Hi you, 

It snowed yesterday and today. For the south in December this is a feat to be celebrated, and we did. Many hot drinks, long walks, and chins-propped-in-hands-gazing-at-the-landscape ensued. Hats were excavated from their dungeons, coats from dark closets, and what the boots thought of all the wet and white rigamarole is not to be repeated. 

Never mind what the boots thought, it was magic heaped on magic, especially this morning. Saturday. 

VELVET RIBBONS & A SLOW SATURDAY MORNING

This morning I woke, having decided my plans beforehand. I would wash my face, make some coffee, tie a ribbon in my hair, (because I celebrate all things) set out a tray to have coffee in bed, and read the issue of Darling that just arrived at my house; a snow day gift. This magazine has been on my wish list for years, and thanks to my dear friends it made it off the list and to Court Square. 

I loved the first few articles and photography so much I wrote the friends immediately: 

This magazine makes me want to cry with joy. It’s connecting somewhere deep down inside me and feeding the zest to live and create things again. -Perfectly Honest Confession

Sometime after reading through those first 10 pages and running my fingers over the artwork (sensory person here) I looked up, and out the window saw a lazy bunch of snowflakes fall in endless procession. The timelessness of the moment soaked into my consciousness and suddenly the moment expanded to fit the morning. It sounds silly to say that time expands or contracts with spaces in our life, but so it is. Sometimes time barely exists and the next every tick of the seconds hand squeezes our peace.

I can only say that in that moment I was glad to have gone to the unnecessary bother of tying a velvet ribbon in my hair. Somehow it became symbolic to me as I wrote something else specifically to give to you, here: 

This is such a beautiful, perfect morning, and I'm glad to be alive again. Do you know what it's like to feel that deep joy stir up your spirit? It's no wonder that some must dance and other catapult themselves off sides of cliffs and out of air planes. We search for that physical explanation of the rush of pure joy, or we search for it because we have lost it in our hearts. 

My soul awakes. 

WHY WE NEED THE MAGIC OF STYLE

This will likely sound ridiculous to you, but my clothes and style celebrate and express the highs and lows of life with me. When I've had a bad day I know I can go home and put on an old sweater, socks, and leggings and cook dinner to chase away the stress. It comforts me.

When I attended a ballet for the first time a floaty black chiffon and lace dress accompanied me, making me feel as special as the production of "The Nutcracker." I still feel the heavy lace of a bridesmaid dress of a late summer morning of my Eucalyptus Autumn ** last year. The cloying heat of a warm spring day presses on the breezy pink dress worn on a day spent in Charleston several years ago. I put on that dress and the laughter of friends and spring in the south comes right back. 

For something we have to wear so constantly, why do we make clothes boring or unimportant? Of course it's good to be practical, but life is not all practicality. It's romance, respect, rainbows, power, and rain. It's true that you dress for the life you want, and the life you have. If you can strike the balance between those you will have found a style worth having.

 Often, a personal style can be found in something that satisfies you. It could be the superior stitching on a pair of leather boots, gratifying the need for perfection and quality. It might be that velvet ribbon, which looks luxurious and rich but feels as soft as a baby bunny.  

There's time enough to talk about how to build a good style and dig into practicalities. 

FIND THAT DETAIL

You may not be as much of a romantic or sensory person as I, but I daresay your style journey also starts in small ways. I thought that a velvet ribbon was too girlish for me, until I put it on and felt the wonder of snow mornings as a kid. 

You might have a secret hankering after cowboy boots, even though you live in a place like Maine or London. You may have wanted leopard print loafers but think people in the Midwest will judge you for it. Try it out. You may just find the beginning of your style journey in a detail, and a person truly happy and confident in their look will eventually win the respect of those around them. 

Today, I want you to think about that one detail or accessory you have that delights you, or that one thing you've always secretly wanted but never dared to purchase. 

• What does it feel like?
• Is the color soft, rich, restful, luxe, daring, or bold? 
• What is your favorite thing about it?

Style is the experience of life. 

For today mine was a velvet ribbon, a slow Saturday morning, and the magic of a snow day in the south.

 Comment below and tell me one of yours.

I'm happy you came today, 

L. Raine

**Eucalyptus autumn is what I dubbed last fall. I had several friends get married, and eucaplytus was the common thread and scent of that time.