a seven year old or

31:21

whatever. There are things like that along the way. And it's

31:21

picking up the threads of what is the same between those

31:29

things. For me, it's like, you know, baggy, practical, or

31:29

neutrals with bold prints, or whatever it may be, it's

31:37

looking at those threads, and finding them and recognizing

31:37

what they are. So you can start putting things together from

31:45

that place. If you have a hard time doing that, I also think

31:45

it's a great tactic to just look at what you currently have,

31:54

and what of it you like. So if you are thinking like, you

31:54

know, I've always hated all of my clothes, or you know, I've

32:01

never had a couch that I liked, because we can also bring

32:01

interiors into this. Just look around at what you do have.

32:06

Check out your closet. Look around your house, is there like

32:06

a shape of a table that you like, right? Or is there a shirt

32:14

you currently have? Is it the fit, is it the color, is it

32:14

the material, is it the pattern, is it the way you can pair

32:21

it with you know, five things in your closet, whatever it

32:21

may be looking at what you currently have, and identifying

32:26

what you love and why you love it, I think is also a really

32:26

powerful backbone for you to build on to to develop a

32:35

personal style.

32:35

I think also logistically, a great place

32:35

to start is with a Pinterest board, you know, just get on

32:42

Pinterest and start curating and pinning anything and

32:42

everything that you love whenever it comes to style. So just

32:49

type in style, start pinning, and it will start populating

32:49

the algorithm with more of that. So you might need to do a

32:55

new search at some point. So you don't fall down a rabbit

32:55

hole that you're not necessarily resonating with. And you

33:01

can just start pinning away. And then what you can do is pin

33:01

without abandon, then look at that board and start to notice

33:08

patterns and themes. So is there a color palette that you're

33:08

really attracted to like maybe you're pinning a ton of

33:14

things that are green, and didn't ever even think that you

33:14

would like wearing green. You know, so take a look at what

33:21

colors are showing up. What fits are coming up, what the

33:21

kind of style and vibe is. And that's a really great way to

33:28

start to see what it is that you're attracted to. And then

33:28

say, Okay, do I can I recreate any of these looks like do I

33:35

have stuff in my closet or in my home already, that can

33:35

elicit this vibe, you know, evoke this vibe? Because here's

33:45

the deal. Even people who have a ton of money can lack

33:45

style, like style isn't just about having all the money to

33:53

buy all the things that you want. Style is 100% an attitude.

33:56

And you can have badass style or whatever style you want

33:56

without a whole lot of money. And what it is, is by really

34:06

narrowing in and pinpointing what are the pieces that you

34:06

want, what do you have? How can you start to put things

34:12

together in a certain way? You know, for me style is really

34:12

about the attitude, you were talking a little bit about this

34:18

too Emily like the confidence and the attitude, it really is

34:18

about the attitude that I want to embody. And it's how I

34:25

want to reflect that on the outside. So it's not only a way

34:25

to signal to other people who I am and what they can expect

34:31

for me, but it like really gives me the confidence to show

34:31

up as a badass. So that's another thing that you might want

34:38

to think about are like what are a few adjectives or words

34:38

that you would use to describe your ideal style. So for me

34:47

whenever it comes to how I want to look and feel, and I've

34:47

said this for many years now, I am dressing for the zombie

34:56

apocalypse, you know, like the movie version of a zombie

34:56

apocalypse. So whatever I'm wearing, I want to be able to

35:04

imagine wearing it for 300 days traveling across the country

35:04

to find my kiddo with a slingshot in my pocket and a bow and

35:15

arrow on my back and maybe a machete in my left hand right?

35:15

Like I just want to feel kind of like a well worn badass

35:28

ultimately. So think about what your style adjectives are as

35:28

well and you can also do this by looking at your Pinterest

35:33

board. So it might be you know, feminine and bohemian with a

35:33

little bit of rock'n'roll edge. Or it might be really super

35:42

classic bombshell. I don't know like, but just think about,

35:42

like what those different adjectives are whenever it comes

35:51

to how you want to look and feel. And that can be a great

35:51

touch point whenever it comes to buying new things or even

35:57

editing your current wardrobe, say, you know, does this fit

35:57

the vibe that I'm going for?

