So, when Arlene and I launched this website we pretty much did it all by ourselves. Just the 2 of us — buying, styling, shooting, writing, selling, marketing, accounting, shipping, cleaning.  You get the point. Luckily, we came across this fantastic, sassy little sprite named Amanda (that’s the lovely Amanda, on the right)…

She was a recent performing arts grad from Loyola University and had decided to throw away the life of an actor and march forward toward a fabulous life and career in fashion journalism. She was dying to do anything in fashion and when we met it was clearly a match made in Heaven.  Amanda is a gifted and talented (and super-stylish, of course!) writer who has been a contributor on TWENTYTHIRTYFORTY.net since its launch.  Amanda is all grown up now and has spread her wings and started her own blog — sassafras (with Amanda, it’s all about the sass).  It’s a great blog.  And I say that with the utmost objectivity!  Here’s some random pics from her site…

Fabulous, no?  The girl knows her fashion.  And since she’s really a writer, her blog is thoroughly entertaining.  Very refreshing in the blogoshpere!  Get to know her a little better here.

all photos lovingly borrowed from sassafras

Recently I’ve been feeling the pains of a serious style rut.  I’m bored with trend items, I’m bored with my own personal wardrobe, and I’ve been craving something that will jumpstart the sartorial (and perhaps, life?!) transition that I’m really wanting. 

I’ve been on shopping trip after shopping trip recently, my head filled with visions of grandeur as to the wonderful treasures that I would undoubtedly find.  The whole host of new items that I would acquire, providing me with a new wardrobe and a fabulous new sense of personal style.     NOTHING.  I have come home from all of these shopping trips with nothing!  And let me tell you, I love to shop.  I find few things more satisfying than that of a successful shopping spree.  So you can imagine my severe disappointment as I experienced this seemingly unrelenting succession of unresolved, unsuccessful shopping escapades. 

But as much as I love clothes, and find fashion to be the ultimate form of self-expression, I thought about the other things that I’d been wanting to do to kind of kick my personal style up a notch (aside from throwing out my entire closet and starting fresh).  So, I got a tattoo and chopped seven inches off my hair.  Now I’m not recommending that everyone do this.  Because certainly inking something permanently onto one’s skin and drastically changing one’s hairstyle is not for everyone.  But I happen to love dramatic changes and as a result of mine, have felt this resurgence in the ownership of my own personal style. 

My point is this: change.  We all crave it, and we all need it.  Fashion is the most rapidly changing industry in existence; as Heidi so eloquently puts it: “One day you’re in, the next you’re out.”  And obviously, if you’re craving something different, there’s a reason.  There are all sorts of ways to reenergize your style, to refresh your personal self-expression.  I like to go a little crazy, perhaps you’d be satisfied with something a bit more subtle.  Either way, change it up, sugar.  Keep yourself feeling fresh.