The English Maximalista

As you know, I am a little bit of a fancy pants, and as such, derive great pleasure from wearing my good clothes on an everyday basis, not just on Special Occasions. For it is my solemn belief that every day is a special occasion. So there you go.

I have spoken before about how expressing ones’ personality through clothing is one of the simplest ways of being creative: it’s something I have done for as long as I can remember. Even before I was a fancy pants — when I couldn’t afford “good” brands — I expressed my personality through clothing.

Also, I am fully aware that I am not a natural beauty, so my attire is a manageable remedy to detract from what I consider to be my “pleasantly plain” visage.

Finding clothing that suits my petite body shape also helps to flatteringly hide a multitude of [socially unapproved] sins. A process which has taken decades of trial and error!

As Wallis Simpson famously opined, 

She certainly succeeded at that.

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Wallis Simpson is not the only unconventional beauty who was renowned for having exquisite taste. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is probably the first name to spring to the mind of many Westerners, for having left the world with the legacy of her quintessential Jackie O look: elegant European clothing tailored beautifully to her slim frame.

From my maximalistic point of view, though, my admiration is drawn more to those women who disregard the traditional constraints of Painfully Good Taste.

Diana Vreeland is one of those women. She infamously enhanced her “severe” facial features by wearing Kabuki-style make-up and, prior to Anna Wintour’s reign, was arguably the most well-known fashion-columnist, -editor, and -maven of the 20th century.

It isn’t difficult to admire women like these, who create a life according to their own tastes, unabashedly embracing what life throws at them, and turning them into gifts.

Another woman whom I admire tremendously is Iris Apfel, who only recently passed away at the grand old age of 102.

Besides my beloved grandmother, I have to admit that Iris Apfel is quite easily my favourite — the penultimate! — style icon. Not that I, at the tender age of 51, am quite ready to start wearing ostrich feather boas to go shopping at Walmart… but safe to say there is a distinct possibility of that happening in another twenty years from now!

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To be clear, I am not by any means comparing my own meager little life to any of these style legends; I’m simply using them as a reference to illustrate that maximalism can be fabulous, darling. If that is your vibe, then run with it!

Over the years, I have been on the receiving end of comments ranging from the incredulous, “what on EARTH are you wearing?!” to the more gratifying, “I like your outfit”. Evenly counterbalanced with polite interest, such as, “where did you get those shoes/that brooch”, etc.

Thankfully, the majority of my fashion mistakes are consigned to the annals of distant memory, long before mainstream internet usage. Mercifully, there is very little photographic evidence of my poor choices — and that which does exist is safely forgotten about in a basement cupboard.

Nowadays, when people ask where I get my clothes, it is not with the masked horror or revulsion of years gone by. Inquiries happen quite frequently, these days, which is what prompted me to start sharing details about my daily outfits on social media, last year.

Hence the birth of The daily ‘fits! My humble contribution to the legions of others, who likemindedly share their fashion and design travails online.

It’s something that I now see has been a long time coming.

So, for those of you who are interested, I share photos of my outfits in my Pinterest folder, the daily ‘fits! which you can reach by clicking on the link. Design credits are found by clicking the down-arrow next to the picture.

I also post regularly on my Instagram page.

Ultimately, my clothes make me so incredibly happy. Mr Maximalista often teases me about how my WIC is my favourite room in our house… and he wouldn’t be far wrong! It certainly is one of my Happy Places.

Lots of love,

M xo