36:03

I love that you can also type those things

36:03

into Pinterest. So you can put like, badass style, worn,

36:12

well worn style? Sure, probably. Right, it'll give you

36:12

plenty of things. I also think the algorithms there will

36:19

give you like, more common terms for the things that you're

36:19

searching for us, like Pinterest is such a great tool for

36:25

this kind of thing. One of mine is is comfort, which I've

36:25

talked about a couple of times, but it's not, it's not just

36:33

comfort as in like, you know, sweat pants and hoodies all

36:33

day every day though I do have a really great selection of

36:39

those. It's more of this combination of pairing like classic

36:39

piece, classic and edgy pieces. And layering in comfort into

36:51

everything that I do. So and I've also found that whenever

36:51

you curate the pieces that represent what you're looking

37:00

for, and then you put them together in a way that just feels

37:00

good to you. Even if it's unconventional. People feel it,

37:13

and they love it. So one of the things I recently got up it

37:13

was a little cold here. I think it was going to be raining.

37:20

I had to come into the shop. And I put together the funkiest

37:20

little outfit I think I've probably ever worn but it was

37:26

literally just I wanted to be comfortable. I wanted to be

37:26

warm enough. I wanted to like have to if I had to get wet,

37:33

it wouldn't like ruin anything. So I like put on my rain

37:33

boots and I put on my pants and I put on like a sweat shirt,

37:42

and a blazer and then my like rain proof hat on top. And it

37:42

was it was weird. It was a weird outfit. And literally

37:50

everyone complimented my outfit. And the first time I was

37:50

like dude I literally just dressed for to be comfortable.

37:57

That is, was my only goal today was to be comfortable. But

37:57

when you have the right pieces and you put them together for

38:04

whatever purpose you're putting them together for and you

38:04

feel good in them, like the whole vibe is there and people

38:13

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39:17

What about things that you are willing to

39:17

spend money on because whenever it comes to really

39:21

pinpointing your style, I do think it's a good idea to ease

39:21

into it. And I know that people a lot of people are against

39:28

fast fashion and that's bad and wrong and all the things but

39:28

I think it might be a good idea to try some things that

39:36

aren't so expensive. So that then you know what it is that

39:36

you want to invest in, you know what I mean? So I do this

39:43

with actually makeup as well like I will buy kind of the

39:43

cheaper Covergirl version of a color that I'm wanting to try

39:50

out before I'm spending the $30 on a lipstick that I'm not

39:50

sure if I even like the color or not. So I think that you

39:57

can do this with clothes as well. So check out places like

39:57

Zara or h&m but also thrifting is like a really great I'm

40:03

more on the thrifting side whenever it comes to my home

40:03

style for sure. I like I love bringing in some weird thrift

40:13

store and estate sale stuff into my house. I guess because

40:13

it almost in some ways seems lower stakes than what I'm

40:20

wearing. Like what I'm wearing feels so much more personal.

40:20

Even though my house does feel like this living breathing

40:27

entity on its own. Like it has this vibe of its own that I'm

40:27

less in control of like I let my house itself really dictate

40:37

what it wants to be. Which is kind of weird to say, but I

40:37

really do feel like I listen to my house whenever it comes

40:45

to that style.

40:45

Well, and I, that's a really great point to

40:45

make. Because I do think staying true to the style that is

40:48

already present in your house is important, I think for

40:48

everything to feel cohesive, it will, it's important if you

41:00

want it to be important if you don't give a shit, and you're

41:00

like I'm stuck in or I love my like, you know, mid century

41:08

modern house, but what I really want is a, you know, plant

41:08

filled jungalow. You do that love that for you. Um, but I do

41:17

think there is something about letting a very prominent

41:17

style of a house really lend very heavily to the style that

41:28

you add to it in a way that you don't really have to do

41:28

whatever it's your wardrobe, unless you have to dress in a

41:37

particular way for your job, which I would imagine, most of

41:37

us listening to this probably don't have to do that very

41:43

often feel like that's sort of a similar scenario. But it is

41:43

quite true with your house.

41:49

I want to come back I want to talk about

41:49

house and style just a little bit more. Because whenever it

41:55

comes to my house, I live in a really amazing mid century

41:55

modern house that was built in the 1960s. I've got wood

42:03

ceilings, it's split level, I mean, it is funky like funky

42:03

60s mid century, but it was remodeled in the 80s. So I've

42:11

got those like melamine like the white melamine and oak

42:11

cabinets in my kitchen. My a lot of my sconces are like

42:19

mixed metal like gold and silver angular sconces, I've got a

42:19

whirlpool in my main bathroom, I mean it is full on 80s

42:34

remodel in like half of the house. And I love it. I love

42:34

that someone came in in the 80s and remodeled this house

42:42

that was built just a couple of decades before. And so what

42:42

I've really tried to do in my own home is blend this mid

42:50

century modern with like the 80s vibe, but also in the 80s.

