The lazy girl's guide to chic

Personal style laziness is something I confront most days of the week. I love to see ladies (and guys) make the effort to look good and I like to look like I care as well, but seriously, it’s often an uphill battle.

I’d rather read a few more pages of my current book (After You by JoJo Moyes, so good, but you have to read Me Before You first) than spend the extra ten minutes making my blow-dry professional rather than perfunctory.

I’d rather eat a few more chocolates than be stylishly skinny.

I’d rather stay in and knit on the sofa than hit the latest hotspots.

But you already know those things about me I’m sure.

To not slip completely into a fashion abyss, what I’ve been doing lately is sneaking little bits of style into my day without me even noticing. And when I do, I tell myself it’s easy, it’s not an effort, it’s no problem. I cajole myself along like a child.

In my dream world, I would look effortlessly chic without effort. But I know that doesn’t happen in real life. In the real world when I don’t make an effort I look like I’ve given up on life. Apparently, those sneaky French women make a ton of effort, but the whole goal is to look uncontrived. It takes a lot of effort to look uncontrived!

But I’m willing to learn. I have my bible How to be Parisian wherever you are and it speaks my language. The French girls do make an effort but they do it in a fun and sexy way. If you have your life set up so that your only choice is a chicly curated wardrobe of fabulousness, you can’t go out in something that you know deep in your heart is telling everyone that you come from Frumpsville. If you don’t have a pantry full of different genres of snack foods then you have to eat a piece of fruit instead. And if you tell yourself you’re wearing high heels to work today even though flats would be so easy, you just do it.

And that’s my current ‘thing’. I’m wearing high heels to work. And it feels good! I accept compliments from my husband and feel sexier in myself. In skinny jeans, a slouchy top and high-heeled sandals, I feel chic and like I could happily pop into a cool bar after work. In the same outfit with flat sandals… I don’t. Not that I ever do pop into a cool bar after work, but I could, if I wanted to.

I was telling a customer a few weeks ago that she was the inspiration for me wearing heels more. This lady is a few years older than me and has high-school aged children. I have never seen her in flats. She’s always elegant and wearing heels, and permanently sunny in nature. My husband overheard what I was saying and told her it was true, I did say that. Our customer then told us that her inspiration is a 83 year old lady who still wears high heels and our customer would say to herself ‘well if she’s still wearing heels then I can too’.

How funny is that? The inspiration goes on, passing from one person to another. So you never know who you will influence by doing that one little extra thing on your appearance today. And that’s how I keep laziness at bay, one sneaky trick against myself at a time, one tiny tweak or upgrade.

And just in case you think I’m wearing 5-inch heels, I’m not. The heels I’m currently wearing are a little bit higher than I’d normally wear, and I’m a big fan of finding heels that are all-day-wearable. They do exist and it’s just a matter of looking around at them, not just discounting all heels as uncomfortable.

What’s the first thought that popped into your mind that you could upgrade easily and effortlessly? We’re talking minimum effort/maximum payoff. Please share! And let’s all wear our heels tomorrow shall we?