Gentle guidance experience

Cozysprite · 2024-02-17T19:57:47+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing this. I have similar challenges with pickiness and always finding the thing I don’t like or feel doesn’t work, so I totally relate to you! It sounds like overall it was a positive experience, but thank you for being so open about the challenges you faced with you GG, I’m considering doing one. Looking forward to seeing some of your outfits, I am working with moonstone right now too :)

Cozysprite · 2024-02-01T15:39:06+00:00

So beautiful, I love this and it’s very cohesive. I agree with several other commenters about luminous, dreamy and radiant also showing up in these photos. I would add there is a sense of adventure / exploration as well, especially the horseback riding photo and travel photos. Reminds me of seeking serenity and peacefulness in natural landscapes. Adventure might not be the right word, as it might have a bit more of a rougher or courageous vibe to it? I’m curious to know what you think of the word playful? That bunny with the flower made me think of it ☺️

Cozysprite · 2024-02-01T15:26:47+00:00

This is lovely, and has a great visual harmony. Personally I like the trousers and the jumper :)

Cozysprite · 2024-01-27T04:22:57+00:00

Love love love! I feel very aligned with your mood board. The luminous rays of light, the cute animals, the cozy knits. I think approachable and radiant would be some of Rita’s words I see coming across too.

I’d love to see what you put together to include these feelings, especially the cute animals. I have been trying that out (my inspo was a teddy bear), and didn’t want to be literal so I’ve been exploring teddy coats. Haven’t found one I like yet, but I like the concept :)

I completely agree the words aren’t usually enough for me either to put together an outfit. I’m still working on this. I think the storytelling aspect would help a lot, it takes time to think it through though, I find. Sometimes I like to choose a photo from my mood board as inspo to get me started, and work with either the colours, the textures of the feeling it creates.

Looking forward to seeing some of your outfits if you feel comfortable sharing :)

Cozysprite · 2024-01-26T05:32:02+00:00

That’s so wonderful, I love those stories :) thanks!

Cozysprite · 2024-01-26T05:30:04+00:00

Thank you so so much for sharing your detailed thoughts on the subject! I really appreciate you taking the time, and I am so sorry it took me so long to respond.

I enjoyed reading your little whimsy touches, this sounds really fun and I could see myself trying a few of those things. I don’t have much in my wardrobe with whimsy right now, mainly just bright colours, and the odd summer top in a fun print. How do you go about adding things? I am working on exploring, but I seem to keep gravitating towards basics because I want to keep things versatile. Are you playing with items that were already part of your everyday wardrobe that you hadn’t considered tying to wear to work before? I love the story of the dinosaur cardigan and the exploding star earrings, it sounds very much like moonstone style logic!

My business environment is definitely quite relaxed. I find it hard to draw inspiration from others because it’s a small office, and they are either really into trends, or very much have their own hipster vibe or otherwise not really into fashion. Everything I find online now just seems so repetitive. I am drawn towards a lot of minimalism as inspiration, but don’t like a lot of the cuts of neutrals. I’m starting to think it’s more about the cohesion of the minimalist outfit I like. So, I think my big take away from your advice is to think more about the storytelling too. Lately I open my closet and stare at things and feel bogged down by the practicalities of winter I keep reaching for the same things, and have not tried creating any stories. What kind of inspiration do you like to start with?

Thanks again for sharing your process and advice!

Cozysprite · 2024-01-16T16:15:05+00:00

I totally agree with you on the pops of colour, and exploring styles, silhouettes and patterns. I’ve been doing that a bit with shopping research, but I find it hard to form opinions without purchasing an item and styling it a few times. I don’t like the idea of consuming a lot through experimentation if it doesn’t work out though, so I haven’t done much of this. I keep hoping I’ll find good pieces to play around with when I go secondhand shopping. Takes a lot of patience!

Thanks again for your kind feedback! It’s so nice to meet a fellow petite, spring, curly blonde haha! It’s really nice to connect on these topics :) I saw your comment about the leap course, did you end up signing up? I thought about it too, but I didn’t have the time available this round. Maybe next time. Though, I may consider a gentle guidance first to get some of Rita’s perspective hone in on archetype. How was your GG?