42:50

If you I'm really inspired by 80s kitchens like Golden Girls

42:59

and Alf and Roseanne. And the really interesting thing about

42:59

these 80s kitchens is that they're oftentimes referencing

43:06

the 40s. Because if you were looking at kitchens in the 80s,

43:06

they're wanting to do what was retro and classy, which was

43:12

what was happening four decades before that, right. So you

43:12

have to consider that as well. Like everything's kind of

43:18

referencing each other, and you end up in this hall of

43:18

mirrors. But I really love that. So I started you know, kind

43:26

of modeling my kitchen in this 80s does 40s vibe with a

43:26

bunch of copper tin molds, you know, like the ones that are

43:33

like little fish and a lobster that looks like a penis and

43:33

grapes. And you know, like the Bundt cake pans and stars. So

43:42

I have a whole wall filled with those because it's very

43:42

Golden Girls and Alfish I really I wanted to keep the

43:49

cabinets everyone was shocked that I love my cabinets. And a

43:49

few people have even noted like, that's so cool that you

43:56

just kept the cabinets and rock them and I have those

43:56

cabinets and now I'm going to keep mine too. So you don't

44:02

have to always do what other people are doing and my house

44:02

is not super Instagrammable right. But whenever people come

44:09

into my home, they are delighted. They're delighted by all

44:09

of the art, all of the layers, all of the things in there.

44:18

The incense burning, the music playing, it is about a

44:18

layered an eclectic vibe, that again, my house itself is

44:28

really dictating. But whenever it comes back to my clothes,

44:28

I feel more in charge on my clothes, like my house, she's

44:34

doing her own thing. Like she's letting me know what she

44:34

wants and what she does not want. But whenever it comes to

44:40

my clothes, I feel like I'm really in the driver's seat

44:40

there. So coming back to clothes. What are you willing to

44:49

spend money on because there's a few things I dropped some

44:49

coin on and I'll let you all know what that is. But what do

44:56

you, what do you spend money on?

45:00

There's a couple of things and I want to do

45:00

clothes and maybe a little bit of furniture as well because

45:07

I really hadn't thought of house decor as well because I

45:07

think these two things like I think you'll see those sort of

45:11

common threads here. When it comes to clothes, boots. Boots

45:11

are one of those things for me right like I will drop some

45:22

coin on a good pair of boots.

45:25

Like how much?

45:27

A couple 100. Maybe they ever spent was like

45:27

three 350.

45:32

Yeah, I've spent up to $500 on boots

45:32

before and that's a lot of money for me. Like I do not spend

45:38

a lot of money on clothes? You will I want you to understand

45:38

that I am also on Instagram wondering how all these people

45:45

have all this money to buy all these designer things right?

45:45

So that is not us. If you're listening to this right now

45:50

that is not us, we are not buying designer things.

45:54

No, I literally, I don't think I own a

45:54

designer thing at all actually.

45:58

Same.

45:59

No, I don't own anything designer. And

45:59

whenever I talk about like dropping some coin on something,

46:05

it's definitely like I'm buying one of these, or in the case

46:05

of boots, I have two or three really nice pairs. But they've

46:13

also lasted me for years. The first pair I bought I bought

46:13

five, six years ago, and those things are still stomping

46:21

around with me on an ongoing basis. And I spent that much

46:21

money on them because I wanted to have them forever. Because

46:28

I loved them so much. I did not want them to be boots that

46:28

were going to last me a season or two. And then I have to

46:34

chunk them. So boots and hats are two things that I will

46:34

spend some good money on because those are like those are

46:44

also like exclamation points to outfits for me right like

46:44

and in the case of shoes are literally going to get the most

46:52

wear because I'm stomping around in them not as hard as

46:52

Kathleen. But boots and hats are two pieces of clothing that

47:01

I will pretty ongoing. I do have cheap boots, I do have

47:01

cheap hats. But when it comes to seeing a price tag and

47:08

going okay worth it. I love that boots are something that

47:08

I'm going to be wearing a ton and hats, I like to think of

47:16

as literally heirloom items, like my hat collection will go

47:16

to my daughter and they will be like a good timeless hat

47:23

will carry on for several more decades. So I'm definitely

47:23

thinking about them as long term investments and literally

47:32

heirloom items.

47:34

Yeah, my most expensive pair of boots I've

47:34

had now for 15 years and will easily have them for 15 more,

47:40

and I still get compliments on them every time I wear them.

47:40

Same with hats, you know, whenever it comes to style, there

47:47

are days I don't want to get dressed. But if I throw on a

47:47

hat and a red lip, I'm good to go. You know, and people will

47:54

be like, Oh, you're fancy. And I'll say I'm literally just

47:54

wearing a hat. I mean, there's not much more to it. Yes,

48:05

exactly. The other thing that I'm really willing to spend

48:05

money on so like boots, jeans, I'm willing to wear, spend

48:13

more money on jeans, because I'll wear them again for

48:13

decades.

