They Walk in Beauty

Firstly, Happy Hallowe'en to all who celebrate! I had wanted to find a fantastic costume and do something fun and crazy, but of course, it didn't happen. So instead I made cookies. Oh well. I also wanted to apologize for my somewhat abrupt absence from the blog. I will make it up to you with more frequent posting - at least for the next couple of days, ha!

This post was inspired by the lovely ladies of Painfully Hip, who do a weekly round-up of their favorite thrifted looks on Wardrobe Remix, the amazing Flickr group that showcases the style of men and women from around the world. I love browsing through all of the photos, seeing what delightful outfits people come up with, because, as I have stated before, I think the style of "real" people is much more inspiring than anything you can find in a fashion magazine. Of course, those magazines have their place, and they can be very inspiring, but I just love street style. So I decided to pick out a few of my favorites to share with you.

Click on the photos to go to their Flickr page.

StrawberryKitten has such a clean, graphic style that I love. She mixes really bold elements with softer things, like dark tights, sweater, and accessories with a simple shirtdress and cozy scarf, seen above. The combination is so chic and so much fun. I love this look!

Piksi is one of my absolute favorite Remixers. She has a fantastic eye for color and texture. I love the pops of red in this outfit, as it is something I like to do a lot! Red is such a passionate color, so when I wear neutrals I usually throw in red shoes, or a red scarf. Piksi also knows how to dress her shape! This pencil skirt fits her like a glove. Chic beyond words.

I love this mix of old-fashioned and modern from Irene Adler. The colors are beautiful as well - I like the deep purple accents. And if I didn't already adore lace-up boots, this outfit would make me! I have to recreate it myself, although I'm sure I wouldn't be half as fabulous.

Red again, this time from Caotica Ana! This is exactly the kind of look I've been going for this fall: flapper meets schoolgirl meets secretary! The proportions are perfect.

Finally, this incredibly chic ensemble from Aveclove. This is just intimidatingly beautiful! I love how two seemingly simple pieces of clothing can create such a dramatic effect. And can you believe that she bought these jeans from Old Navy for $20?! Wow.

This post was also sparked by a recent trip to WhoWhatWear Daily. They had posted another installment of their feature, MySpace Muse, in which they pick a stylish girl from the MySpace Fashion group and interview her. I have noticed that nearly every time they do this feature, the post is flooded with comments, mostly negative. This certainly is not the fault of WWWD, in fact, I applaud them for taking a break from the celebrity thing and featuring a real girl once and a while. It just saddens me that many of the people who post negative comments completely miss the point. Most of the time they say "unoriginal", which is fine, but when the comments turn to attacks on a girl's appearance - most often her weight - it gets ugly. And the girls featured are never overweight.

Shouldn't we try to offer positive feedback to each other? Especially when it comes to another person's style, it is important to highlight what is good, instead of focusing only on what is (perceived as) bad. This is why I love Wardrobe Remix. Pick any photo, scroll to the comments, and you will see that 100% of them are positive. We are all entitled to our opinions, but we also need to be aware of how they affect others. Honesty is essential, but there is a way to do that without being petty, cruel, and vindictive.

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on this! Please share.