Style Unscripted: The Anti-Trend Heroes

Leaning Into Your Look

Welcome back to Part Three! It has been an absolute delight for me to exchange thoughts on style with those who are, in my opinion, “badass.” Each conversation had a different frequency. There was a lovely blend of history and a self-awareness that went beyond mere aesthetics with each person. It was the way they carried themselves and their smooth and easy defiance of trends. I like it. And I see a pattern here. The central theme from everyone I spoke with was that this is the way they have always been. They haven’t stopped paying attention to who they are or how they present themselves. They are leaning into their look. Aging didn’t change that. They may tinker with or come back to the familiar, but they all do things their own way.

There is a unique freedom in simply being, isn’t there?

Michelle Quance

“The emotional memory for me is always rooted in what I buy, either a persona I wanted to be or still want to be. It just fills me with joy.” ~ Michelle Quance

Michelle Quance is a versatile and dynamic photographer known for her celebrity, wedding, and lifestyle imagery. She created and directed the 36Xposures Photography Challenge, which produced three films and interactive art events that helped raise funds for Rett Syndrome Research. She has a presence that radiates through the creative community and merges her love of fashion with compelling storytelling. Yep, she’s a force!

When I walked into Michelle’s studio, it felt like stepping into the mind of someone who has decided to collect all the little fragments of life. Not staged or created or perfect. But just like how she believes fashion should be for the individual. Michelle explained that her role as a photographer demands a kind of camouflage, a blending in to capture the moment. Still, it’s perfectly clear that she embodies the idea that it is also glorious to stand out. And she did stand out, dressed in a bright gold, cropped puffy jacket. She radiates confidence. Michelle loves vintage and second-hand, “It’s kind of a treasure hunt for me,” she says. It’s not just a capsule wardrobe she has, it’s a time capsule wardrobe.

Michelle’s approach to clothing is refreshing. Or perhaps an addiction. She is a self-proclaimed fashion hoarder and has so many jackets and shawls that her friends have nicknamed her “Mishawl.” Cute.

Her biggest accomplishment? Loving how she looks today.

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Joe Cummings

“I have a gradual appreciation of how style is character. You are what you wear. But the fashion choices you make can’t be driven by trends. They have to represent and celebrate your own specific personality.” ~ Joe Cummings

Every morning, Joe Cummings serves as Host and Producer of CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio’s news program “The World This Hour”. He’s a bard of the morning grind, talking headlines while we shuffle between our cars and our screens and pretend we have our lives together. Joe is a published poet and a talented writer. So, this snippet of Joe’s fashion choices has to be somewhat literary. Please bear with me.

Joe is also an enigma. A riddle wrapped in vibrant hues. He gravitates toward the things he loves with an unwavering certainty, indifferent to whether they align with the latest trends or stand apart in obscurity.

His waistcoat, a riot of colours, looks bold against the drabness of the grey winter sky. At the same time, his orange sneakers herald his presence before he even utters a word. One of his many skinny striped scarves will be wrapped loosely around his neck as the temperatures plunge, somehow balancing the eccentricity of his ensemble with a touch of nostalgia. Little does he know striped scarves for men are trending as a statement accessory. I won’t tell if you don’t.

Every morning, as he signs off his broadcast with the simple declaration, “And that is the world this hour, I’m Joe Cummings.”

And he is.

Affirm Your Presence In The World

Thanks for joining me for my Style Unscripted fashion series for RestlessUrban!

Ultimately, I learned that style is more than clothing. It’s energy. It’s a way to affirm our presence in the world, at any age.

Like, for real. Celebrate that.