48:20

I don't like jeans.

48:22

Exactly. So you know, jeans are a little

48:22

tighter.

48:26

Yeah, yeah, I don't like it.

48:29

I will say style of jeans. I mean, what goes around comes

48:29

around, but even jeans that I've had that come back in style

48:35

aren't quite right. So I wouldn't say that they don't have

48:35

quite the same amount of lasting power as far as style goes,

48:41

as maybe some boots do. And then the other thing I spend a

48:41

lot of money on is my hair. And my hair has become a really

48:50

integral part of my style. And it's always changing. So it's

48:50

the thing that I know if I can get it right and then feeling

48:59

good about my hair. I'm feeling good about everything else.

49:03

Yeah, here's a good one, high five, I don't

49:03

spend that much money on my hair, my hair is like it just

49:07

kind of takes care of itself for the most part, we have very

49:07

different kinds of hair. And you definitely use yours more

49:14

than I use mine. In terms of like defining your style.

49:16

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like and like how I

49:16

show up in the world. You know, one other thing I want to

49:23

talk about a little bit whenever it comes to style, is

49:23

really thinking about and whenever it comes to, especially

49:28

investing in your style, whether that's in your home, or

49:28

your clothes, is really thinking about what you want to grow

49:35

into. I think that really thinking about style as almost a

49:35

manifestation tool, or really kind of becoming who it is

49:43

that you want to be is a great way to think about what

49:43

you're going to purchase or what you're going to put on your

49:50

body or what you're gonna wear. And so for me, like whenever

49:50

earlier we were talking about inspiration. Lately I've been

49:58

really thinking about a way way way far back so not just you

49:58

know Sigourney Weaver in Aliens but I've been really

50:07

inspired by how I visualize you know, like, my ancestors, my

50:07

spirit guides, these ladies that have come before.

50:16

You about to bring corsets back?

50:19

Listen.

50:19

They are back regardless.

50:20

They weren't they, my ladies were not

50:20

wearing corsets. These were like badass Viking women who are

50:27

probably problematic, but you know, these badass Viking

50:27

women or witchy midwives, you know and healers that were

50:28

But this really is something that I truly consider whenever

50:28

it comes to style and being who I want to be like, I don't

50:34

threatened to be burned at the stake. What were they

50:34

wearing? And then also, I think of, whenever I think back

50:42

on, you know, where I come from, I imagine I also come from

50:42

a line of like, these artsy feminists who were making things

50:50

and creating things and living life on their terms before

50:50

that was acceptable and okay for women, you know, so I

50:58

really like to think about them and kind of making them

50:58

proud with who I am now. And how, how they've paved the way

51:05

so that I can wear these things or do these things with my

51:05

hair and with my body. So that even when I think about that

51:13

a lot, too, even whenever I'm working out, like I think

51:13

about drawing on the power of these really strong women that

51:21

came before me and just having them look down at me and say,

51:21

Yeah, girl, you're a badass you come from you come from us,

51:29

and you're doing well, you're making us proud. But then I

51:29

also on the flip side of that, whenever I think about style

51:37

inspiration, I like to think about myself whenever I'm 50,

51:37

60, 70, 80. And I want to make her really proud too and I

51:45

want to start to I want to meet her where she's at, you

51:45

know, so for me, if time is kind of a spiral, I kind of

51:53

believe that my eighty year old self exists out there

51:53

somewhere already, right. And so she's looking back at me

52:00

now. And I'm looking forward to her and we're gonna meet in

52:00

the middle. And I'm going to start making decisions now to

52:08

make her proud, but also to make her who she is, once I get

52:08

there. And so I know it sounds like I've been smoking a lot

52:17

of weed I'm totally sober right now.

52:32

want to become complacent or stop thinking about it. Like I

52:32

really love it. And I love it for my future self. And I love

52:42

it for the people who I've come from. And I just want to

52:42

live it big and live it loud, whatever that looks like.

