Studded Sidewalks
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Kaitlyn writes to inspire adventurous women to love their style, self, & personal experiences. She is a professional fashion designer and stylist, exotic travel junkie, and sharer of life lessons.
Studded Sidewalks
3y ago
When I was young
and lithe
My body comprised almost entirely
of long skinny legs
flailing clumsily about as I danced
all night
My legs were made longer
and clumsier
by the four inch heels
I wore over cobbles and into clubs
with no thought
for my as yet unspoiled arches and toes
As I grew, I traveled
proudly declaring to the world
“anything I wish to do,
I can do it in heels!”
I walked for mile upon mile
in my cheap stilettos
A self-diagnoses
of true shoe obsession
How many pairs did one need
of fabulous and frivolous towering fashion?
All of them, of course
my smug reply
With new decades
came ..read more
Studded Sidewalks
3y ago
“So, several of your friends have told me the exact same thing in the past few weeks. Its interesting,” my husband said.
I waited, wondering what advice for growth I was about to receive…again.
“I’m not even sure I should tell you this,” he was obviously stalling.
“Now you’ve brought it up, so you have no choice,” I answered in my standard no-nonsense tone.
“Just please try to understand its supposed to be a good thing.”
The angle at which I raised my left eyebrow must have said what I intended, namely that I was willing to listen, but I was really not excited about hearing more criticism of ..read more
Studded Sidewalks
4y ago
Its been quite a year so far. You look around, and if you are anything like me, you wonder at the ways of the world and of all the people in it. There is so much upheaval, so much loss happening on both a physical and an emotional scale across our nation.
In addition to watching and wondering and worrying about the state of our society, I also experienced a personal loss this spring, and it was like the proverbial straw breaking the camel’s back. Suddenly, my tolerance for chaos and bigotry, my ability to watch the systemic lack of respect and lack of social decency that has been rampant throu ..read more
Studded Sidewalks
4y ago
What happens when you find that you have become unmoored from your “normal” life? How do you assess and cope with a situation that requires you to abruptly rewrite the framework of what you do, possibly even of who you are?
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I’ve asked many friends and family members in the past weeks a somewhat novel question:
“What is the best thing that happened to you during this crisis?”
I know, that’s an odd, even somewhat tone-deaf question for the times we are in. I know most of us, myself included, can easily run off a list of things that are terr ..read more
Studded Sidewalks
4y ago
I ‘ve had this particular pair of gray wide leg trousers for so long, they are easily one of the oldest pieces in my closet. Of course it is easy to style a classic in a classic way, over and over, but what do you do when you are searching for a trend-inspired look and all you can see in your wardrobe are the same old things?
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The fact of the matter is, its relatively easy to teach an old classic new tricks if you are willing to look outside of the style box a bit. One of my favorite ways to find inspiration is looking through style blogs, i ..read more
Studded Sidewalks
4y ago
There really is nothing more intriguing to me than a perfect balance of interesting flavors in a cocktail glass. The alchemy of creating craft cocktails from scratch is probably best left to those with some real training and experience, but you can come pretty dang close to a craft cocktail experience at home by using homemade bitters in even a simple and classic cocktail.
The process of making bitters is actually incredibly simple, albeit time-consuming. Your patience will be rewarded when you taste the explosion of fresh flavors you get out of using them in your favorite spirits.
I typicall ..read more
Studded Sidewalks
4y ago
Simple is not synonymous with boring. Hopefully by now you accept that as a given. I suppose you could argue that a fitted denim jumpsuit isn’t exactly simple, but in my wardrobe, a one-piece look is about as minimal as it gets. The challenge, unsurprisingly, is not to go overboard with the rest of the outfit. Sartorial restraint is its own statement.
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Simplicity Can Be Powerful
If you’re looking to pull off a photo-worthy look with just a couple of pieces, there’s a few things to keep in mind. First, and possibly foremost, is to make sure t ..read more
Studded Sidewalks
4y ago
There’s a delicate balance you need to perfect in order to really make a statement piece work in your wardrobe. If you do it wrong, it wears you, and no one wants to play second banana to even a special vintage sweater. I absolutely love this chunky colorful little number (which is, of course, a vintage piece I snagged off a clearance rack in an obscure shop), but it definitely does require a little bit of styling to make it work.
My favorite trick to balancing out a really loud piece of clothing is to give it a little — not too much — competition. Mixing patterns, if executed with a delicate ..read more
Studded Sidewalks
4y ago
The last weeks, and especially days, have been tough. I have been getting kind of sad. I’ve been feeling like there is, in effect, virtually nothing I can do for myself, my friends, my family, or for my employer that feels like it has much meaning in a bigger sense of what was happening in the world.
We all have our roles, and we all have our burdens. Don’t make the mistake of trivializing what you are going through just because it looks different.
Fact check: I am not a health care worker, or a provider of an essential service. I have no special skills that are meaningful in this global pan ..read more
Studded Sidewalks
4y ago
You learn much more about yourself by how you fail than you do by accomplishing even a small victory. I know there’s many of us in this moment who are incredibly anxious, even scared. Whether “the worst” has already happened to you during our current global crisis, or whether you are one of millions who are looking at the horizon and worrying about being sick, or jobless, or homeless, or some combination of any of the above…I’m here to promise you, you can make it through.
How, you ask? Because you are you. Because you are strong. Because even “the worst” is an opportunity for growth, as ho ..read more