Have you ever had the experience of someone blessing you with a gift and while you are opening it, they say something like, “This is so you, I just had to get it!” I have a vivid memory of just that very thing, even though it’s going on 35 years ago. A friend and her mom had picked out a beautiful white blouse for me as a high school graduation gift. It was white cotton dotted Swiss (is there even such a thing these days?!) with a ruffle around the neckline. It came from a department store that I never had the pleasure of shopping at. It was a gift in excellent taste. My friend said something like, “we both thought the ruffle looks just like something you would wear, so we had to get it for you!” I was so pleased and surprised to receive such a thoughtful gift, so of course I wore it.
There was just one problem. I didn’t really like ruffles. So why did someone who knew me so well think I did? Very simple. I wore my sister’s clothes (a lot!) and she liked ruffles! And florals. And girly dressy clothes. I was busy saving for college, so I was way too cheap to buy my own clothes. Or at least buy enough of them so that I wouldn’t have to borrow clothes I didn’t necessarily like. Don’t get me wrong, I liked them well enough to borrow them, but they weren’t what I would choose if I was going to plunk down my own hard-earned money.
Fast forward to a conversation I had with my dear friend Carey last week. We were discussing signature style. One of the points we parked on was that signature style is like a handwritten signature. It’s our unique style that identifies us. It’s those things that make people say “that’s so you!” when they find a special gift like my friend did for me so many years ago. Our conversation then turned into an exercise of finding just 1 or 2 things that we wanted to be part of our signature style. (Believe me there will be more, but she had to get to work :) For Carey, her list is starting with a statement ring. Her grandmother always had a statement ring, and she loves them too. She mentioned that wearing one always gives her a boost. I love that! My list is starting with manicured fingernails. I always feel more put together when my nails are done and it ups my confidence.
So, as we start to think about signature style, what would you want at the top of your list?