You analyze it. You inhale and exhale all that romance until you know exactly WHY IT TURNS YOU ON. “How come you need to know why something inspires you?” a creative partner asked me once. “Isn’t it enough to just be inspired, do you have to analyze it?” My answer: “I want to know why I love what I love so I can make more love. Geesh.” Like, conscious evolution. Duh.

what inspired you, exactly?
what did you see?
what did you feel?
how will that inspiration change how you approach things?

JOURNAL NOTES ON INSPIRATION + CRITIQUES

SAVAGE BEAUTY. The Alexander McQueen exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. disturbed, melancholy, heart broken, excellence, construction, rules twisted and smashed. truth is beauty. beauty is everywhere.

Notes to self: darkness and light must co-exist. write more about pain but don’t apologize for my devotion to the light. what rules am i following that are hemming me in? respect the dues i’ve paid. worry less about ruining the art piece (tear the lace! spray paint the dress!) collaborate with masters and emerging stars. deconstruct. show the bone. nature heals in every context. how can i bring nature into pixels? always, always aim to elevate. [Both Bindu Wiles and Alexandra Franzen wrote about the exhibit with insight.] VIDEO: forward to the 40 second mark if you’re in a hurry.

GHETTO CLOWN, John Leguizamo’s one man Broadway show A career memoir, with Legz’ characteristic charisma, plenty of ego, and some truly tender moments.

Notes to self: come out swinging. physicality and layers — how to rock that on and and off stage? everything has a soundtrack — song references say so much. can the ego be of service? pain and the longing for freedom are the common ground in every audience — zero in on the longing. how do my origins influence my art? own that what i do feels so fucking suhweet.

OPRAH’S FINAL EPISODE

Notes to self: go full on sermon.

KRIS CARR: Home Renos I’m not the renovating type. But this made me want to take a crowbar to something…like my website, maybe. My old journals. My ideas of success. It’s the energy of this reno-joy that inspired me.

Notes to self: what am itching to tear down so I can create more ease, comfort, freedom, beauty?

Get inspired.
Act it out.

So I raised my eyebrows and held up a red leather vest. “Yeah…not very Jackie.” She admitted. “So what’s going through your mind when you’re shopping?” I asked. “Really put yourself in the scene. You’re standing at the clothing rack and the day-glo leopard print says exactly what to you?” Her eyes widened. “It says to me: ‘Your mother would hate this. Buy it!’” she blurted out.

Et voila! Mystery solved.

As it turned out, when she was growing up her mother dictated what was proper and not-so proper to wear. And even though she was now a grown up in her own big house with her own big job, her fashion decisions were based on little unconscious ways to rebel against her conservative mommy.

THE POWER OF PREFERENCES
Our preferences define us, yet we rarely think twice about why we’re actually attracted to something. “I like it, I want it, I need it, I gotta have it.” But, why? Our personal fashion choices are often the most unexamined parts of our lives.

A Minute With The Style Shrink
So tell me…

Why do you buy what you buy? Do a mental scan of your wardrobe. Think of the your most recent purchases, or your most-worn pieces, or the regrettables collecting dust in your closet. What motivated those choices? Were you feeling…elation? Rebellion? The deep craving to belong? The drive to appear powerful? Sentimental for the past? Sweet, sensual inklings? At one with the style gods?

Who do you take shopping with you? Not literally, but, psychically. Do you have your own what-not-to-wear committee on your shoulder? Are your inner style advisers jeering at you or cheering you on?

Do your clothes feel like friends or foe? Do you have to psyche yourself up to get into that navy suit that sucks the innovative thinking right out of you? Or do you look at that linen tunic and think, “Ahh, old friend, we work so well together?”

Every choice is an expression of what we believe. On a daily basis, we make material and aesthetic choices that tell our story. Bold. Understated. Glam. Earthy. We are constantly showing the world who we are — or who we think we are. And the world responds accordingly.

When you know the motivation behind your choices, you can make choices that support your authentic self — decisions that free you, rather than restrict you. When it comes to genuine style, one size does not fit all.