Tips for Defining Your Personal Style with Kathleen Shannon

Welcome to Being Boss, a podcast for creatives, business owners and entrepreneurs who want to take control of their work and live life on their own terms. I'm your host Emily Thompson. And in this episode, I'm joined by Kathleen Shannon to talk about developing your personal style as an outlet for exploring your creativity and expressing yourself. You can find all the tools, books and links we reference on the show notes at www.beingboss.club. And if you like this episode, be sure to subscribe to this show and share it with a friend.

Emily Thompson 0:33

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Emily Thompson 1:24

Kathleen Shannon is the co founder and former co host of the Being Boss podcast joining me for the first 240-ish episodes of this show. With several one off episode since. Kathleen is a partner and creative director at Braid Creative, a branding agency she founded with her sister over 10 years ago, Kathleen has always lived by capturing shaping and sharing who she is whether that's with a blog post a podcast, or on social media. Well, welcome back, Kathleen.

Kathleen Shannon 1:52

It's good to be back.

Emily Thompson 1:56

Again, again, oh, we actually recorded the last episode that we did together yesterday. So it's especially kind of funny for us today in this moment to say that. But I think the most exciting thing is that you and I are taking a trip together this weekend.

Kathleen Shannon 2:13

Yay. We're going to NOLA our stomping grounds.

Emily Thompson 2:19

Yep. Indeed, our stomping grounds. We were talking this morning, and you brought up the curse that we have been under for the past year, I guess.

Kathleen Shannon 2:34

Yeah.

Emily Thompson 2:36

There were two times that Kathleen and I were supposed to have gotten together and 2021. And my kid got sick both times. Both times. And so we had to cancel two trips. I was going to go see Kathleen in Michigan. Kathleen was going to come to Tennessee to see me later in the year. And when we got together to figure out well then what are we doing? Like I can't come see you. You can't come see me. You were like, Let's go to New Orleans. And I was like, well, obviously that's what the universe was waiting for was for us to be like, let's go to New Orleans.

Kathleen Shannon 3:11

I know and you're going for a Being Boss trip. So I was like, Well, can I just come too basically. So we're meeting up a couple days early before you have to be on. I'm also going to be hanging out with some bosses. But it's fun because like it's not my job anymore. But I get a pop in like I know, you know, there's such a shorthand having cofounded Being Boss with you and having been around so many bosses all the time. A lot of these are people that I already know, or people that I know I'll get along with. So I'm really excited to kind of pop back in.

Emily Thompson 3:46

Yeah, me too. Me too. I was thinking we haven't been there together since 2018, which feels like a lifetime ago. But I feel like aren't we always there together?

Emily Thompson 3:55

I know it really does feel that way.

Emily Thompson 3:55

Like every 6 months or something.

Kathleen Shannon 3:56

Wow, we really haven't been there for five years together.

Emily Thompson 3:57

Yeah.

Kathleen Shannon 3:57

Wow. Wow. And I don't know that we've ever been there without working. Have we always been working while we're there?

Emily Thompson 4:15

Yes. I mean, I feel like the lightest was we went for just like a photoshoot. So the book photo shoot, but that was also like that was a lot of work.

Kathleen Shannon 4:22

No, that was a lot of work.

Emily Thompson 4:25

It was some grueling couple of days. So yeah, it's always been for work. And so we're going to be there for a couple of days just for fun, but three of the bosses who are in the C-Suite right now, we're part of the VIP group from that 2018 trip. So it's almost like we're all getting back together five years later.

Kathleen Shannon 4:47

Yay. I'm just really excited and I know I've said this before, but I'm just really excited and really proud of our friendship, you know, like, we owned a business together. We dissolved, you know, my partnership in it, I sold my half of Being Boss to you. And that could really, I don't know, like that could be a make or break moment, right. And it wasn't, it was definitely a place where, you know, we kind of probably individually had to like work through some things and like kind of create some subtle boundaries around like what we could discuss or not discuss. And I think with enough time and space, professionally, I'm able to come hang out on Being Boss a little bit more, I'm able to come hang out on a vacation in New Orleans. But more than anything, I mean, through all of it. Like I've really thought you're one of my people like you are one of my ride or dies, and it goes beyond business. And it was really scary knowing like, were we so close, because we had a business partnership together or had we actually become that close. And obviously, we're not getting the same amount of frequency that we used to get as far as seeing each other everyday podcasting, even though the past two days, it's kind of been a little bit like that. Um, but I feel like you know, you're always gonna be that person where we're like, we can just pick up where we left off and meet up in New Orleans five years later and feel like it's been maybe six months.

Emily Thompson 6:15

Yeah.

Kathleen Shannon 6:16

That's where we're at. And I'm really just proud of it.

Emily Thompson 6:18

I am as well, I'm glad you feel that way. I was telling someone not too terribly long ago, I had mentioned something about like having a business partner, and they just like get that face like, oh, and I was like no, no, not like that. Like, we're still great friends. And we started talking about a little because they were very curious about that. And I was like, actually, I can say with confidence, that the dissolving of that partnership was one of the things in my life that I am most proud of. Period, how we were able to do that so amicably, and yeah, and then be on this other side of it, where we can just sort of like hop in and do whatever, whether it's very reminiscent to what we used to do together, or just like a fun weekend in New Orleans and tag some bosses onto it. And all of the feet like it's it really is. I know that one day, I will look back at my life and still feel like that was one of the maneuverings that I am most proud of. And you are also one of my people.

Kathleen Shannon 7:20

And I think, you know, we've done a whole episode on this, and I can't really remember what we said there as far as breaking up our business partnership. But I think that a big reason why it was so amicable is because we were having really hard conversations along the way the whole time. Like we'd never shied away from really diving into what our boundaries were, what our goals were, what our vision was, and a lot most of the time that was aligned, you know, like most of the time we were on the same page, even if we weren't sure that we were on the same page, like we would talk it out. And the way that we started that business was very much under the guise of you know, we weren't as like tight as friends then starting the business as we are now I would say, but we still started it under the kind of understanding that our relationship was more important than it was like the most important thing, even though we didn't have the same relationship then that we do now. Does that make sense?

Emily Thompson 7:23

Yeah.

Kathleen Shannon 7:29

But we knew it was important.

