I am often asked, “how does one develop a personal style? ” My first answer is know who you are and do not be afraid to express that through the clothes and accessories you choose to wear. My second answer is take a small risk and conduct experiments.

Orange is a color that I never saw myself wearing. This outfit began with an impulsive decision in a nail salon to try a polish the color of a tangerine. Surprisingly I liked it…a lot. I next tried a matching lip. My Prada mules are the only pop of orange in my current wardrobe, though much like my adventure with pink I find myself now open to exploring orange. My Lawrence Vrba earrings with a coral center was the final touch. Small investment details can make jeans and a Uniqlo shirt look glamorous.

Perhaps even more inspirational was that shooting this post gave Calvin and I the challenge of finding everything else in the city that was of an orange hue. I could never have imagined how much of it I would find. Probably because I just was not looking for orange because I thought I did not like it. It made me wonder how much of my everyday world I do not see and what I might find if I become a bit more purposeful in my looking. What could happen if I started to seek out and try things I think I do not like? As we started to see and find more and more orange we became excited like children playing a newly imagined game.

Once you open your eyes to something or someone different your world expands in colorful and magical ways. Your personal style will always evolve and remain new and true. You can change faster than trends and so can become an innovator and change maker. One small change (like the color of your nail polish) can instigate a whole new style direction. In our fast moving world with a craving for new, slowing down and really seeing may be the very thing that provides it.

What unexpected discoveries have changed your style direction?