52:51

That is deep. That's real deep. My extent of

52:51

this as I like to think about what I'm going to wear the

52:56

night before. I put myself to sleep going, What do I want to

52:56

wear tomorrow, like maybe I'll I'll put on those pants. And

53:05

I wonder what it would look like if I tried it with that

53:05

sweater or whatever. And then I wake up the next morning

53:09

excited about getting dressed, which is a whole thing in

53:09

itself. We were talking about investing the hour talk about

53:17

collecting things really quick because I think this is

53:17

important thing to throw in there. I don't want anyone to

53:22

think okay, now I need to go like redecorate my bedroom or

53:22

my office or like buy a new wardrobe. I think we're both

53:28

from a place where you talked about boots you've had for 15

53:28

years, I've had my favorite pair of boots for like six, you

53:35

know, a collection of hats that I've been collecting over

53:35

the past couple of years, I definitely I have pieces from

53:41

Old Navy that I have worn for 10 years, like there is

53:41

something about the accessibility of fast fashion, and

53:48

getting some really great timeless sort of staple pieces and

53:48

just wearing the living shit out of them.

53:54

Yes.

53:55

Which is one of the things that I love to

53:55

do.

53:57

Well worn.

53:58

Well worn, well worn. And if you're fighting

53:58

zombies, they're not asking you who you're wearing. Right?

54:05

As long as it's comfortable to you. And it feels great, and

54:05

it goes with what you're doing. But there is this process of

54:13

collecting pieces over the years, and I've been in my house

54:13

for seven and a half years now. I was actually I recently

54:20

saw a photo of my living room right after we moved in. And

54:20

it was like it was bare, it was so like, there was a couple

54:25

things in there that I had brought with me but not very many

54:25

things. And whenever I look at my living room now it is full

54:31

of plants and great pieces of furniture and amazing art and

54:31

all of these things. And it took me seven and a half years

54:39

to collect everything from where I started then to where I

54:39

am now. And for me, that's one of the things that makes a

54:47

wardrobe and a space feel really special not only to you,

54:47

but people who come in, they can feel the they can feel that

54:56

there are stories there. Right Like I remember I remember

54:56

when and where I was when I bought this house. It was last

55:01

time I was in New Orleans, right or like the piece of art on

55:01

my wall, or whatever it may be. Each piece has its own story

55:08

and it wasn't like oh, I just got tired of all my clothes

55:08

one day so I went to you know, Banana Republic and bought a

55:13

new wardrobe. There's something to mindfully collecting

55:13

pieces and making that a part of your journey. I love to go

55:21

to antique stores with no purpose in mind like just let's

55:21

just go see what we find. You pick up a nice little you

55:28

know, brass dish to put on your coffee table or a lamp or

55:28

maybe nothing at all. Maybe nothing speaks to you at all.

55:34

But there is this like this collecting that happens and even

55:34

if things don't all necessarily go together they do because

55:42

you are the common thread. And so it all starts to make

55:42

sense. So I love to mix, I love to mix things like like, mix

55:49

some really old antique stuff with something that's a little

55:49

more modern, something that's like incredibly functional. I

55:54

mean, it has no function literally at all, it just looks

55:54

cool. I really do love to pair nice expensive things with my

56:01

Old Navy basics, or whatever it may be. And that creates a

56:01

style that is uniquely yours. And is part of an ongoing

56:12

journey, not just something you decide to do one day.

56:15

Absolutely. This actually makes me think

56:15

about how I'm also highly inspired by streetwear. I think

56:22

earlier you were talking about street style, like kind of

56:22

like off duty celebrity style. So streetwear there's this

56:29

show on HBO Max called the hype. And Offset is one of the

56:29

judges a woman named Betty and then Marnie, who is Beyonce

56:40

stylist. And it's a competition show where a lot of young

56:40

designers are sewing and creating specifically streetwear

56:48

style. So it's a lot of T shirts, hoodies sneakers, like

56:48

cool jeans and slacks and things like that, right. So truly

56:59

streetwear inspired by, you know, a lot of hip hop, and I

56:59

can't help it but like, I love that too, even though it

57:07

doesn't necessarily fit in with the zombie killing aesthetic

57:07

that's kind of rooted in kind of like military inspired. Or,

57:17

you know, like a little bit more like Lara Croft vibes,

57:17

right. So whenever it comes to that, I will buy some Air

57:25

Force ones and mix them into what I've got going on or buy

57:25

some hoodies. And so I really am finding inspiration from a

57:33

bunch of different places. And it's not always even

57:33

necessarily fashion. You know, like, I'm not opening a

57:39

fashion magazine, or, like you said, going to a store and

57:39

buying everything off the rack. I'm sorry, I'm going on

57:46

tangents. Well, welcome me back to the show where I go off

57:46

on all sorts of tangents.

57:52

Just talking.