Emily Thompson 8:22

I think a lot of people though, say like friends first. Right? But like, how often does that actually pan out? Right, like, probably not as often as it said, I would assume. So yeah, I feel the exact same way. I feel like, you know, our relationship has evolved so much over the years. And we really made the thing that we were saying I mean, it was true then, but like we kept it true, I guess Yeah. Which is quite a feat in itself as well. Okay, I can't wait to eat with you.

Kathleen Shannon 8:55

Same. But I think that sorry, real quick, and then we'll move on to like what we're excited about for New Orleans. But I think that a lot of people say friends first as a way to kind of have slippery boundaries. You know, I think it's like a cop out of having hard conversations by saying friends first. Yeah, sometimes.

Emily Thompson 9:16

Well, not us.

Kathleen Shannon 9:17

Not us. And not like not in my partnership with my sister either. Like same you know, like we're we have to say sisters first but oh sometimes that's like a really hard boundary to draw on to figure out and navigate.

Emily Thompson 9:32

That's a completely different scenario and thing to say actually.

Kathleen Shannon 9:36

Yeah.

Emily Thompson 9:37

Not the same.

Kathleen Shannon 9:38

So we're going to New Orleans, it's going to be so fun because we've got two full days, just us. We are going to eat some food. We've been Marco Polo going and Google mapping and pinning all the places that we're dreaming about eating at. I literally Googled romantic date night restaurants in New Orleans because that is our vibe. That's how we do.

Emily Thompson 10:03

It is the vibe and I love that David was standing there earlier or whatever you said that on Marco Polo and he got incredibly tickled about it because he knows, he knows that that's the vibe. So I am, I am so excited about just, I was texting you and saying, one of the things that I really want to accomplish out of this is I want like a long, slow late dinner. I want to like, get a bottle of wine. I don't, we don't have to finish it.

Kathleen Shannon 10:32

I know I'm so scared right now between late and wine. I'm like, okay, one my bedtime is like at nine so I don't know how late you're wanting to go. Two.

Emily Thompson 10:44

Yeah, well okay, so East Coast though nine is 10. So it'll be late for me not so late for you. We'll have the same experience but in different ways.

Kathleen Shannon 10:54

Is New Orleans East Coast or Central Time?

Emily Thompson 10:57

Central so it'll feel late but not be.

Kathleen Shannon 10:59

Yeah, so it's gonna feel even later.

Emily Thompson 11:01

Yes.

Kathleen Shannon 11:02

And then that means we need to have dinner at 6pm. But we can hang out there for three hours.

Emily Thompson 11:07

Romantic date night my ass. More like geriatric midday supper, whatever. No, I love it though. Same same. I'm talking a big game. Okay. A glass of wine. Not a bottle of wine at lunch.

Kathleen Shannon 11:28

We're Golden Girls, we're going to be Golden Girls.

Emily Thompson 11:32

Yeah, I think we're already kind of there.

Kathleen Shannon 11:34

Eating late. I mean, eating early, but being fabulous.

Emily Thompson 11:36

Yes, yes. I'll bring up my caftan. How about that? Perfect. I'm very excited about this as well. I can't wait to see where we get into. But mostly it's going to be food. And that is literally the most exciting thing of all.

Kathleen Shannon 11:49

Well, speaking of caftan.

Emily Thompson 11:50

Speaking of caftans, I am super excited about having this conversation with you today. This is a little bit of like a spin off of the personal branding episode that we did at some point in the recent past. So that's in the show notes, if anyone wants to go find that we talked about personal branding. And we talked a little bit about personal style in that episode, and I wanted to come chat with you about personal style. Because it is such an element of personal branding. It's also something that I think a lot of people a lot of folks do kind of struggle with, like really developing and like owning their personal style. And I think that talking about it from two people who are creative and have a good eye but have no like professional experience in being stylists talking about what it looks like to develop a personal style. Could be a fun conversation.

Kathleen Shannon 12:50

I'm here for it. I whenever thinking about this episode, though, I do kind of, I think I'm going to approach it just as speaking from a personal style point of view, I don't really know how to tie it back into personal brand other than whenever you really start to develop your personal style, you will leave an impression and you will be memorable. And that's what having a personal brand is it's simply making an impression and having a reputation and you know, like visually sharing on the outside what people can expect whenever they get a little bit deeper. But for me, I'm just talking about like cool clothes.

Emily Thompson 13:32

Good. Yes, yes, yes. And I think there's like showing people on the outside what they can expect inside, but also just dressing in a way that makes you feel, regardless of other people's perspective, confident, comfortable, I'm gonna be talking about that a good bit today. And we're talking like clothing style. But I also want to bleed this over into interiors. Because this is also something that I'm talking to a lot of my boss friends about. You know, we all get to these phases where we're buying houses, friends, who are getting divorced and moving into their first house by themselves and have the opportunity to really express themselves in their spaces. And those sorts of things are maybe you know, you're setting up your home office or whatever it may be. I think this bleeds over a lot into interior styling as well. And us as creatives and business owners who are here to do things the way we want them done. I feel like we are naturally pulled to this idea of wanting our space and our like outward appearance, to represent something to really speak to who we are. And so I think this can just be a really fun one. And I'm excited about doing this with you. Because this makes up a whole lot of our just general conversations, right what clothes we're wearing, or what we've bought or found or some inspo or our spaces, we're always showing each other that like, you know, Facebook marketplace find that we got or how it is that we styled this corner in our house or whatever it maybe this is really what Kathleen and I are talking about behind the scenes in addition to food.

Kathleen Shannon 15:06

Uh, yeah, food, clothes, home, and on the clothes front. I'm also a lot of time asking what your daughter's wearing lately, like, what she's into what her style is, as she's becoming a teenager. I'm just so curious. And she's my child. So of course, there's a.

Emily Thompson 15:24

Yeah, there's a lot of stomping, I can tell you that. Kathleen walks around with very heavy feet, you can hear coming from a mile away, and my kid does the exact same. I told you the day like please stop stomping the houses too old, it will fall down. It's a real thing. I also want to just note, why I think it's important to have this conversation have bosses hear this is because this sort of styling of yourself and your surroundings is a really easy way to I don't want to say expend creative energy in a way that like you just want to get rid of it. But we do have a lot of pent up creative energy, like we want to make something we want to do something. And it's really easy for us to get into this idea as creative entrepreneurs that we then need to sell the thing, right. But this is a great way to express your creativity in a way that does not make you money and just nurtures your life without you going and picking up like some other hobby. Like you don't need to go to the craft store to be creative with the clothes you have in your closet.

Kathleen Shannon 15:24

I mean, you might.