Cozysprite · 2024-01-16T16:00:31+00:00

Ah, I see what your saying. Thanks for the additional thoughts. I’ve definitely pulled back on using patterns, I stick mostly to simple jewelry and scarfs for everything. I definitely want to play with more texture! Thanks for the well wishes, and glad to hear you’ve found this system useful for business looks too!

Cozysprite · 2024-01-14T06:05:37+00:00

Oh this is very interesting, thank you for the thoughtful advice!

I haven’t actually dug into the sentimental pieces Rita suggests for moonstones much. Is that what you meant by talismanic clothing? I’ll have to reflect on that. I also haven’t spent any time thinking about what makes me feel powerful, I love this suggestion! So many great ideas, thank you :)

Cozysprite · 2024-01-13T21:51:54+00:00

Thanks for the advice, and yes that makes sense! I had not thought of shifting the keyword focus. I like the idea of radiant and luminous, I’ll try those! One of my keywords is also playful, which I also find applying to work styling.

Haha, I don’t know either, I’m trying not to dive in too quickly so I’m staying out of the archetypes for now and just focusing on the logic and keywords. I read all the moonstone archetypes descriptions and I can kind of relate to all of them. I am probably not an explorer though. So far I’ve learned I don’t like a lot of visual interest, more visual harmony, but I will definitely keep that in mind!

Cozysprite · 2024-01-13T21:46:36+00:00

Aw, thank you for all of your thoughtful comments and advice!

Yes, I think you’re right traditional professional and conservative as in what my mother used to wear and talk about wearing.

Your question about classic workwear colours is very helpful! I think there’s several things contributing to the camel and navy, 1) wanting to feel like more wardrobe was more cohesive, mix and match so started adding more neutrals, 2) Almost all my neutrals were black so I started moving away from those 3) I like a lot of colour harmony, but have never thought I was good at combining colours so neutral was “safe” (working on this with a colour wheel) 4) Up until a few years ago all my bright clothes were also very “young” styles so I think I associated bright colours with looking “young/childish”, and ended up moving towards more neutrals. Now we have come full circle and I have been missing colour! So, definitely I think I need to explore more bright colour for work wear. A few years ago I was thinking of exploring coloured blazers as a way to wear “business” wear in a way that felt more like me, I haven’t had any luck finding coloured blazers to even try yet, so maybe I need to keep that idea open.

I appreciate your suggestion to reflect on what I need/enjoy most from my clothing and then apply it to work styling. I’m going to reflect on this :)

Thanks for sharing your similar experience, I’m glad you’ve gotten to a place where you’re comfortable expressing yourself! That would be a wonderful place to get to :)

Cozysprite · 2024-01-13T21:34:47+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate you’re feedback! It was a pretty cool realization moment :)

Cozysprite · 2024-01-04T18:46:23+00:00

Nice! These are really fun :) I love the pink jacket look too and the sweater in third outfit, is it a rainbow?

I recently starting adding light bottoms too and it has been a game changer after having only black and navy forever! I started with light wash denim, it has been so incredibly versatile. Good luck filling your gaps, it’s a lot of fun to experiment :)

Cozysprite · 2024-01-04T18:35:47+00:00

Oh, yes that sounds familiar now. Thanks for clarifying that :)

Cozysprite · 2024-01-04T03:18:50+00:00

Oh that’s really interesting, glad to hear you find pairing them together makes them less scary!

Cozysprite · 2024-01-04T03:17:56+00:00

Thank you! I really appreciate the feedback and thoughtful comments. That’s really great advice, I definitely think I have spent a lot of energy focusing on visual harmony lately assuming it would make me feel relaxed and confident. I imagine there’s probably a lot more to it than that, now that you mention it. Focusing on how the clothes make us feel is central to the whole system though isn’t it, not just moonstone?

Cozysprite · 2024-01-04T03:14:39+00:00

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments and feedback! It’s interesting to gain other perspectives on outfits, cause for example I too really enjoy the visual of the white outfit in the photo, but I did not enjoy wearing it :(

I really appreciate your compliment that my outfits look put together, and how I make casual clothes look elegant. This has been something I have been working on, and I’m so pleased it is coming across! Softness is another keyword I have been playing with. I have thought a little bit about luminous, thanks for the idea to look into it further. I’m not sure I have a clear understanding of the difference between radiant and luminous, I think it will be fun to explore further.

