You may have already seen this outfit on my Instagram (@staciebillis), but there’s a postscript:
I've been wearing it on repeat since sharing on IG, and am actively looking for a long sleeve version of the tee to keep wearing it as the weather gets colder.
Given that this outfit is on heavy rotation, it only seems right to kick things off on Substack with some more detail and shopping links. But first, I want to share a few things about this outfit that reveal more about the kind of style and fashion content you can expect from me here at Hot Flash.
It highlights COST PER WEAR.
If you hang around here for any length of time, you’re going to hear about cost per wear. CPW is something that I’ve always thought about, even when I didn’t realize I was thinking about it. But these days, thanks to Ezell Williams, a brilliant stylist and shopper who I adore working with, CPW is my north star. It works for any budget range, incentivizes wearing — and even experimenting with — your clothes (more on that in a minute), and helps ensure that you’re investing in value, not just spending your money willy nilly. I think this is especially important when considering pieces at the high end of your budget.
It champions repeat outfits and WEARING YOUR CLOTHES!
While there is admittedly a shift happening, following style influencers can easily lull you into feeling like you should be rocking a cool new look every day — but you don’t. When you start thinking in terms of CPW, you incentivize wearing everything you buy as frequently as possible. And when you are inspired to wear your clothes as much as possible, you’ll start experimenting with how your wear them. It took me a while to really get it, but ultimately, a commitment to really wearing your clothes leads to better value, less waste, and an uptick in your creativity.
It highlights that fashionable pieces come at every price point.
Listen, I’m not going to lie: I’m a sucker for high fashion and, if you stick around, you’ll see that I’m willing and able to invest in some expensive pieces (CPW, baby!). That said, I have felt excited — and totally able — to express my personal style at alllll different price points. There have been times when I’ve had to shop primarily at thrift stores, when I could only afford fast fashion, and everything in between that and now, when I can afford designer pieces. I have felt fashionable through it all. Honestly, the only times I haven’t felt at home in my own personal style is when I’ve been in life or body transition that has nothing to do with budget. If I find something I love and think I’ll wear over and over at TJ Maxx, I’ll be just as psyched as if I find something fab at Neiman Marcus. The one caveat is that I am trying to do more to avoid fast fashion or pieces that I won’t be able to sell, donate, or otherwise keep out of a landfill once I’m done with it.
It celebrates foundational pieces that can be worn fashionably as is OR styled to express your personal style.
At the end of the day, I feel best — and believe you’ll also feel best — when wearing clothes that express our PERSONAL styles. Trying to keep up with trends and what others are wearing is exhausting. And while figuring out, or perhaps doing some midlife refining to, your personal style can also be exhausting, once you nail it, getting dressed will feel natural, easy and fun — all the things that you want dressing up to be. Some of what I’ll share here will feel very me, but hopefully offer a flash of inspiration on which you can put your own twist. Other stuff — notably, the simple, practical outfits that get me through everyday mom life — may feel like outfits you can wear nearly as presented. Either way, my hope is that the pieces I share can move into your closet and be worn in all different ways that ultimately reflect your unique style.
If all this resonates with you, I’m excited that you found me and hope you’ll stick around. (And maybe share with your other midlife mama friends too!)
FWIW, I don’t anticipate my posts usually being this long, but I wanted to set the stage. And this look felt like the right one to do it in. Let me know what you think and in the meantime…
