← The Everyday Style School
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This is a Football. Nope. You haven't hit play on the wrong podcast, and I didn't lose my mind over the summer. This Is a Football is how legendary coach Vince Lombardi opened training camp for the Green bay Packers in 1961. It was all about starting from the beginning and teaching his players the fundamentals they needed to know in order to become the best. And that's what this season of the Everyday Style School is all about. So grab your football and let's get started. Hello, gorgeous. Welcome back to the Everyday Style School, the show that teaches you everything your mom never did about getting dressed. I'm your host, Jennifer maggy. Mary. After 25 years of dressing women with real bodies, real budgets, and real lives, I know great style isn't about following one size fits all advice. It's about learning what works for you. And speaking of learning, you've probably noticed that the Style School feels a little different. We're switching things up a bit and we're moving to a school year format with new episodes dropping every other Tuesday for from September through May and taking breaks over the holiday and during the summer. And instead of random topics each week, each semester, we're going to focus on one big theme. I'm changing it up because I want each season and each episode to feel more intentional so that it's easier for you to learn and apply what you hear without getting overwhelmed or distracted by too many ideas. And I don't know about you, but I am absolutely drowning in content I want to consume. Right? I don't have time to listen to all the podcasts and audiobooks that I'd like to listen to, and I feel like everyone I've talked to can relate. So instead of contributing to the noise or overwhelm, I'd rather give you fewer but more focused episodes. Besides, this new format gives me more time to support our Style Circle members and create additional style classes. I have so many ideas of things I'd like to do. I just need to find the time, and this new format will help me do that. So let's talk about our fall semester, shall we? This season, like I mentioned, is all about getting back to basics. We're diving into some core skills and style fundamentals that every woman needs to know if she wants to get dressed easily and stop wasting money buying the wrong clothes and finally start loving the way she looks. I figured this was the right place to start with this new format. It's a good opportunity to start off on the right foot and move forward together. And I know there Are women listening, thinking, yes, that's exactly what I need. I don't know where to start. And if that's you, I'm thrilled this season is for you. But I also know there are probably some of you thinking, I have been listening to you for six years. I am way beyond the basics. I don't need this. And you know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe you don't need it. If that's the case, I hope you stick around this season just because you like the show. And I might say something completely off the wall. I mean, it's been known to happen and it's a good time when I do. Right? But with love. I also want to challenge you on something. If you've been listening to this show for a long time, maybe even six years, but you're still buying clothes you hardly ever wear, or you're still searching the Internet to find out if a pair can wear a peplum, you might not be as beyond the basics as you'd like to think. I think sometimes we hear something once or twice and we go, yep, got it. Okay, what's next? We want to move on to the next thing. And then we start layering on idea after idea and tip after tip and hack after hack. But without a solid foundation, none of it helps. And in fact, it just confuses us more. James Clear, who is the author of one of my all time favorite books, Atomic Habits, had this to say quote, mastery in nearly any endeavor is the result of deep, deeply understanding, simple ideas. For most of us, the answer to becoming better leaders, better parents, better lovers, better friends, and better people is consistently practicing the fundamentals, not brilliantly understanding additional details. I think a lot of us skip the fundamentals and think that the answer lies in the additional details in those extras. Right. I'm reminded of a conversation I had a couple of years ago. I was trying to meet some women business owners in my area. I love to talk business and meet people. So I was at this luncheon and I was sitting next to a woman who was lamenting the state of her business and her income one minute and then sharing all of her social media tips and tricks the next. And she had a lot of them and they were wild. I'm talking things like you have to post on Instagram at weird times, like 7:37 instead of 7:30 so the feed isn't as flooded and then your content will be seen. And then she'd go back to but my husband said if I don't find more clients soon, I have to get A real job. Okay, it was, it was a crazy conversation. But anyway, somewhere in there I was just being nosy and I said, oh, what's your website? To which she replied, oh, I haven't set one up yet. I really need to do that. Girl, timing your Instagram post perfectly is not what's going to make or break you. Not having a real professional website might though. That's a great example of brilliantly understanding the details without practicing the fundamentals. But this is a show about style, so let me give you a style example. Years ago, many years ago, I was shopping with a client who was obsessed with finding the right shade of white for her season. Not bright white, not ivory. It. It existed in this. This just unfindable