Be Organized, Be Elegant:

Elegance is when the inside is as beautiful as the outside.

– Coco Chanel

For over a year now, I have been very curious as to how to acquaint every aspect of my life with elegance. Like millions of people, I was not given training to behave elegantly as a lady; and, it was only out of my personal inclination that I researched this topic a lot. I read many blogs, articles and books on tips to be more graceful.

Some articles merely suggested looking up to role models - hoping that their way of being stylish would be good enough to boast anyone’s individual personality. While, some other articles tried to sum up the whole evolution of taking decision, action, and sticking to the challenging undertaking of spending life with a class in certain number of steps.

By no mean, I am claiming this one year research has empowered me to conclude the vast topic of elegance. However, it has enabled me to develop a clear sense of direction. In my humble opinion, IF YOU WANT TO BE ELEGANT, BE ORGANIZED.

UNORGANZIED LIFE, INELEGANT LIFE:

When was the last time you were able to enjoy the moment instead of rushing, yelling, and trying to catch things up? Let’s imagine our morning routine (given we couldn’t care less about getting organized). My office starts at 9:00 am. Having stayed up late at night, I didn’t bother getting up before 8:20 am. Because my closet was a mess, I didn’t have clothes hanged as outfits. Instead of thinking how could i look classy, I used to do with the very first outfit that I was able to find. Shower? Oh no time for that. I used to just wash my face, rush to vanity for makeup ritual, didn’t even think of accessories, let my hair looked messy and merely swallowed one slice as breakfast. Most of the time, I was late.

MONEY ISN’T AN EXCUSE:

Did I enjoy that routine? No, not at all! Every morning was frustration and led to a very unproductive start. I must admit that not for a single day I looked classy. I was mistaken as I thought perhaps I need MORE makeup, MORE clothes, MORE shoes, and MORE accessories. So, I heavily spent on such items and the result was – of course a failure.

The truth is, I wasn’t organized to utilize the resources that I had and never stretch MYSELF to the highest standards. Elegance, oppose to widely held belief, is not dependent on money. It’s an attitude which when developed does the talking on your behalf.

SO, WHY I SAID BE ORGANIZED, BE ELEGANT?

We often question ourselves as to why elegance is so rare nowadays. Perhaps, the scuffle of doing 5 times more than our ancestors in the same number of hours has put our lives on fast forward. Elegance resides in getting slowed down. Did you ever meet an elegant lady that talks fast or eats fast, or walks fast? No, because every action performed with deliberate steps unhurriedly gives us ample time to dominate our styles over the humdrum of life. No matter how expensive clothes you wear you’ll have hard time experiencing gracefulness if you don’t know when to stop and just live the moment. And getting organized let us do just that. It permits us to slow down as life feels in control.

ORGANIZED LIFE, ELEGANT LIFE:

Let’s rewind the morning scene and this time in a more organized manner. Now, my office still starts at 9: 00 am; but, I get up around 7:00 am. I do exercise for 15 minutes followed by 15 minutes of yoga. This energizes my body, let me feel the nature and be grateful for yet another beautiful day. Then I take a relaxing shower that washes away every possibility of laziness. Finally having developed the habit of ironing and hanging my clothes as complete outfits for the whole week on weekend in advance, I feel freedom in the morning. Love, love, love extra time to select outfit and mix & match accessories (one bracelet, watch, one ring). I am really happy that now before the day starts I am able to fill out my to-do list. Trust me, it keeps me productive and I don’t find myself working on unimportant tasks.

Family life and relationships? Couldn’t have been better. Instead of my mother screaming at me that I am late for yet another day, our breakfast time is now more cherished and celebrated gathering.