Style Series: Bohemian Style for Men and Women

A while back last year, I started up a style series that talks about different style types that can work for both men and women. For this next installment, I'll be focusing in on the bohemian style. One thing I want to quickly mention is that I feel that there is no right or wrong translation of what it means to have a more bohemian-type of style, and if the key points I mention in this post are something that doesn't resonate with you, that's totally okay! 

I think that TV shows and movies can sometimes give the best inspiration for this style type, and one character who I think embraces this the best is Serena van der Woodsen from Gossip Girl. I haven't watched the show in a few years now, but since the style and fashion in that show is so iconic, I honestly couldn't go without mentioning her as an example. 

When I think of bohemian fashion, the two things that first come to mind for me are hats and fringe. In specific, a fringe, brown leather jacket can look good on both men and women, and it doesn't matter if you're small-framed or broad in the shoulders. 

Hats are one of the easiest ways to accessorize an outfit, but for the bohemian style, it's best to find a fedora or big sun hat. Remember how I mentioned the color brown, or having something with leather or fringe? You don't necessarily have to spend lots of money to find those two style elements; some secondhand shops have tons of leather products, and in my opinion, brown is such a universally flattering color. Brown boots can easily be found secondhand, and you can easily swap the brown color for any other earth tone, like beige, tan, taupe or a creamy off-white. 

So if you're not into earth tones, you obviously choose your own colors based on your own preferences. One thing that I love about earth tones however is that they are versatile. A white or blue jean jacket can look great with a basic black t-shirt, black jeans and statement boots. 

While hats and fringe are mostly well-known to this particular style type, I would say a leather jacket (or denim jacket) could be called an essential for this style as well. If you're someone who doesn't enjoy bright patterns or bold colors, remember what I said about earth tones as they can easily become your best friend when fleshing out your wardrobe. Jackets and pants come in a variety of different styles, silhouettes and colors, and if you're someone who is likes to experiment with silhouette and proportion, one style I would recommend for pants is anything with a wide leg or bell-bottom flare. This will complement any shape of what you wear on top, but for my personal taste, I love a bell-bottom pair of pants (or jeans) with a simple t-shirt that's slightly over-sized. 

So while dresses aren't exactly something that men would want to wear out in public, I think that a sweater is something that both genders can easily wear, and you can honestly find sweaters in almost all clothing shops, secondhand options included. One thing that makes the bohemian style easy and accessible is that there's no need to scrutinize all those little details of how to accessorize your outfits. So unless you just enjoy wearing tons of jewelry, you can easily get away with throwing on a fedora, a brown leather bag or jacket, some sunglasses, tie up your boots and you're good to go! 

**All photo credits come from Pinterest** 

An Update About My Health Journey

My relationship with food continues to be a gradual learning process. A couple months ago, I found out that I was basically diagnosed as pre-diabetic. Watching my carbs is something I had to adjust to- and this so far has been somewhat of a struggle- and in addition, I have to work on portion control. Working on my eating habits so far has been slow and gradual because I know that change doesn't happen overnight. 

I don't want to say that health and wellness is something I think about all the time, but I do try to be conscious of it and make sure I'm developing better habits as I progress in this new stage of my life and well-being. I still believe that finding foods that are nourishing and fuel your energy in a positive way can greatly benefit your growth in more ways than one, and because of me being pre-diabetic now, I realize that everything I learned early on in my 20's about health and wellness still applies. Nothing has changed except for having to be more mindful of my intake in calories. 

I think what made this transition difficult in the beginning was accepting that my health is changing, and it's as simple as that. Seeing the nutritionist and talking about the basics of healthy eating motivated me, but the label itself is what made me feel as if this type of change was negative and put me in this fear-based mindset. In all honesty here, I think part of me still struggles to accept that I am diabetic, because for so long before that point, all I thought about was the process itself of becoming more healthy and living a balanced life. 

If there's anything I hope you can take away from this post, it would be that no matter what kind of change you face, all that matters is that you try. This can be applied to anything from careers, finance, your relationships, your health or even something smaller like starting up a new hobby like reading, dancing or cooking. It's not impossible to change your habits, and the more you try and put in some amount of effort, the easier it'll become over time.