place between the two. I was quite literally working with Goldilocks on this one and she would not buy anything that wasn't perfectly in her color palette. So we were struggling. Meanwhile, though, none of her clothes fit. None of them. Everything was too big. She was a petite, but none of her clothes were. And I was sort of like, well, listen, Amy, the reason you don't look put together isn't the white tee. That's just a smidge too white. It's the fact that you look like you're playing dress up in your mom's clothes. Fundamentals first. Often we approach fundamentals like they're a box that we just have to check before we get to the good stuff. When the reality is, more often than not, the fundamentals are the good stuff. I get it though. They're not sexy, they're not fun, they don't make you feel like a style pro, but they're the things that actually make you a style pro. If you master the fundamentals, you don't need a whole lot else. Skip the fundamentals, though, and the rest of it doesn't really matter. So even if you feel like you're ready for style 201 or 301, or I don't know, even a graduate level style class, I want you to stick with me this semester in style 101. Listen with fresh ears for things that you might have missed. And keep in mind that revisiting the basics with more knowledge and experience can absolutely supercharge your skills. Earlier this year, I recorded an episode about the style lessons I learned from baking sourdough bread. Oddly, it's one of my most listened to episodes of all time, which is very funny to me because I outlined that episode on a whim on my phone, sitting in a bar, waiting for my family to come meet me. And I don't know if I shared this the first time, but while I was doing this, I was eavesdropping on the group behind me, who was talking about how much they hated podcasts and found podcasters absolutely insufferable, which just makes it easier, even funnier to me. But anyway, I think about that episode a lot, and in my mind I add to it all the time. Like, there's another lesson. Here's another lesson. So here's one I'll share with you. In my beginner sourdough class, I learned about hydration percentages, which is the ratio of water to flour expressed as a percentage. For example, if you had 500 grams of flour and 250 grams of water, your hydration is 50%. That's just easy math. This was a fundamental that I just checked the box on. I learned it. I didn't really understand it, but I just learned it. And then I moved on, just following recipes. Now though, with almost a year of baking bread two to three times a week under my belt, I've recently started to use my knowledge to get different results. If I want more of those nice big sourdough holes, increase the hydration percentage. If I want the best bread for my gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, I gotta lower the hydration percentage. Style wise, this is the difference between knowing your body shape so you can find clothes that look nice on you, and knowing your body so you can wear things that aren't best for you. In a way that still works, it's using the knowledge to manipulate results, which is something you can only do when you truly deep, deeply understand what you're talking about. Long story short, no matter where you are in your style journey, whether you're just starting or you're a seasoned pro, there's so much value in going back to basics. Remember, Vince Lombardi wasn't coaching 6 year olds who had never held a football before. These were fully grown adults with NFL contracts. Which just goes to show, nobody should be above the fundamentals. So, with that said, let's talk about six style fundamentals every woman needs to master. This is kind of the loose framework for this season, so I'm not going to go in depth on any of these right now. Just consider it a little sneak peek. You ready? Okay. Number one is that if you want fabulous style, you need to speak the language. Good style requires a strong style vocabulary. Recently, one of our Style Circle members asked me how I find good results on Pinterest and in my Google shopping searches. And you Know the truth is it's part trial, part error, but the real truth is it's knowing the words to look for. If you don't have the words to describe what you like, it's going to be really hard to find it or to describe why something doesn't work for you and avoid it next time. Building a strong style vocabulary makes shopping easier, helps you define your personal style, and allows you to become more confident in your choices. Next up, number two is fit. And before you say, oh, Lord, not that again. Oh, yes, ma', am, that again. Because if you don't have fit, you don't have style. Thank you to Stacy and Clinton for that nugget of wisdom. Too many women are worried about finding the right handbag for their body type while walking around in ill fitting clothes. And if that's you, my friend, you are focused on the wrong thing. The body shape, handbag connection. That's extra details. Fit is literally the most fundamental of the fundamentals. And we can't do a season about fundamentals without talking about it. The third fundamental you need to master is proportion. All right, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Lean in close. I can't believe I'm admitting this to you, but I'm actually not that great of a stylist. I'm not. And what I mean by that is that I don't have this superior fashion vision like a Jenna Lyons or Rachel Zoe or an Anna Wintour or any of those, like, fashion celebrities. I am not the, oh, I would never have thought to put those together kind of stylistic. But what I am good at, very good at, is proportion. And proportion is the secret to how clothes look on your