Written by Ellen Svardh. Photo by Ellen Svardh.
For a Scandinavian woman, the street is her runway. You won’t see her in an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants – unless that is the look she is going for, in which case overflowing fabric would be slightly tucked in at one hip and jewellery strategically placed so that she impossibly could be mistaken for anything other than fashionable.
You will rarely see her in stiletto heels because she has meetings to get to and a public transportation way of getting there. She is not afraid of wearing sneakers to work nor does she shy away from a suit with a manly cut. She recognises the difference between flattering and revealing. A sexy outfit does not imply cleavage or a short skirt but rather a fabric that falls just right on her body. A Scandinavian woman dresses for herself (and perhaps other fashion conscious individuals) but she does not dress for a man. She wears turtlenecks to a date, not because she is conservative but rather because a turtleneck is what worked in perfect combination with those specific bootcut jeans.
She rarely strays from the safe bet black, white, and grey provide. Black is a slimming color and the Scandinavian woman knows this, infallibly using it to her advantage.
She does not confine herself to this brand or that. Rather she embraces pairing H&M with Chanel, it adds dimension. She does it with pride too; it takes more fashion sense to successfully pair a budget item with a luxury one. Her wardrobe consists of timeless, simple pieces that are brought up to date with the fashion world through one piece here and another there. There is no rule that says you can’t wear a pencil skirt or that you can’t pair that pencil skirt with a hoodie. There are no written rules but rather unwritten ones. Either it works or it doesn’t.
The philosophy sounds awfully simple but also awfully vague. It is vague because fashion is transient and is not the same one year from the next. It is, however, guided by certain underlying principles. These are the Scandinavian ones.
Check out Beth’s ebook “How to Curate and Cultivate Your Dream Wardrobe” to learn more about building your perfect closet. Her 168 YEAR-ROUND OUTFITS EBOOK will show you how to start a basic wardrobe with essential classic pieces to make year-round outfits.
XO
Ellen
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Loved your post! It’s a beautiful thing when a woman knows herself so well that she can use clothing as art in a sophisticated way to dress her body.