57:53

Recently, I was in this neighborhood,

57:53

that's like a new build neighborhood, I actually do a lot of

57:59

branding for them. And I really love like this neighborhood

57:59

is so cool and polished. And all the houses are brand new,

58:06

but designed to look very different. And I was walking

58:06

through this neighborhood and noticed, you know, kind of

58:12

peeking inside the houses, every single house was furnished

58:12

with like the same West Elm furniture, and the same West Elm

58:22

art and it, they were beautiful, and they probably look

58:22

really great on Instagram, but it lacked a certain amount of

58:30

soul, you know, and I even fall victim to this, like I'm

58:30

watching Leanne Ford and then want to paint my whole house

58:37

white and become a minimalist. And that's just not, that's

58:37

not what the soul of my house wants, you know, and then

58:44

seeing what style to I'm really sometimes tempted. And this

58:44

is where I try things that might be a little bit more fast

58:50

fashion, and see how I'm able to integrate them into my

58:50

wardrobe in a more permanent way or into my style in a more

58:57

permanent way. And it can be really tricky, and I sometimes

58:57

feel a little discombobulated or scattered. But over time,

59:08

there's constantly this like curating and editing that

59:08

happens. And that's the beautiful thing with age is now

59:16

we've collected some things, we've gotten rid of some things

59:16

and through the decades through the years, we've been able

59:23

Yeah, yeah, right. Oh, I love that through

59:23

the collecting you discover who you are more so than, you

59:23

to figure out who we are. know, you. You use who you are to collect things?

59:38

Or like just pinning things, you know,

59:38

like, gonna get off the internet and get into the real

59:44

world. You know, even. Okay, so talking about Pinterest. So

59:44

you remember a while back, I told you that I was cutting

59:50

things out of magazines, and then like pasting them in a

59:50

notebook.

59:53

Yep.

59:54

And it felt very creative and artsy to me

59:54

to be just kind of creating like these little mini mood

1:00:00

boards in a notebook. And what it really was doing is like a

1:00:00

physical hands on Pinterest, because I was having to really

1:00:10

choose Okay, what am I going to take the physical energy of

1:00:10

cutting out and pasting and time, it's just not as fast you

1:00:18

know, and really developing style. It's not going to be fast

1:00:18

and you're going to make some mistakes, some expensive

1:00:24

mistakes along the way. Lord knows I have, but that's how

1:00:24

you start to learn truly who it is that you are and what it

1:00:31

is that you want to project into the world and what you want

1:00:31

to bring into your home.

1:00:33

Yeah, yeah, I think when it comes to

1:00:33

collecting things too, I think having a couple of boundaries

1:00:40

in place, but also knowing when to bend your boundaries.

1:00:40

Like I will not splurge on anything white. Like, not a white

1:00:51

shirt, not a pair of white pants, not a not a white set of

1:00:51

sheets, like they're going to be cheap. I'll have them but

1:00:56

they had their cheap. Because it will, the last white shirt

1:00:56

that I bought. I wore it for four hours, and I got

1:01:05

splattered paint on it. I don't even know how it happened.

1:01:05

And so, like, I just know, for myself, I'm never going to

1:01:11

splurge on anything white.

1:01:13

I'm never going to splurge on a shirt,

1:01:13

because like my armpits will devastate a shirt. Especially

1:01:19

an expensive shirt. I feel like I sweat twice as much in an

1:01:19

expensive shirt.

1:01:24

Yeah, yeah, you're right, because you're

1:01:24

nervous about it, you're just nervous about it. But I also

1:01:29

think knowing when to bend your rule. So for a really long

1:01:29

time, I would not spend a lot of money on a pair of

1:01:36

sunglasses, I wouldn't do it because I broke them all the

1:01:36

time, constantly breaking sunglasses. Until one day I was

1:01:44

like no I'm doing I really wanted a pair of Krewe

1:01:44

sunglasses, and I bought them in like expensive sunglasses.

1:01:51

At that point, like I paid 100 bucks for them. That was

1:01:51

wild, because I go through sunglasses, like candy. I those I

1:02:01

don't have any more because I broke them. But I have since

1:02:01

bought another I had them for a really long time, a really,

1:02:07

really long time. And then I replaced them and I've had this

1:02:07

pair for even longer. And I've definitely learned the power

1:02:15

of investing in pieces and how that can literally help you

1:02:15

take better care of things. So if you're weary about

1:02:22

spending money on things, because you know, you're not cool

1:02:22

enough to in whatever way you want to define that because me

1:02:30

and white shirts. Sometimes you need to break the rule to

1:02:30

prove to yourself that you can you can invest in pieces. I

1:02:39

also want to talk about investing in pieces for the house

1:02:39

really quickly. Art is something that I will spend some

1:02:44

money on for sure, like a really great piece of art that,

1:02:44

again, I think of it as an heirloom piece, this is not just

1:02:51

something that's going to be in my house. Now, I would love

1:02:51

to be able to decorate my kid's house with this piece, you

1:02:56

know, in a couple of years, and I'm supporting an artist and

1:02:56

doing all those things. And then also any piece of furniture

1:03:02

that's going to be used a ton. Like if you buy a cheap piece

1:03:02

of furniture, it's not going to last very long if it's being

1:03:09

used consistently. So that's also something that I will do a

1:03:09

bit of a splurge on.

