Sheela Writes

Amen, sista.

I never thought I’d ever credit something so insightful to Ms Monroe GRIN insightful and evergreen with a dose of such unexpected humour.

But it’s so true, yes?

The perfect shoe design equipped with an equally perfect heel height makes for taking the most empowered of strides, figuratively as well as metaphorically.  As Michael always tells me, I am my sexiest when I’m feeling comfortable.  After all, comfort begets confidence, and confidence is the consequent vessel to sire a sense of power, a sense of empowerment.  A sense of f*ck you, self doubt, not today.

T H E    P O W E R    O F    A    G O O D    S H O E

I’ll be the first to admit to being somewhat obsessed with shoes, I mean, I think the whole world knows that by now so it truly doesn’t behoove the situation for me to even pretend that 99% of my outfits are created from the soles up.  They really are.  It’s always been that way for me.  Pick the shoe first and then figure out the rest of my look.  I mean, if there was a mood board created to represent me, a solid pair of shoes would be right smack in the centre!!!

But I was also wondering where this shoe mania came from.

If I am to look back into my growing up years, I know with dead certainty that it wasn’t an influence stemming from my mother.  She’s far more practical than I when it comes to footwear.  No, in fact, my earliest memory of craving a shoe was a pair an aunt wore.  She was married to my dad’s youngest brother at the time, and had these faux suede black pixie boots that were just sooooo cool. Elizabeth, yes, that was her name.  I remember that she could tell how my 13 year old self was literally drooling over those boots and, well, gave them to me.  We both knew her feet were 2 sizes too small but I squeezed my toesies in, and away we go.

And so it began.

Over the years, I’ve had many a shoe.

It’s my birthday today.

The last time I’d written something on the blog on my birthday was three years ago, in 2016.  When I was talking about the wearability of animal prints and how we should all embrace its highly visual power with open arms.  What a tizzy the past few years have been, to say the least, but we’re not focusing on that today.  No, my friend, today, in honour of my birthday, I’m going to talk about the one person who has played such a vital part in not only igniting my love for clothes but who has also wielded such influence over how I look at style and fashion.

Denise Huxtable.

I’ll readily (and ever so happily) admit that I’ve had a ginormous fashion crush on Denise Huxtable since the sitcom I’d rather not name first aired in 1984.  The second eldest child who was free-spirited and rebellious with an eccentric sense of style which, I feel, can be best defined as wholly committed. Whether dressed in a power suit or in mechanic overalls or draped in pearls to the floor, she never doesn’t lean all the way in. The best kind of chameleon.

A WILD CHILD CARD

I mean, there are only certain people who can work a certain sense of style.

Not everyone can rock a head wrap, an unexpected hat, patterns on patterns on patterns, African-inspired accessories, a tulle skirt, the list goes on. It may look amazing on one person, and on another, you wonder if they looked in the mirror before leaving the house. Denise Huxtable, however, has proven that no matter how outrageous her outfit or hairstyle may be, she still looks good. How that’s possible, I’m not sure, but it is.

I would watch the show religiously and sketch down her outfits and try and copy her hair (still not sure if I should share that one photo). I remember hunting down an oversized tee, tied a knot to the side (more so to prevent myself from tripping than creating a style statement, if I’m being completely truthful) and wore it as a long tank dress (aka a jersey maxi these days, talk about precursors), over which draped a bunch of white plastic pearls around my neck that hung down to my knees., I thought I was the business, y’all.

The layering and the maximalism and the general refusal to toe the sartorial line aside, if you pay close enough attention, there’s a through-line of unbridled creativity.  An incredible attention to how eloquently we can speak through what we wear, a tool (I firmly believe) beautifully perfected by the late Princess Di (perhaps the most articulate of us all when it comes to speaking the language of fashion).

And that’s how I approach clothing and fashion in general.

Often with the preface of, “What else can I create with this?”

And always with, “How far can I push this?“.

Therefore, you can imagine where my mind instantly went to when Jennie announced that our theme for May would be Style Icons.  I was THRILLED.  I knew immediately that I wanted to really identify the muses behind my aesthetics. I mean, we all know I worship Gwen Stefani but did you know that both David Bowie as well as Prince have prominent seats upon my tabernacle of style?  These three influence the way I dress to such a large extent BUT distilling it even further, I knew without a doubt that Denise Huxtable was it.  My very first (and strongest) style icon.  And to this day, I continue to have very clear references and odes to the way Lisa Bonet styled the character throughout all those seasons.

And so, without further ado, my photos and my style icon since I was 11 years old.

And those of my fellow fabulous friends.

Jennie, A Pocketful Of Polka Dots

I wasn’t surprised at all when Jennie picked Audrey Hepburn as her style icon.  That timeless vibe.  A slight touch of tomboyish charm.  Elegant but still (always) playful and graceful.  An LBD was the perfect choice especially with those adorable floral court shoes, the iconic pearls, oversized sunnies and, ooh lordy, that bubblegum.  Well done, Jennie, well done.

Suzy, Suzy Turner

I intentionally positioned Jennie and Suzy’s outfits sequentially to demonstrate how two amazing women came up with such different looks based off of one same style icon.  While veering more towards the casual Riviera feel, Suzy’s top + pants garment exudes sophistication, ease, and infinite charm.  I think she’s beautifully captured that gamine mood.

Shelbee, Shelbee On The Edge

No hollaback girl is my girl Shelbee!!!  She walks the walk and talks the talk, on just about every topic under the sky, and where fashion is concerned, is as maverick as they come.  Resplendent boho garbs one day, dominatrix full tilt the next, complete with hosiery and whip (ok, so the whip hasn’t made an appearance on her blog, yet). Today, she’s going glam rock n roll punk without batting an eyelid and doing it SO DAMN WELL.

Daenel, Living Outside The Stacks

I feel as though I should’ve seen it coming. That Daenel would channel Nicole Richie because it’s PERFECT for her. That easy, breezy laidback yet polished approach to layering. Pairing the slightly oversized with the form-fittting. The earthy tones. The headwraps.  Such a beautiful palette made even more striking with the rich texture of her kimono.  I adore how her jeans infuse a fresh, wearable everyday element.

Now join me in welcoming (and thanking) Sherry, our guest blogger for this month. I know her best for the amazing outfits she creates by era.  There is such thought and research which goes into everything she’s shared on her blog, such beautifully curated looks that leave me in awe. I am ever so happy to have her here, joining us this month, for my turn, and the fact that she chose Cyndi Lauper as her style icon is perfect testimony to how we must all view fashion as something to have fun with and to play dress up in and to take over the world.

Sherry, Petite Over 40

And then there’s me.

A grownup version of Denise.  With heels (has anyone ever seen her wear heels on the show, by the way?).  And tattoos (although she got hers later in life).

Viva la Denise.

Tuxedo Stripe Blazer & Grey Beret (Agaci) | Plaid Canvas Joggers (Forever 21) | Bowie Concert Tee Shirt (thrifted) | Yellow Leather Cuff (Unearthed) | White Hospital ID Cuff (Jean Paul Gaultier) | Starburst Ring (Kate Spade) | Heels (JustFAB)

Please tell me, who’s YOUR style icon?

Or do you have several?

Have these changed to reflect the different stages in your life?

Until next time friends, have a good one.

Love, Sheela

p/s I link up here.