Emily Thompson 15:33

You might you might you can actually too.

Kathleen Shannon 15:37

You might need to pick up a dazzler.

Emily Thompson 15:40

How about I'm bringing a dazzler to New Orleans.

Kathleen Shannon 15:48

Wait what?

Emily Thompson 15:49

If you have anything he won't be dazzled. So for a long time I've had a joke with David's mom and in particular about the dazzling things. And this year for Christmas. She bought me a Be Dazzler and I was so excited. It's not like the name brand one but like it. It will put rhinestones on things.

Kathleen Shannon 17:11

Is it rhinestones and studs like do you have all the things? Yes, I'm going to bring some things.

Emily Thompson 17:17

Yes, bring whatever you'd like. And we will bedazzle it together. Yeah.

Kathleen Shannon 17:24

Do you have enough rhinestones?

Emily Thompson 17:26

Oh my god, like 1000s.

Kathleen Shannon 17:27

Okay, okay.

Emily Thompson 17:28

1000s of rhinestones. Yes. Whatever you need.

Kathleen Shannon 17:32

So now I know what we're gonna be doing after our late early dinner we're gonna be bedazzling some things and watching HGTV.

Emily Thompson 17:42

Absolutely, absolutely. So okay. Oh, I'm so glad you brought that up. Because I've been meaning to tell you that I was bringing it. Because also, I was thinking about the other day I have this BeDazzler. I keep like looking at it thinking what am I going to bedazzle like, I don't even know. And I don't just want to sit there and do it by myself. And I can do with my kid that is not her style at the moment. Who else would I want to bedazzle with in a group of bosses? Yeah, like who more than a group of bosses. So I threw it in my box of things that I'm taking to New Orleans so that we can bedazzle and then I can we can brdazzle with the C-Suite bosses as needed. We're going to, we're going to add rhinestones. But I do want to bring up that earlier this week, I was hosting a new moon circle in the Being boss clubhouse. And one of the questions because it was Pisces season at the time of recording. And one of the questions was, how are you being called to express yourself creatively. And everyone had the the like gut reaction to want to go into something they wanted to create for their business. And then every one of them also followed that up immediately with. That's not what I should like go into immediately or that's not the only thing I should do. And they either put what they were wearing, or their space. And so even like, like bosses are feeling this and they're getting it so it just it all sort of wrapped up to be the perfect time to have this conversation.

Kathleen Shannon 19:16

Let's do it.

Emily Thompson 19:20

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Emily Thompson 20:27

Let's look at curating your personal style as I want to look at it through the lens of like you are expressing your true self like outwardly on your body, in your space. I think this can be a little bit intimidating for some people, which is why I think it's fun for us to have this conversation because we're gonna dive in as two hobbyists, right? No professional training, I didn't go to fashion school, I'm certainly not an interior designer. But we both do the things. And we've both sought help like we've consulted with interior designers, or stylists or whatever. So we we know, just enough to get us in trouble. So we're gonna spread that trouble to you guys. So then let's start with where you would start Kathleen, when it comes to personal style, where are you beginning?

Kathleen Shannon 21:20

Well, I was born on May 5 1982. And I came out of my mother's womb with some style, right? I really do the I know that you say that we're not professionals, but it kind of like, you know, we styled ourselves for a photoshoot that was then on a book and on all of our our website, like, we've done a lot of styling. And yes, just because we don't sell it doesn't mean that we're not well versed in it. So I will say that I really do think though, looking back at

Emily Thompson 21:59

This, this is also literally my job at Almanac which I had not actually considered at all like when it comes to what my job is in that business really, really is making sure that store looks fabulous.

Kathleen Shannon 22:17

And it does.

Emily Thompson 22:18

Noted, I was incorrect.

Kathleen Shannon 22:19

I was just telling my sister the other day about Almanac and how you are so naturally gifted at merchandising and setting up a space and it just is beautiful. Like you are so so good at it. So yeah, all of that to say I think that whenever it comes to being a creative and having an eye, if you are a graphic designer, which we both are, if you are a merchandiser, or a retailer, you know all the things, it's all the same principles, it's all about color composition, creating a tone and a style. So we've got it. So let's not diminish, you know what we've got whenever it comes to this sort of thing. But also speaking to the perspective of someone who might be a little bit more intimidated or not know how to find their style, here's where I would begin. So I would begin by looking back. And I have found that through my whole life, I've had certain points of inspiration and certain points of style that I've always gravitated to. So I would look back and think about from zero to seven, what were you wearing? Were you being dressed by someone else I was dressing myself. And so I think that that was the beginning of really truly my parents nurturing my own sense of style. And me just picking out what it is I wanted to wear in putting together combinations for better or worse, right? And then thinking about my teenage years, and what was I attracted to then funny enough, I've been coming back around a lot and maybe because it's kind of what's in style now. Like some 90s y2k stuff is going on now. And so it really is reminiscent of that. But back then in the 90s, I was wearing a lot of 90s those 70s look and feel like I was wearing a lot of bell bottoms a lot of like polyester matching, like jumpsuit type things.

Kathleen Shannon 24:09

But like even as a kid I was always really drawn toward military style. And okay, so this is another thing you might do is like look back on, you know, what your style has been throughout the years and what you've come back to over and over again. And I think that that is a big clue as to what some foundational pieces of your personal style are. Um, but thinking back whenever I was little, and I still do this now, I was always really inspired by characters in movies or shows. You know, I really wanted to be Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley whenever I was a kid. And so at this time in my life as I think I was in the sixth or seventh grade, I would wear combat boots and flight suits that I would find at the it's not the thrift store, but what's it called like the army surplus the army surplus store, I would find Navy peacoats, flight suits, combat boots and loved it. I had some like a lot of camouflage. And I was mixing it in with band T shirts. And I'm still dressing like this today, basically. But now my inspiration is probably a little bit more broad, but I do always come back to these badass women like specifically Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde and Mad Max. And you know, thinking about Ellen Ripley that's played by Sigourney Weaver, in Aliens. I'm also recently was really inspired by her character in Ghostbusters.