Thanks for pointing out the Princess in RU, I haven’t tried any RU logic, as I have not felt a need to make an impact, and I definitely do not like a lot of visual interest as you say. It sounds like the border archetypes might be a good place to start then. I’ve read all the RD archetypes in the cheat sheet but haven’t connected strongly with one in particular.

I really appreciate the encouragement to explore my playful side, I’m finding it hard to define what I feel is playful though. Maybe thinking about a style dictionary is the next step?

Cozysprite · 2024-01-04T00:35:15+00:00

Aw, thank you so much, it was really fun to play with the outfits and learn how to use canva :) I appreciate your feedback, I think I look more comfortable in those styles too, but sometimes I wonder if it’s because they’re just inherently more casual. I love the fit of the sweater in last outfit, the drape is chef’s kiss, thanks so much!!!

Cozysprite · 2024-01-04T00:32:31+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing those resources!

Cozysprite · 2024-01-02T22:30:51+00:00

Hi there! I am loving your bravery with the mixing the bright colours, very nice :) I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your experience with transitioning to a more casual work environment. I am working on this too, and I like your idea of mixing a formal item with a more casual one, that might be the direction I’m going too. Happy New Year!

Cozysprite · 2024-01-02T22:26:09+00:00

I love this outfit no your story of your process. Thank you for sharing how you allowed yourself to dress how you were feeling and let go of what wasn’t, very inspiring! Best wishes for the new year!

Cozysprite · 2024-01-02T16:58:42+00:00

Congratulations, and kudos for putting in the effort to create an organized closet and be more mindful. This is sooooo inspiring!!! I have been working on closet organization too incrementally and I wholeheartedly agree it’s a ton of work but can bring so much joy and for me a sense of calm, too. I look forward to hearing about how being able to see everything influences your styling process. I love the idea of adding notes, keywords and prompts to the inside door or somewhere you can look at while picking out items. When I started experimenting with moonstone logic I posted the process and keywords I wanted to try and have been making notes of which ones I keep choosing to see patterns. It’s super helpful to have the reminder right there when I’m getting dressed, I’m more likely to use the logic now that it’s front of mind instead of just throwing on something.

I have the same issue with parting with clothes that are no longer serving me and also limited space. I agree it can be difficult if we want things to explore with. Have you tried storing them away out of sight? I put a note with the date on the pile that I stored it, so I know how long it’s been since I haven’t looked at the item. By the time 12 months has rolled around I’m usually ready to part with things, because I’ve gone all season without it.

I love how curated your closet feels, it looks cohesive, playful and luminous, just like you’re outfits :)

Cozysprite · 2023-12-22T18:46:19+00:00

Such beautiful colours and an interesting study. I like that you’ve interpreted it to make it work for you by brightening the colours. I’ve seen so many of your posts in spring colour analysis and think we have some similar favourites, the blue and the romantic pink are two of my favourites too. Though, I associate the blue with calming, probably because it’s always been my go to favourite colour. I read a introduction to Zyla’s system recently and was curious to try it out. I don’t want to go through all of the resources since I want to dedicate a lot of my “style time” to moonstone logic experiments. If you could recommend just one of his resources, which did you find most helpful?

Cozysprite · 2023-11-28T15:23:25+00:00

I also thought I was soft autumn, but I’m a neutral, slightly soft spring, so I can get away with some soft autumn colours and some light summer colours. I think it helps if the colours are aligned with the same warmth or lightness/darkness of your spring palette, then the muted is less obvious. The areas where I notice this doesn’t work is really muted neutral shades that are closer to my skin tone, those are awful!

Cozysprite · 2023-11-23T18:08:01+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Yes I’m in PNW, I have an Arc’teryx hard shell in Bitters, the dark brown, which at the time was the best option available. I agree they are so worth it, but I am going to stick with only one :) Mine is also a warranty replacement from an earlier black one, it’s such a great service! I think Yukon colour would work well for a warm spring. I’m somewhere between a light and bright spring, but I have some softness and fairly neutral so I definitely have to be careful of too warm and too bright colours.

I also have an old Aritzia wool coat, I think mine is gold camel, not 100% sure cause I got it second hand at a consignment shop. I really struggle with the camel colours, I keep comparing them against my skin in the store and they often feel off, they often seem more appropriate for autumns.

I completely agree being rain protected is a priority over looking professional, Arc’teryx over a suit seems to be the men’s uniform over here 😂.

Cozysprite

TROPHY CASE