1:03:16

I have an Ikea couch that I love so much.

1:03:16

It's an Ikea sectional. And the cool thing about IKEA

1:03:23

couches is that there's a couple of companies that make

1:03:23

custom covers for IKEA couches. And so you could just change

1:03:29

out the cover every, you know couple of years. And that's an

1:03:29

investment too like, I think that the cover for my couch

1:03:36

total ended up costing around six or $700. Which seems like

1:03:36

a lot for a fabric cover. But thinking about this couch

1:03:44

lasting I think I'll probably have this couch forever,

1:03:44

honestly. And then there's another couch that I bought

1:03:50

downstairs that is literally from Wayfair. And it is a cheap

1:03:50

piece of garbage. But I don't have the funds or the patience

1:03:59

to buy the couch that I want to buy. So I just covered it

1:03:59

with like a bunch of textiles that feel very eclectic, and

1:04:08

bohemian. And now you don't see the couch. So there are

1:04:08

things that you can do that are cheap, to you know, elevate

1:04:16

what you've got.

1:04:18

Yeah, I think the point here is there are no

1:04:18

rules. And maybe that's even where it becomes really

1:04:25

difficult with for people is we want rules. We want to be

1:04:25

able or we want someone to say like to make a great outfit,

1:04:32

you need these four pieces. There you go, right like in this

1:04:32

color palette, or you know, whatever, here you go. Or to

1:04:38

make a house cozy you need these things in this sort of

1:04:38

configuration. There you go. And what we've sort of I think

1:04:46

shared here is that kind of like we navigate these creative

1:04:46

journeys, were just sort of like picking up skill sets and

1:04:55

taking the opportunities and just like enjoying the ride. I

1:04:55

think cultivating and, and building your personal style is

1:05:03

really similar. I think you can be very goal oriented like

1:05:03

you are right really think about your heritage as you go

1:05:10

into it. Or are you gonna just like figure it out on the fly

1:05:10

like I do. Whatever it may be but it is something that you

1:05:19

and I put a lot of like intentionality into. And not to say

1:05:19

we're cute every day. I'm not cute every day I will speak

1:05:27

for myself. And not to say every corner.

1:05:29

You're cute all the time.

1:05:35

Thanks. I'm not to say every corner of my

1:05:35

house is a beautiful vignette because my guestrooms still

1:05:43

need some work. But it is a journey that we're on to create

1:05:43

wardrobes and spaces that feel good to us. And it's

1:05:53

collecting pieces that mean something to us along the way.

1:05:53

Or even if they don't mean something to us, as we're

1:06:02

collecting them, we add meaning to them as we go.

1:06:05

Yeah, you know, here's the deal that I've

1:06:05

had to learn the hard way is that everything that you see in

1:06:07

Yeah, for sure. Oh, I love that. And that's

1:06:07

what people do read. That is what they read off of you off

1:06:14

Architectural Digest, or on those Instagram feeds, or, you

1:06:14

know, even street style for New York Fashion Week, those

1:06:24

people are putting a lot of effort into making their home or

1:06:24

their outfit look that way, in that moment. It does not

1:06:34

always look that way. There are professional prop stylists

1:06:34

who are coming in and styling these amazing, beautiful homes

1:06:41

even more before it's shot for a magazine. It's lit really

1:06:41

well. You know, you're you're not seeing the armpit stains,

1:06:49

or the coffee stain or the paint splatter. It's been

1:06:49

photoshopped out, or it's a brand new piece that hasn't been

1:06:56

lived in yet. You know, so real life does not look like

1:06:56

Instagram. And I'm saying this for myself more than anyone

1:07:05

because I so badly want my wardrobe and my closet and

1:07:05

whenever I'm wearing my clothes and my home to look like

1:07:12

that, and it just doesn't. And that's a good thing. So you

1:07:12

talked about your guest room meeting a little bit of work.

1:07:19

Well, I've stayed in that guest room multiple times. And not

1:07:19

a once was I thinking this could use a little work. You

1:07:27

know, what I remember from our time together is the meals

1:07:27

that we shared around your kitchen island and the hikes that

1:07:34

we went on. It's not really about what it all looks like.

