“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” ~Coco Chanel

I agree whole-heartedly with Mademoiselle Chanel’s assertion that fashion is all around us, that is everything we see and hear and touch. At least, this is how I try to approach fashion. As an amateur fashion writer/imaginary stylist/professional shopper, I am constantly searching for inspiration in the world around me. This inspiration comes in countless forms, from people’s outfits to magazine spreads to music.

My hours upon hours of browsing online stores is more to me than just another way to remind me that you can’t always get what you want. Sometimes the clothes inspire me to put together an outfit, sometimes they inspire me to do something out of the ordinary with my own wardrobe, and sometimes they just plain inspire me because they’re so amazing.

Magazines are also a constant source of inspiration for me, on many levels. Since I want to go into fashion journalism, I love going through to see what kinds of articles there are, and then I comb through the articles to learn about writing style. The clothes, obviously, also provide inspiration, in many of the same ways that the online stores do. In fact, I have a little black notebook that I glue all of my favorite clippings into every month. And of course, the spreads can be absolutely breathtaking, and that in itself is quite inspirational.

And then, there is the world around us. There are so many vibrant colors, so much natural beauty everywhere you look, how could someone not be inspired?

So, I guess my question is, what are you inspired by? And what do you do with that inspiration?