body and how they look together in an outfit, which, I mean, let's face it, that's kind of more realistic, everyday kind of stuff, right? So if I had to pick one fashiony skill to have, I would pick proportion over vision any day of the week. Proportion is all about understanding how parts of an outfit or parts of your body work together as a whole. And this is usually the first reason you don't like the way an outfit looks. So we're going to talk about it. The fourth style fundamental you need to know is some basic color theory in style. Understanding color works in two ways. First, finding clothes that look best on you. And second, putting colors together in an outfit so you can bust out of that jeans or black pants and a colorful top rut. A lot of women feel that there are colors they can't wear or they're intimidated by pairing colors together. And a lot of that is just not understanding color. So this season, we're going to get started. Number five, an oldie but a goodie is understanding your body. Look, I know this is a topic we've covered a lot on this show, but it's. It's at the root of most style problems I encounter. Like women not knowing how to find clothes that fit in, flatter, or feeling self conscious about an area of their body. And for me personally, when it comes to body shape and style, it has never been about I can wear this or I can't wear that. It's been about making peace with my body and understanding that my frame is just my frame. I don't have broad shoulders because I like chipped in queso I or because I hate running. All of those things are true. But it's just the way I'm built. No matter what I do, my shoulders are just broad. They're just gonna be broad. And when certain clothes don't work for me, I know it's not me, it's the clothes. And because I understand that, I also know there are clothes that do work for me. That's something that I think every woman deserves to know. Like, know deep down in her soul. One challenge I see when it comes to bodies is that women are still stuck on finding the right label. Like, that's the magical key to unlocking fabulous style. And it just isn't. The label doesn't matter. Having a deeper understanding of your real, actual unique to you right now body, that's what matters. So we're going to dive deeper into that this season. Finally, number six is your personal preferences and your personal best. We've talked a lot on this show about finding your signature style, but that's just part of it. One of the best ways to save money on your wardrobe is to buy things you're actually going to wear. Can you imagine how much you'd save if you hadn't purchased all the things in your closet that were worn just a couple of times? And think about the pieces that you would have invested more in if you'd known they were going to become wardrobe go tos. But how do you know if you're actually going to wear something? Well, that comes down to a deep, deep understanding of what you like and what's best on you. This season, we're going to talk about a few personal bests every woman should know and how to use your understanding of your personal preferences and to expand your style rather than falling into a Style Rut. That's a quick look at some of the things we're going to be talking about this semester. My hope is if you listen to all the episodes and apply what you've learned, you'll have a better style foundation. And then everything you learn and hear after that will be even more impactful. Before we wrap up the semester and go on our winter holiday break, we're going to end with an episode answering your style questions. So if you have something you've always wanted to know, especially if a question about style fundamentals, you can head to the show notes for this episode and send it in. And I will do my best to answer as many as I can during that episode. And also we might have a guest during the semester, I don't know yet, and they might be talking about the season's theme or maybe they'll be talking about something totally different. We'll see. But those are just a few things that you can look forward to in the months and weeks ahead. Your homework for this episode, because we're bringing back homework to our school year, is to think about where you fall in these six fundamentals. Which ones have you mastered and which ones do you need to pay particular attention to? Giving these topics just a little bit of pre thought while you're getting dressed or going about your day will help you absorb the information even better. Before we wrap up, if you are not on our email list, I highly recommend signing up. It is the the best way to know about events like the Fall Trend preview party that we just did. I know you don't want to miss things like that, so you can join again. There's a link in our show notes. And finally, if you've been listening to this entire episode, just dying to know if Vince Lombardi's back to Fundamentals approach worked in 1961, I'm not going to leave you hanging. The packers went 113 that year and ended their season with a 37 nothing victory in in the NFL Championship Game, which is what we now call the Super Bowl. So yeah, I would say it's pretty successful. That is what building on fundamentals can do for you. So I am excited to dive into it. All right, that is it for this episode of the Everyday Style School. Thank you for spending time with me today. If you are ready to make style easier and more fun, come join me in the Style School circle. It's where you will get all of our classes, capsule guides and style tools, plus the support to actually use them. You can become a member today at your everyday style.com link is in the show notes. I will see you next time. And until then, stay stylish.