Kathleen Shannon 25:35

So I find myself coming back to these women, whether it's characters or the actual actors and actresses themselves. Another person I've been really inspired by lately is Natasha Leone, specifically in her show Poker Face. It's so cool. She has this like bohemian meets Southwestern country meets kind of like mechanic like working mechanic vibe. And so she's wearing things like flared black jeans and a T shirt with cowboy booties and maybe a trucker hat with like a cool vintage 70s jacket and I've just been so inspired by her. Um, so I would say, you know, look at one look at things that have you've gravitated toward along the way your whole life, like what kind of vibe or style and then look at maybe who you've been inspired by along the way and like look at what's changed and what hasn't changed? So like for you, Emily, what what has been a style point that you've come back to time and time again over the years? Or who have you been inspired by over the years?

Emily Thompson 26:41

Wide leg pants, any color fabric. Like bell bottoms? Yes, but wide leg pants are my favorite I think about for me.

Kathleen Shannon 26:52

JNCOs?

Emily Thompson 26:52

Like middle school, I remember. Yeah, absolutely. A brand that did not evolv well. let's just say they still exist. Well, you can go look them up. But they did not evolve well. They really missed an opportunity, I think because I would buy them all. So wide leg pants is definitely my shtick. I like to pair things together that don't necessarily go together or just like wear weird interesting things. Not quite like flight suits. But think like animal print. Like I remember having like this leopard print jumpsuit and high school that I loved so much and it was weird. I remember getting some weird comments about it. But I loved it. I whenever I think about the threads of it, it's definitely I love clothes that don't touch me. It's an ongoing thing and something I've I've realized as I've gotten older I like just like really flowy like let me move around clothes. And I'm a sucker for neutrals. Like since I was a kid since I was a kid so I've always really enjoyed pairing together unexpected things. I do love a bold print. And I love things that are a little more baggy and flowy if we can harken back to that caftan comment earlier that is my like, ideal wardrobe piece period. And when it comes to inspiration, you know, it's less people. I've never been like much of a TV watcher. There's a couple of ones I'm really surprised you didn't bring up The Craft like actually that wasn't at the top of your list. And I also think of like Buffy the Vampire Slayer like definitely that like darker side.

Emily Thompson 28:35

Like strong women don't really care what other people think like just going to wear what they want but also practical because you might be slaying vampires. Right? as needed. So little less people were I've always gone back for inspiration. And this is such a funny thing considering everything I think but I have always loved streetwear especially Fashion Week. Like if you look back at years and years of Pinteresting or whenever I think about like when I was a kid looking at magazines I wanted like I was looking at what what what are they called like movie stars like famous people. What are they called? I don't know what people wearing like streetwear. Celebrities thank you that's the word. So like the the streetwear sections in in the in the magazines or like these days I will still Paris Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, Milan doesn't even matter. I am looking up street like fashion week streetwear and that is where I always gather probably the most of my inspiration and whatever variation that is since I was a kid, I want to be incredibly practical layered as needed. Lots of neutrals and don't touch me, I want them to flow flow behind me. So that's where most of my inspiration has come from. I do love a really solid color palette, it's so it's less about like, looking to inspiration in specific people or in specific places. And for me, it's definitely more of a mood. I think that I'm going for mood and comfort.

Emily Thompson 30:25

I love what you were saying to go and looking at. So and I think you can go at this from whichever way you know, there are the pieces that you had, when you were a kid that you still remember of like, I wish I still had that pair of jeans or that shirt, like whatever that thing was that made you feel totally badass, as you know, a seven year old or whatever. There are things like that along the way. And it's picking up the threads of what is the same between those things. For me, it's like, you know, baggy, practical, or neutrals with bold prints, or whatever it may be, it's looking at those threads, and finding them and recognizing what they are. So you can start putting things together from that place. If you have a hard time doing that, I also think it's a great tactic to just look at what you currently have, and what of it you like. So if you are thinking like, you know, I've always hated all of my clothes, or you know, I've never had a couch that I liked, because we can also bring interiors into this. Just look around at what you do have. Check out your closet. Look around your house, is there like a shape of a table that you like, right? Or is there a shirt you currently have? Is it the fit, is it the color, is it the material, is it the pattern, is it the way you can pair it with you know, five things in your closet, whatever it may be looking at what you currently have, and identifying what you love and why you love it, I think is also a really powerful backbone for you to build on to to develop a personal style.

Kathleen Shannon 31:57

I think also logistically, a great place to start is with a Pinterest board, you know, just get on Pinterest and start curating and pinning anything and everything that you love whenever it comes to style. So just type in style, start pinning, and it will start populating the algorithm with more of that. So you might need to do a new search at some point. So you don't fall down a rabbit hole that you're not necessarily resonating with. And you can just start pinning away. And then what you can do is pin without abandon, then look at that board and start to notice patterns and themes. So is there a color palette that you're really attracted to like maybe you're pinning a ton of things that are green, and didn't ever even think that you would like wearing green. You know, so take a look at what colors are showing up. What fits are coming up, what the kind of style and vibe is. And that's a really great way to start to see what it is that you're attracted to. And then say, Okay, do I can I recreate any of these looks like do I have stuff in my closet or in my home already, that can elicit this vibe, you know, evoke this vibe? Because here's the deal. Even people who have a ton of money can lack style, like style isn't just about having all the money to buy all the things that you want. Style is 100% an attitude.

Kathleen Shannon 33:18

And you can have badass style or whatever style you want without a whole lot of money. And what it is, is by really narrowing in and pinpointing what are the pieces that you want, what do you have? How can you start to put things together in a certain way? You know, for me style is really about the attitude, you were talking a little bit about this too Emily like the confidence and the attitude, it really is about the attitude that I want to embody. And it's how I want to reflect that on the outside. So it's not only a way to signal to other people who I am and what they can expect for me, but it like really gives me the confidence to show up as a badass. So that's another thing that you might want to think about are like what are a few adjectives or words that you would use to describe your ideal style. So for me whenever it comes to how I want to look and feel, and I've said this for many years now, I am dressing for the zombie apocalypse, you know, like the movie version of a zombie apocalypse. So whatever I'm wearing, I want to be able to imagine wearing it for 300 days traveling across the country to find my kiddo with a slingshot in my pocket and a bow and arrow on my back and maybe a machete in my left hand right? Like I just want to feel kind of like a well worn badass ultimately. So think about what your style adjectives are as well and you can also do this by looking at your Pinterest board. So it might be you know, feminine and bohemian with a little bit of rock'n'roll edge. Or it might be really super classic bombshell. I don't know like, but just think about, like what those different adjectives are whenever it comes to how you want to look and feel. And that can be a great touch point whenever it comes to buying new things or even editing your current wardrobe, say, you know, does this fit the vibe that I'm going for?