1:07:34

It's about how it makes you feel. So just keep that in mind

1:07:42

too. Your home, it's about how it makes you feel. Your

1:07:42

clothes, it's about how it makes you feel.

1:07:53

of the space that you're in whatever they can tell if you

1:07:53

love it or not. If you feel great in it or not. They can

1:08:01

feel that the presence have those feelings as you've

1:08:01

collected and put things together. That's beautiful,

1:08:09

Kathleen, well this has been a treat.

1:08:12

Can we end this episode by telling people

1:08:12

what we're wearing right now?

1:08:17

Oh yes. Let's do it. You go first.

1:08:19

Okay, I am wearing an ALF shirt. And it

1:08:19

says no problem. Exclamation mark. So an Alf shirt. And then

1:08:29

a really cozy sweater that I got from the gap. It's kind of

1:08:29

like a brown camel color sweater. My Alf shirt is yellow

1:08:37

with like a picture of Alf on it. I actually had this shirt

1:08:37

whenever I was about eight or nine and I was telling Jeremy

1:08:42

how much I love this shirt. And he found it for me and got

1:08:42

it for me. And then I'm wearing some Madewell jeans which is

1:08:49

one of the few brands that fits my booty. And they're like

1:08:49

high waisted black skinny jeans that flare out at the bottom

1:08:59

with a slit up the side and then I'm wearing my house shoes

1:08:59

because I'm working from my house and then a couple of gold

1:09:06

necklaces. Always got some gold on.

1:09:08

Love it, you do it it's such a vibe we've

1:09:08

it's such a like It's like cozy vibe but there's like a hint

1:09:16

of Mr. Rogers with that cardigan. I love it

1:09:22

And I currently have like a shaggy mullety

1:09:22

haircut. I should mention that as well.

1:09:27

Oh yeah. Yeah. I am wearing, I have all

1:09:27

started my hat I have a black like wide brim hat on. It's a

1:09:35

Gordon brothers got it from New Orleans last year. I wear it

1:09:35

so much. And today not because my hair is dirty. I'm

1:09:42

actually like I'm in that weird in between place growing out

1:09:42

my hair because it's been like chin length for the past year

1:09:47

and a half. I'm growing it out. So now it's just like that

1:09:47

weird like brushing my shoulders length that just does not

1:09:53

look great on me. So my hair is usually in a ponytail have a

1:09:53

hat on black hat. I'm wearing a record label t shirt. It's

1:10:01

actually white. It's a white t shirt. Black Letter says

1:10:01

single lock records has Alabama and a heart on it. It's a

1:10:10

whole thing also gold chain. I have on a linen blazer like a

1:10:10

natural colored linen and blazer. A pair of these are brown

1:10:22

Old Navy pants like almost Chino style, but like a little

1:10:22

stretchier and I think they're probably two or three sizes

1:10:30

too big. Like I put them on this morning and held out the

1:10:30

waist and there's like inches of space. And so they're high

1:10:38

waisted pulled up very baggy I have on a pair of Halloween

1:10:38

socks that are hocus pocus and a pair of lug soul Doc

1:10:50

Martens.

1:10:52

Love it.

1:10:54

So like for me, it's like I'm actually

1:10:54

combining black and brown real hardcore today.

1:11:00

Oh, that's my favorite color combo is

1:11:00

black and brown. I forgot to mention this. I'm always

1:11:05

usually wearing black jeans with a brown belt. And then I've

1:11:05

got some like black boots that have a brown soul on them. I

1:11:11

love breaking some old school rules like you can't mix black

1:11:11

and brown. That's some bullshit.

1:11:17

Yeah, I love doing too. And mine is very

1:11:17

color blocky too. So I'm very much so mixing black and brown

1:11:22

today is is one of my favorite outfits. It's super comfy.

1:11:22

Looks pretty professional, but I'm just like, incredibly

1:11:30

comfortable. That's the vibe.

1:11:35

Settling yourself into the flow of your business from

1:11:35

navigating a whole year of ebbs and flows to embracing the

1:11:41

energy of each and every day, you're bound to have some ups

1:11:41

and downs along the way. For me, this journey of

1:11:47

entrepreneurship is made better when my space keeps me

1:11:47

focused and inspired. As an example, my favorite way to mark

1:11:54

the beginning and ending of the work day is to light a

1:11:54

candle when I sit down at my desk and then blow it out when

1:12:00

I'm done for the day. It's a little ritual that creates

1:12:00

boundaries and a vibe that keeps me focused and feeling

1:12:06

cozy, and the ritual candle that we make it Almanac Supply

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