Take care of your toes

I almost always have my toe and fingernails painted. I've done this for so long that I need to have them painted now for me to feel comfortable. Why does this matter? It doesn't, really. I've just been thinking about appearances lately and how your toes play into your appearance.

In my family we dress to look good. We don't wear things that aren't flattering. Every time I'd go shopping with my mom and I tried on something that I thought looked cute on the hanger but it didn't look cute on me, my mom would ask "What does that do for you?" That's generally what I think when I'm shopping or someone asks me for my opinion on their clothes or when I just see someone wearing something very unflattering.

The thing about toes is it's really easy to cover them. Shoes and socks are like make up for your toes. If they're hairy or have weird nails, covering them with shoes is the fastest way to fix it just like make up is the fastest way to hide a blemish. This is why I have decided those that really care about their appearance take care of their toes.

There was a girl in one of my classes that I sat next to quite a bit. Her style was very young, so I didn't think she had much interest in fashion. I was surprised to find out she is actually very interested in fashion. This confused me and I started to wonder why I'd thought this. I realized the biggest reason was not her very young fashion sense, it was her toes. She wore flip flops every day and her toe nails were in desperate need of maintenance. I was surprised she didn't have scratches on her legs, but maybe most people aren't as active of sleepers as I am.

So why are toes so important? Because they're easily overlooked. You can be successful and look successful without ever showing your toes. It's the same idea as shaving your legs in the winter. No one is going to see your legs since pants are generally worn, you do it for yourself. That, I believe is the bottom line of my thought. No one is going to ask to see your toes, no one will ask you to roll up your pants in the winter, few people will ask why you don't work out. You do it for yourself.

I don't think you have to go out and spend a lot of money to look good. While people may enjoy manicures, pedicures, facials, etc, you don't need them. What you spend on your looks is up to you. For example, I feel comfortable spending a rather large amount on hair cuts because I have difficult hair and if I don't I have to find someone to fix the cheap hair cut. Whenever I'm asked where I get my hair cut and how much it is, people are shocked. Those people do not need expensive hair cuts. Some people are really bad at applying nail polish or maybe they just find manicures or pedicures relaxing, so they choose to spend money on those. I don't, don't think I ever will, but I am also pretty good at giving myself those. You don't need designer clothes, just clothes that fit. Looking put together is within everyone's budget. There's not even that many essential clothing items. I have just decided that I will include a list of these.

Essential clothing for women:

• Black and/or brown skirt
• Black and/or brown dress pants
• Black and/or brown close toed heels or flats (or both! I really like shoes...)
• At least one pair of well fitting jeans
• Button down white and/or black shirt
• A belt

If the "or" option is picked, I suggest picking black or brown in all of the options. Black and brown is very hard to match to each other.

Essential clothing for men:

• Dress slacks (black, brown, navy, tan, olive, just have some)
• Matching belt and dress shoes (It looks kind of funny when you have a brown belt and black shoes)
• At least one tie
• At least one pair of well fitting jeans
• White button down shirt
• Here's an optional one for you men! A suit or sport coat (I strongly suggest having one, but they're expensive and, in most cases, it's not absolutely necessary)

Well, there it is. Steph's view on appearance. I hope you enjoyed.