Emily Thompson 35:24

I love that you can also type those things into Pinterest. So you can put like, badass style, worn, well worn style? Sure, probably. Right, it'll give you plenty of things. I also think the algorithms there will give you like, more common terms for the things that you're searching for us, like Pinterest is such a great tool for this kind of thing. One of mine is is comfort, which I've talked about a couple of times, but it's not, it's not just comfort as in like, you know, sweat pants and hoodies all day every day though I do have a really great selection of those. It's more of this combination of pairing like classic piece, classic and edgy pieces. And layering in comfort into everything that I do. So and I've also found that whenever you curate the pieces that represent what you're looking for, and then you put them together in a way that just feels good to you. Even if it's unconventional. People feel it, and they love it. So one of the things I recently got up it was a little cold here. I think it was going to be raining. I had to come into the shop. And I put together the funkiest little outfit I think I've probably ever worn but it was literally just I wanted to be comfortable. I wanted to be warm enough. I wanted to like have to if I had to get wet, it wouldn't like ruin anything. So I like put on my rain boots and I put on my pants and I put on like a sweat shirt, and a blazer and then my like rain proof hat on top. And it was it was weird. It was a weird outfit. And literally everyone complimented my outfit. And the first time I was like dude I literally just dressed for to be comfortable. That is, was my only goal today was to be comfortable. But when you have the right pieces and you put them together for whatever purpose you're putting them together for and you feel good in them, like the whole vibe is there and people will feel it.

Emily Thompson 37:38

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Kathleen Shannon 38:38

What about things that you are willing to spend money on because whenever it comes to really pinpointing your style, I do think it's a good idea to ease into it. And I know that people a lot of people are against fast fashion and that's bad and wrong and all the things but I think it might be a good idea to try some things that aren't so expensive. So that then you know what it is that you want to invest in, you know what I mean? So I do this with actually makeup as well like I will buy kind of the cheaper Covergirl version of a color that I'm wanting to try out before I'm spending the $30 on a lipstick that I'm not sure if I even like the color or not. So I think that you can do this with clothes as well. So check out places like Zara or h&m but also thrifting is like a really great I'm more on the thrifting side whenever it comes to my home style for sure. I like I love bringing in some weird thrift store and estate sale stuff into my house. I guess because it almost in some ways seems lower stakes than what I'm wearing. Like what I'm wearing feels so much more personal. Even though my house does feel like this living breathing entity on its own. Like it has this vibe of its own that I'm less in control of like I let my house itself really dictate what it wants to be. Which is kind of weird to say, but I really do feel like I listen to my house whenever it comes to that style.

Emily Thompson 40:07

Well, and I, that's a really great point to make. Because I do think staying true to the style that is already present in your house is important, I think for everything to feel cohesive, it will, it's important if you want it to be important if you don't give a shit, and you're like I'm stuck in or I love my like, you know, mid century modern house, but what I really want is a, you know, plant filled jungalow. You do that love that for you. Um, but I do think there is something about letting a very prominent style of a house really lend very heavily to the style that you add to it in a way that you don't really have to do whatever it's your wardrobe, unless you have to dress in a particular way for your job, which I would imagine, most of us listening to this probably don't have to do that very often feel like that's sort of a similar scenario. But it is quite true with your house.

Kathleen Shannon 41:10

I want to come back I want to talk about house and style just a little bit more. Because whenever it comes to my house, I live in a really amazing mid century modern house that was built in the 1960s. I've got wood ceilings, it's split level, I mean, it is funky like funky 60s mid century, but it was remodeled in the 80s. So I've got those like melamine like the white melamine and oak cabinets in my kitchen. My a lot of my sconces are like mixed metal like gold and silver angular sconces, I've got a whirlpool in my main bathroom, I mean it is full on 80s remodel in like half of the house. And I love it. I love that someone came in in the 80s and remodeled this house that was built just a couple of decades before. And so what I've really tried to do in my own home is blend this mid century modern with like the 80s vibe, but also in the 80s. If you I'm really inspired by 80s kitchens like Golden Girls and Alf and Roseanne. And the really interesting thing about these 80s kitchens is that they're oftentimes referencing the 40s. Because if you were looking at kitchens in the 80s, they're wanting to do what was retro and classy, which was what was happening four decades before that, right. So you have to consider that as well. Like everything's kind of referencing each other, and you end up in this hall of mirrors. But I really love that. So I started you know, kind of modeling my kitchen in this 80s does 40s vibe with a bunch of copper tin molds, you know, like the ones that are like little fish and a lobster that looks like a penis and grapes. And you know, like the Bundt cake pans and stars. So I have a whole wall filled with those because it's very Golden Girls and Alfish I really I wanted to keep the cabinets everyone was shocked that I love my cabinets. And a few people have even noted like, that's so cool that you just kept the cabinets and rock them and I have those cabinets and now I'm going to keep mine too. So you don't have to always do what other people are doing and my house is not super Instagrammable right. But whenever people come into my home, they are delighted. They're delighted by all of the art, all of the layers, all of the things in there. The incense burning, the music playing, it is about a layered an eclectic vibe, that again, my house itself is really dictating. But whenever it comes back to my clothes, I feel more in charge on my clothes, like my house, she's doing her own thing. Like she's letting me know what she wants and what she does not want. But whenever it comes to my clothes, I feel like I'm really in the driver's seat there. So coming back to clothes. What are you willing to spend money on because there's a few things I dropped some coin on and I'll let you all know what that is. But what do you, what do you spend money on?

Emily Thompson 44:22

There's a couple of things and I want to do clothes and maybe a little bit of furniture as well because I really hadn't thought of house decor as well because I think these two things like I think you'll see those sort of common threads here. When it comes to clothes, boots. Boots are one of those things for me right like I will drop some coin on a good pair of boots.

Kathleen Shannon 44:46

Like how much?

Emily Thompson 44:48

A couple 100. Maybe they ever spent was like three 350.

Kathleen Shannon 44:53

Yeah, I've spent up to $500 on boots before and that's a lot of money for me. Like I do not spend a lot of money on clothes? You will I want you to understand that I am also on Instagram wondering how all these people have all this money to buy all these designer things right? So that is not us. If you're listening to this right now that is not us, we are not buying designer things.

Emily Thompson 45:15

No, I literally, I don't think I own a designer thing at all actually.

Kathleen Shannon 45:20

Same.

