Clothes have always been an interest of mine. Mostly because clothes are something that every person has to deal with on a daily basis. When you wake up in the morning, you have to think about what you are going to wear. We all put on something. Every day, millions and millions of people from all over the world dress in something. Maybe it is based on a culture, or a religion, or the weather, or a mom. But inevitably, we all end up having to present ourselves in a certain way. Clothes have been and will continue to be a necessity for the world.

Style, on the other hand, is not a necessity. Style is a choice. Growing up attending Catholic Schools means uniforms. Every day. And every school day of my young life was spent wearing a uniform. Not that it didn't make things extremely easy and the fact of the matter is I love those plaid skirts and button-down shirts. But it did make it very interesting to observe how each of us would try to individualize ourselves. Even when we had to wear the exact same thing. Our styles ended up showing through a bracelet or a pair of socks or new shoes.

I learned the essence of style at a very young age. Whether it was wearing my favorite pink coat over my soccer uniform or finding a way to match my sparkly red Dorothy shoes to every outfit ever, clothes gave me joy. Somewhere along the way, we each develop our own sense of style. Our own spark. I learned that in order to have style, you first must have confidence. I learned that you have to find joy in what you are wearing. And maybe that joy is wearing worn down baggy sweatpants with your favorite sweater. I learned that style has no rulebook. Your life is the rulebook. And as we change, our style changes with us. Dressing is an art. So I look at taking those ten minutes (or maybe a couple hours) in the morning to decide what to wear as an art practice. We get to create, change, and erase our wardrobe with the change of the seasons and time.

I love that we all get to choose how we display ourselves to the world every day. I love that our clothes give the world a little piece of you. I love style because it shows confidence. And showing confidence in yourself inspires others to do the same. Make a statement with what you wear. Or don't. Just make it you. It doesn't matter what clothes you are wearing, as long as you are bursting with your own style, the world will appreciate it and love it.

"I always feel that if you're gonna be uncomfortable and unhappy in something, just because you think it's in or it's chic, I would advise you to be happy rather than well-dressed. It's better to be happy."--Iris Apfel

"Playing dress-up begins at age five and never truly ends."--Kate Spade

"Don't be into trends. Don't make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live."--Gianni Versace

"What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today, when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language."--Miuccia Prada

"Real style is veer right or wrong. It's a matter of being yourself on purpose." --G. Bruce Boyer