Living Like a Nomad

jacket {Aritizia} - sweater {Jacob} - polka-dot skinnies {Gap} - leopard print shoes {Toms} - purse {vintage Dooney & Bourke} - 

sunnies {Forever 21} - key necklace {flea market}

Every semester Parsons hosts a trend presentation by Trend Union, a Paris based company and one of the world's most renowned trend forecasters. This afternoon was the presentation for Spring/Summer 2014 and I had the privilege of guest tweeting for Parsons during it. This season's theme was titled Nomadism and in a nutshell, it was all about roaming the globe, connecting with nature and basically living a nomadic lifestyle. Inspiration was drawn from the earth and the different cultures that live on it. I thought it was a great presentation and I was loving many of the forecasted trends. If you're interested to hear more about those trends, check out the Parsons twitter account here!

It really got me thinking about the whole notion of living life out of a suitcase and having so few personal belongings that you're able to pick up and move on to the next place should the mood strike you. This lifestyle is basically the antithesis of mine. I collect belongings, crave stability, reject change and usually need a solid few months to wrap my head around a new beginning. As I was sitting in this presentation and seeing beautiful imagery of hippies and gypsies, I realized that I have always been envious of the free spirited. To have the ability to go with the flow and not only be okay with it, but thrive from it, is truly a remarkable quality. 

After an entire life of accumulating 'stuff', I'm beginning to realize that maybe having less things, but with more meaning is better than having just a bunch of meaningless things. Obviously, this can be applied to all of one's possessions but for me it really applies to my closet. I'm not going to make some big (unrealistic) declaration that from now on, I won't buy clothes. I am going to say that I will strive to put more thought into my purchases. I mean, really think about what it is I want, if I have something similar to it already hanging in the back of my closet. I think I should challenge myself to mentally come up with at least five different ways I could wear this new item with my current wardrobe before making the purchase. I love the idea of being able to mix and match the majority of one's clothes with one another.

While I know that the nomad life is not for me, I wouldn't mind borrowing from it from time to time. Living in the moment, allowing freedom to take over and just letting go (both mentally and physically) are not the worst philosophies I've ever heard.

j.