If you have been following me for a few years, you know I like to write about personal style in January. It’s the perfect time to reflect on your life—the past year’s accomplishments and your New Year’s dreams and aspirations. You may also know that your signature style is directly related to your success. Your question may be, How do I determine what my style is? Your individual style is influenced by your age, body type, and lifestyle. It includes your clothing, personal hy

What image comes to your mind when you envision militant women fighting for a cause? I’ll bet it’s not “fashionable,” “elegant,” “ladylike,” or “well-dressed.” However, these attributes accurately describe the suffragists of America. These shrewd women used their savvy sense of style and their intrinsic sense of dignity to help them win the right for women to vote. The term “suffragist” was originally coined from the women’s suffrage movement. It was also commonly used to des

A few mornings ago, I walked out onto my back porch to drink my cup of coffee. One step out and I turned around. I went back inside to grab my hoodie and put on a pair of socks. Finally. Cool mornings and chilly evenings have returned to Western North Carolina. I love this time of the year. While I have friends who moan the fact that winter is around the corner, I look forward to wrapping up in cozy clothes and sitting in front of a flickering fire. As a lot of winter clothin

For more than 150 years, denim has been an enduring facet of fashion in America. Originally produced in Italy and France, denim was made popular in the United States by shop owner Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis. In the late 1800s, Strauss sold the fabric to Davis from his California dry goods store. Davis purchased this sturdy fabric to make the rugged pants needed by gold miners and cowboys. Davis’s idea to use copper rivets at stress points to increase the garments dur