Emily Thompson 45:21

No, I don't own anything designer. And whenever I talk about like dropping some coin on something, it's definitely like I'm buying one of these, or in the case of boots, I have two or three really nice pairs. But they've also lasted me for years. The first pair I bought I bought five, six years ago, and those things are still stomping around with me on an ongoing basis. And I spent that much money on them because I wanted to have them forever. Because I loved them so much. I did not want them to be boots that were going to last me a season or two. And then I have to chunk them. So boots and hats are two things that I will spend some good money on because those are like those are also like exclamation points to outfits for me right like and in the case of shoes are literally going to get the most wear because I'm stomping around in them not as hard as Kathleen. But boots and hats are two pieces of clothing that I will pretty ongoing. I do have cheap boots, I do have cheap hats. But when it comes to seeing a price tag and going okay worth it. I love that boots are something that I'm going to be wearing a ton and hats, I like to think of as literally heirloom items, like my hat collection will go to my daughter and they will be like a good timeless hat will carry on for several more decades. So I'm definitely thinking about them as long term investments and literally heirloom items.

Kathleen Shannon 46:56

Yeah, my most expensive pair of boots I've had now for 15 years and will easily have them for 15 more, and I still get compliments on them every time I wear them. Same with hats, you know, whenever it comes to style, there are days I don't want to get dressed. But if I throw on a hat and a red lip, I'm good to go. You know, and people will be like, Oh, you're fancy. And I'll say I'm literally just wearing a hat. I mean, there's not much more to it. Yes, exactly. The other thing that I'm really willing to spend money on so like boots, jeans, I'm willing to wear, spend more money on jeans, because I'll wear them again for decades.

Emily Thompson 47:41

I don't like jeans.

Kathleen Shannon 47:43

Exactly. So you know, jeans are a little tighter.

Kathleen Shannon 47:47

Yeah, yeah, I don't like it.

Kathleen Shannon 47:50

I will say style of jeans. I mean, what goes around comes around, but even jeans that I've had that come back in style aren't quite right. So I wouldn't say that they don't have quite the same amount of lasting power as far as style goes, as maybe some boots do. And then the other thing I spend a lot of money on is my hair. And my hair has become a really integral part of my style. And it's always changing. So it's the thing that I know if I can get it right and then feeling good about my hair. I'm feeling good about everything else.

Emily Thompson 48:24

Yeah, here's a good one, high five, I don't spend that much money on my hair, my hair is like it just kind of takes care of itself for the most part, we have very different kinds of hair. And you definitely use yours more than I use mine. In terms of like defining your style.

Kathleen Shannon 48:38

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like and like how I show up in the world. You know, one other thing I want to talk about a little bit whenever it comes to style, is really thinking about and whenever it comes to, especially investing in your style, whether that's in your home, or your clothes, is really thinking about what you want to grow into. I think that really thinking about style as almost a manifestation tool, or really kind of becoming who it is that you want to be is a great way to think about what you're going to purchase or what you're going to put on your body or what you're gonna wear. And so for me, like whenever earlier we were talking about inspiration. Lately I've been really thinking about a way way way far back so not just you know Sigourney Weaver in Aliens but I've been really inspired by how I visualize you know, like, my ancestors, my spirit guides, these ladies that have come before.

Emily Thompson 49:37

You about to bring corsets back?

Kathleen Shannon 49:40

Listen.

Emily Thompson 49:40

They are back regardless.

Kathleen Shannon 49:41

They weren't they, my ladies were not wearing corsets. These were like badass Viking women who are probably problematic, but you know, these badass Viking women or witchy midwives, you know and healers that were threatened to be burned at the stake. What were they wearing? And then also, I think of, whenever I think back on, you know, where I come from, I imagine I also come from a line of like, these artsy feminists who were making things and creating things and living life on their terms before that was acceptable and okay for women, you know, so I really like to think about them and kind of making them proud with who I am now. And how, how they've paved the way so that I can wear these things or do these things with my hair and with my body. So that even when I think about that a lot, too, even whenever I'm working out, like I think about drawing on the power of these really strong women that came before me and just having them look down at me and say, Yeah, girl, you're a badass you come from you come from us, and you're doing well, you're making us proud. But then I also on the flip side of that, whenever I think about style inspiration, I like to think about myself whenever I'm 50, 60, 70, 80. And I want to make her really proud too and I want to start to I want to meet her where she's at, you know, so for me, if time is kind of a spiral, I kind of believe that my eighty year old self exists out there somewhere already, right. And so she's looking back at me now. And I'm looking forward to her and we're gonna meet in the middle. And I'm going to start making decisions now to make her proud, but also to make her who she is, once I get there. And so I know it sounds like I've been smoking a lot of weed I'm totally sober right now.

Kathleen Shannon 49:49

But this really is something that I truly consider whenever it comes to style and being who I want to be like, I don't want to become complacent or stop thinking about it. Like I really love it. And I love it for my future self. And I love it for the people who I've come from. And I just want to live it big and live it loud, whatever that looks like.

Emily Thompson 52:12

That is deep. That's real deep. My extent of this as I like to think about what I'm going to wear the night before. I put myself to sleep going, What do I want to wear tomorrow, like maybe I'll I'll put on those pants. And I wonder what it would look like if I tried it with that sweater or whatever. And then I wake up the next morning excited about getting dressed, which is a whole thing in itself. We were talking about investing the hour talk about collecting things really quick because I think this is important thing to throw in there. I don't want anyone to think okay, now I need to go like redecorate my bedroom or my office or like buy a new wardrobe. I think we're both from a place where you talked about boots you've had for 15 years, I've had my favorite pair of boots for like six, you know, a collection of hats that I've been collecting over the past couple of years, I definitely I have pieces from Old Navy that I have worn for 10 years, like there is something about the accessibility of fast fashion, and getting some really great timeless sort of staple pieces and just wearing the living shit out of them.

Kathleen Shannon 53:16

Yes.

Emily Thompson 53:16

Which is one of the things that I love to do.

Kathleen Shannon 53:18

Well worn.

