The Look for Least: Tear and Wear

This all started out innocently enough, as my way to never, ever again have to worry about what to wear. It was only after the fact, when I’d had some time to think about it, that I realized in the process I was also helping get some extra mileage out of my magazines; therefore helping me rationalize their existence and expense.

I love clothes, and most of the time, I love getting dressed. But then, there are those days where no matter what I do, I just cannot put together an outfit for the life of me.
I’ll think I want to wear one particular item, and then wrack my brains and my wardrobe rack trying to put together the right pieces to make "it" work. But then the shirt doesn’t look right. Or the shoes are too high for the pants. Or I just can’t decide which accessories complete the look I’m going for. In the end, I was always late for wherever I was going, while leaving a trail of destruction in my wake with the carnage of shirts, pants, sweaters, etc, strewn willy nilly around my room. And- I usually didn’t even like what I end up wearing when this happened.

In my earlier days, my main method of combat against dressin' stress was to try and map out what I was going to wear the night before. While lying in bed, I would mentally flip through the hangers in my closet and dress myself up like a paper doll. However, this did not always work, as sometimes the outfits looked better on my mental paper doll than they did on me, sometimes I’d fall asleep before the outfit selection was complete, and sometimes I’d just wake up and have completely forgotten that day’s scheduled ensemble. Therefore, even planning ahead the night before did not always provide a sure-fire fix to the problem.


Enter my friends Lucky, Cosmo, Cosmo Girl*, US Weekly, In Style, Glamour, Vogue, and Allure. You know, the whole gang. All have very different perspectives, for sure, but they all can be counted on as trust-worthy sources of constant fashion inspiration. Fortunately for me, and for them, I have found a way to make their best ideas immortal.

While spending time visiting these “friends,” if I find myself looking at something for more then a couple seconds, I rip it out.

When I see pictures of Cameron rocking especially inspiring outfits, the revered Olsen’s doing their thing, or Lucky happens to feature a spread I can’t take my eyes off of, I tear those pages out with wild abandon and file them away in plastic sleeves kept safe in my ever-growing “Inspiration Finder” Binder.

At this point in my Binder’s development, no matter what the event, I KNOW I can always open up my trusty binder and flip through the well-appointed outfits until I see the perfect one for the occasion. With the end goal set, it then just becomes a matter of recreating the recipe as closely as possible with the ingredients I already have. Ever seen the “Look for Less” on the Style channel? This is like the “Look for Least,” as not one cent needs to be spent to recreate the desired look. I just follow the template du jour; pairing my black pencil jeans and slouchy white v-neck tee with a thick, hip-hugging belt, fierce black pumps, black bag, colorful scarf, TONS of attitude, and I’m good to go! Ashley Olsen can have her $5,000 Hermes Birkin- she has earned it- all I need is a picture of her with it, and I can turn around and create the same exact look for free. Thanks Ash! ♥

Even though I dutifully recycle all of my magazines when I’m finished reading them, I still feel bad dropping those heavy stacks monthly into the Recycling bin- all that paper, for one use. By ripping out the information I find valuable, it makes me feel like the magazine’s existence was a little more justified, and a little more worthwhile, as it is leaving behind something tangible long after it’s been read. Instead of keeping around the whole magazine for future reference, and being bogged down with housing the 144 magazines I come across yearly, I cherry pick and take/keep the best of each. My easy binder system makes the information quickly accessible when I want it, and versatile enough to be updated, edited, and reorganized whenever the mood strikes.

Ripping out and filing magazine pages here and there is not a drastic environmental change. However, every little bit counts, and this way you are keeping some of those pages out of the garbage, and contributing to a better looking future in more way than one.

Note: My binder is a big one. With the addition of a pack of labeled dividers, I have also started ripping out other inspirational and interesting bits beyond fashion. My binder now consists of recipes, interior decorating ideas, fitness plans, great articles, etc. If it is something that is interesting to you- tear it out and keep it!

*Hey, I’m not embarrassed to admit my inner tween tendencies. I even still read Seventeen, too! Apart from the coveted boy advice Miley has to share, it’s hard to give up those super embarrassing, four star “and everyone called me Period Stain Pants for the rest of the year” stories.