Emily Thompson 53:20

Well worn, well worn. And if you're fighting zombies, they're not asking you who you're wearing. Right? As long as it's comfortable to you. And it feels great, and it goes with what you're doing. But there is this process of collecting pieces over the years, and I've been in my house for seven and a half years now. I was actually I recently saw a photo of my living room right after we moved in. And it was like it was bare, it was so like, there was a couple things in there that I had brought with me but not very many things. And whenever I look at my living room now it is full of plants and great pieces of furniture and amazing art and all of these things. And it took me seven and a half years to collect everything from where I started then to where I am now. And for me, that's one of the things that makes a wardrobe and a space feel really special not only to you, but people who come in, they can feel the they can feel that there are stories there. Right Like I remember I remember when and where I was when I bought this house. It was last time I was in New Orleans, right or like the piece of art on my wall, or whatever it may be. Each piece has its own story and it wasn't like oh, I just got tired of all my clothes one day so I went to you know, Banana Republic and bought a new wardrobe. There's something to mindfully collecting pieces and making that a part of your journey. I love to go to antique stores with no purpose in mind like just let's just go see what we find. You pick up a nice little you know, brass dish to put on your coffee table or a lamp or maybe nothing at all. Maybe nothing speaks to you at all. But there is this like this collecting that happens and even if things don't all necessarily go together they do because you are the common thread. And so it all starts to make sense. So I love to mix, I love to mix things like like, mix some really old antique stuff with something that's a little more modern, something that's like incredibly functional. I mean, it has no function literally at all, it just looks cool. I really do love to pair nice expensive things with my Old Navy basics, or whatever it may be. And that creates a style that is uniquely yours. And is part of an ongoing journey, not just something you decide to do one day.

Kathleen Shannon 55:36

Absolutely. This actually makes me think about how I'm also highly inspired by streetwear. I think earlier you were talking about street style, like kind of like off duty celebrity style. So streetwear there's this show on HBO Max called the hype. And Offset is one of the judges a woman named Betty and then Marnie, who is Beyonce stylist. And it's a competition show where a lot of young designers are sewing and creating specifically streetwear style. So it's a lot of T shirts, hoodies sneakers, like cool jeans and slacks and things like that, right. So truly streetwear inspired by, you know, a lot of hip hop, and I can't help it but like, I love that too, even though it doesn't necessarily fit in with the zombie killing aesthetic that's kind of rooted in kind of like military inspired. Or, you know, like a little bit more like Lara Croft vibes, right. So whenever it comes to that, I will buy some Air Force ones and mix them into what I've got going on or buy some hoodies. And so I really am finding inspiration from a bunch of different places. And it's not always even necessarily fashion. You know, like, I'm not opening a fashion magazine, or, like you said, going to a store and buying everything off the rack. I'm sorry, I'm going on tangents. Well, welcome me back to the show where I go off on all sorts of tangents.

Emily Thompson 57:13

Just talking.

Kathleen Shannon 57:14

Recently, I was in this neighborhood, that's like a new build neighborhood, I actually do a lot of branding for them. And I really love like this neighborhood is so cool and polished. And all the houses are brand new, but designed to look very different. And I was walking through this neighborhood and noticed, you know, kind of peeking inside the houses, every single house was furnished with like the same West Elm furniture, and the same West Elm art and it, they were beautiful, and they probably look really great on Instagram, but it lacked a certain amount of soul, you know, and I even fall victim to this, like I'm watching Leanne Ford and then want to paint my whole house white and become a minimalist. And that's just not, that's not what the soul of my house wants, you know, and then seeing what style to I'm really sometimes tempted. And this is where I try things that might be a little bit more fast fashion, and see how I'm able to integrate them into my wardrobe in a more permanent way or into my style in a more permanent way. And it can be really tricky, and I sometimes feel a little discombobulated or scattered. But over time, there's constantly this like curating and editing that happens. And that's the beautiful thing with age is now we've collected some things, we've gotten rid of some things and through the decades through the years, we've been able to figure out who we are.

Emily Thompson 58:45

Yeah, yeah, right. Oh, I love that through the collecting you discover who you are more so than, you know, you. You use who you are to collect things?

Kathleen Shannon 58:59

Or like just pinning things, you know, like, gonna get off the internet and get into the real world. You know, even. Okay, so talking about Pinterest. So you remember a while back, I told you that I was cutting things out of magazines, and then like pasting them in a notebook.

Emily Thompson 59:15

Yep.

Kathleen Shannon 59:15

And it felt very creative and artsy to me to be just kind of creating like these little mini mood boards in a notebook. And what it really was doing is like a physical hands on Pinterest, because I was having to really choose Okay, what am I going to take the physical energy of cutting out and pasting and time, it's just not as fast you know, and really developing style. It's not going to be fast and you're going to make some mistakes, some expensive mistakes along the way. Lord knows I have, but that's how you start to learn truly who it is that you are and what it is that you want to project into the world and what you want to bring into your home.

Emily Thompson 59:55

Yeah, yeah, I think when it comes to collecting things too, I think having a couple of boundaries in place, but also knowing when to bend your boundaries. Like I will not splurge on anything white. Like, not a white shirt, not a pair of white pants, not a not a white set of sheets, like they're going to be cheap. I'll have them but they had their cheap. Because it will, the last white shirt that I bought. I wore it for four hours, and I got splattered paint on it. I don't even know how it happened. And so, like, I just know, for myself, I'm never going to splurge on anything white.

Kathleen Shannon 1:00:34

I'm never going to splurge on a shirt, because like my armpits will devastate a shirt. Especially an expensive shirt. I feel like I sweat twice as much in an expensive shirt.

Emily Thompson 1:00:45

Yeah, yeah, you're right, because you're nervous about it, you're just nervous about it. But I also think knowing when to bend your rule. So for a really long time, I would not spend a lot of money on a pair of sunglasses, I wouldn't do it because I broke them all the time, constantly breaking sunglasses. Until one day I was like no I'm doing I really wanted a pair of Krewe sunglasses, and I bought them in like expensive sunglasses. At that point, like I paid 100 bucks for them. That was wild, because I go through sunglasses, like candy. I those I don't have any more because I broke them. But I have since bought another I had them for a really long time, a really, really long time. And then I replaced them and I've had this pair for even longer. And I've definitely learned the power of investing in pieces and how that can literally help you take better care of things. So if you're weary about spending money on things, because you know, you're not cool enough to in whatever way you want to define that because me and white shirts. Sometimes you need to break the rule to prove to yourself that you can you can invest in pieces. I also want to talk about investing in pieces for the house really quickly. Art is something that I will spend some money on for sure, like a really great piece of art that, again, I think of it as an heirloom piece, this is not just something that's going to be in my house. Now, I would love to be able to decorate my kid's house with this piece, you know, in a couple of years, and I'm supporting an artist and doing all those things. And then also any piece of furniture that's going to be used a ton. Like if you buy a cheap piece of furniture, it's not going to last very long if it's being used consistently. So that's also something that I will do a bit of a splurge on.

Kathleen Shannon 1:02:37

I have an Ikea couch that I love so much. It's an Ikea sectional. And the cool thing about IKEA couches is that there's a couple of companies that make custom covers for IKEA couches. And so you could just change out the cover every, you know couple of years. And that's an investment too like, I think that the cover for my couch total ended up costing around six or $700. Which seems like a lot for a fabric cover. But thinking about this couch lasting I think I'll probably have this couch forever, honestly. And then there's another couch that I bought downstairs that is literally from Wayfair. And it is a cheap piece of garbage. But I don't have the funds or the patience to buy the couch that I want to buy. So I just covered it with like a bunch of textiles that feel very eclectic, and bohemian. And now you don't see the couch. So there are things that you can do that are cheap, to you know, elevate what you've got.

Emily Thompson 1:03:39

Yeah, I think the point here is there are no rules. And maybe that's even where it becomes really difficult with for people is we want rules. We want to be able or we want someone to say like to make a great outfit, you need these four pieces. There you go, right like in this color palette, or you know, whatever, here you go. Or to make a house cozy you need these things in this sort of configuration. There you go. And what we've sort of I think shared here is that kind of like we navigate these creative journeys, were just sort of like picking up skill sets and taking the opportunities and just like enjoying the ride. I think cultivating and, and building your personal style is really similar. I think you can be very goal oriented like you are right really think about your heritage as you go into it. Or are you gonna just like figure it out on the fly like I do. Whatever it may be but it is something that you and I put a lot of like intentionality into. And not to say we're cute every day. I'm not cute every day I will speak for myself. And not to say every corner.

Kathleen Shannon 1:04:51

You're cute all the time.

Emily Thompson 1:04:57

Thanks. I'm not to say every corner of my house is a beautiful vignette because my guestrooms still need some work. But it is a journey that we're on to create wardrobes and spaces that feel good to us. And it's collecting pieces that mean something to us along the way. Or even if they don't mean something to us, as we're collecting them, we add meaning to them as we go.

Kathleen Shannon 1:05:27

Yeah, you know, here's the deal that I've had to learn the hard way is that everything that you see in Architectural Digest, or on those Instagram feeds, or, you know, even street style for New York Fashion Week, those people are putting a lot of effort into making their home or their outfit look that way, in that moment. It does not always look that way. There are professional prop stylists who are coming in and styling these amazing, beautiful homes even more before it's shot for a magazine. It's lit really well. You know, you're you're not seeing the armpit stains, or the coffee stain or the paint splatter. It's been photoshopped out, or it's a brand new piece that hasn't been lived in yet. You know, so real life does not look like Instagram. And I'm saying this for myself more than anyone because I so badly want my wardrobe and my closet and whenever I'm wearing my clothes and my home to look like that, and it just doesn't. And that's a good thing. So you talked about your guest room meeting a little bit of work. Well, I've stayed in that guest room multiple times. And not a once was I thinking this could use a little work. You know, what I remember from our time together is the meals that we shared around your kitchen island and the hikes that we went on. It's not really about what it all looks like. It's about how it makes you feel. So just keep that in mind too. Your home, it's about how it makes you feel. Your clothes, it's about how it makes you feel.

Emily Thompson 1:05:28

Yeah, for sure. Oh, I love that. And that's what people do read. That is what they read off of you off of the space that you're in whatever they can tell if you love it or not. If you feel great in it or not. They can feel that the presence have those feelings as you've collected and put things together. That's beautiful, Kathleen, well this has been a treat.

Kathleen Shannon 1:07:33

Can we end this episode by telling people what we're wearing right now?

Emily Thompson 1:07:39

Oh yes. Let's do it. You go first.

Kathleen Shannon 1:07:40

Okay, I am wearing an ALF shirt. And it says no problem. Exclamation mark. So an Alf shirt. And then a really cozy sweater that I got from the gap. It's kind of like a brown camel color sweater. My Alf shirt is yellow with like a picture of Alf on it. I actually had this shirt whenever I was about eight or nine and I was telling Jeremy how much I love this shirt. And he found it for me and got it for me. And then I'm wearing some Madewell jeans which is one of the few brands that fits my booty. And they're like high waisted black skinny jeans that flare out at the bottom with a slit up the side and then I'm wearing my house shoes because I'm working from my house and then a couple of gold necklaces. Always got some gold on.

Emily Thompson 1:08:30

Love it, you do it it's such a vibe we've it's such a like It's like cozy vibe but there's like a hint of Mr. Rogers with that cardigan. I love it

Kathleen Shannon 1:08:43

And I currently have like a shaggy mullety haircut. I should mention that as well.

Emily Thompson 1:08:48

Oh yeah. Yeah. I am wearing, I have all started my hat I have a black like wide brim hat on. It's a Gordon brothers got it from New Orleans last year. I wear it so much. And today not because my hair is dirty. I'm actually like I'm in that weird in between place growing out my hair because it's been like chin length for the past year and a half. I'm growing it out. So now it's just like that weird like brushing my shoulders length that just does not look great on me. So my hair is usually in a ponytail have a hat on black hat. I'm wearing a record label t shirt. It's actually white. It's a white t shirt. Black Letter says single lock records has Alabama and a heart on it. It's a whole thing also gold chain. I have on a linen blazer like a natural colored linen and blazer. A pair of these are brown Old Navy pants like almost Chino style, but like a little stretchier and I think they're probably two or three sizes too big. Like I put them on this morning and held out the waist and there's like inches of space. And so they're high waisted pulled up very baggy I have on a pair of Halloween socks that are hocus pocus and a pair of lug soul Doc Martens.

Kathleen Shannon 1:10:13

Love it.

Emily Thompson 1:10:16

So like for me, it's like I'm actually combining black and brown real hardcore today.

Kathleen Shannon 1:10:21

Oh, that's my favorite color combo is black and brown. I forgot to mention this. I'm always usually wearing black jeans with a brown belt. And then I've got some like black boots that have a brown soul on them. I love breaking some old school rules like you can't mix black and brown. That's some bullshit.

Emily Thompson 1:10:38

Yeah, I love doing too. And mine is very color blocky too. So I'm very much so mixing black and brown today is is one of my favorite outfits. It's super comfy. Looks pretty professional, but I'm just like, incredibly comfortable. That's the vibe.

Emily Thompson 1:10:57

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