Fashionating Self-Care With Nicole Ghazal

“Whose bag is this!?”  I shouted to the room one Sunday at a sober gal’s brunch in Seattle. I slung the Louis Vuitton Multi-Pochette over my shoulder and began playing with it.  “It’s mine,” said Nicole Ghazal with a laugh.  I should have known as she was impeccably dressed in notable yet understated style.  Ghazal graciously took the time to show me how all three accessory pouches were detached serving to maximize the bag’s use.  It was obvious this was a very intentional purchase. “It was kind of expensive,”  she told me. “But I bought it resale and I did my research first.”  My reaction was: Did we just become best friends?

Having fancied this bag online, I couldn’t get past the labyrinth of LV compartments, and I had been contemplating its functionality. Ghazal cut right to the chase.  There is nothing like meeting another sober woman to discuss practicality and style as we trudge through corporate America. With her purse slung over my shoulder, we began talking luxury consignment and high fashion. She showed me the fashion journal entries she had created on her phone and I squealed out loud. I insisted she create an Instagram page and share her artwork with the world. The next morning her IG page @so_fashionating was live.

Later, Ghazal walked me through her creative process for building the journal. She said “I use the website The Real Real @therealreal for luxury clothing inspiration. Ghazal scrolls through the site and chooses items that evoke an emotional response. “Most often I screenshot the images to my phone where I keep them stored until my mood aligns with a certain piece.  Then I color match with clips from Vogue magazine that will help build the edit.   After printing and gathering the ephemera, I use washi tape or some form of the border and create a layout. Then I journal in the blank spaces using a micro pen. The heading is usually in cursive with a highlighter to signify the title.”

Self-Care Comes in all Sizes and Colors

When I told Ghazal her journal reminded me of images that I have seen sober artist Tammi Salas create, she was delighted.  She conveyed to me that she had listened to @Tammisalas on the Unruffled Podcast and admired her from afar. This led to a brilliant conversation about creativity as a form of self-care and self-actualization amidst our sober journeys.  She and I decided that Tammi’s tagline and now hashtag of being a sober yet dignified creative woman were well suited to our personification as fashionistas. #soberdignifiedcreativewoman

“My mantra for @so_fashionating is Self-Care Comes in all Sizes and Colors,” Ghazal said. Sober since January of 2020, she reflected on her experience giving up alcohol.  “I began listening to the Home Podcast in 2017 and I learned so much from Laura McKowen and Holly Whittaker. Moderating my alcohol intake seemed precarious over time knowing it was harmful even in small amounts. It was just easier to quit altogether. I began relating alcohol to pouring myself a glass of NyQuil. Imbibing meant I would just start slurring my words and then fall asleep. It was pointless.” Ghazal then clarified, “Quitting drinking was also a lot about authenticity for me. I didn’t want to do or say things I didn’t mean.”

In true authentic form, Ghazal discussed her battle with anxiety during the height of the pandemic. “My journal @so_fashionating documents my slow crawl out of some difficult mental health struggles,” She said “you can see the thread of anxiety weave through some of my entries and images. I realized I could use fashion and journaling as a form of self-care.”  This is also noted on the pages whereas Ghazal chooses either vibrant and playful garments or simply a pair of cozy slippers and sweaters.  “Through it, all, staying sober meant I could be more intentional and focus on what I really enjoyed.  The journey can be very multi-faceted because the world becomes your oyster!” she gushed.  

Self-Made and Designer Made

Using fashion and creativity as self-care is a double win for Ghazal. “I am an artist in spirit,” she said, “therefore I view fashion as a big part of the art world.”  We began discussing our reverence for the designers and creatives in the industry who share their art via the runway. When I inquired about how her love of fashion began, she recounted, “In my early 30s I worked on an MSN lifestyle channel which had me traveling to NYC to network with some major fashion magazines.  I met Andre Leon Talley at a Manolo Blahnik sample sale.” She reminisced about the late Tally @andreltalley “blessing” her choice of Manolo by giving his stamp of approval. What a beautiful memory!

Ghazal went on to describe “falling in love” via her memoir with former model and creative director Grace Coddington. Thus began a rabbit hole of exploration into names like Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld. Having long since subscribed to Vogue, she relayed what so many of us experience with luxury designers. “I knew I could not afford the clothing at retail price, but I could afford to purchase them gently used,” she said.  “The quality and integrity of the items really impress me. I am a self-made woman who has worked hard to earn my degree and climb the ranks in the tech world. I think having been born with money, I may not have appreciated these items as much. “

The gratitude and appreciation for beautiful craftsmanship are also coupled with the desire for authenticity. “It’s important for me to curate outfits that are not mainstream, “Ghazal said. I wholeheartedly agree, that’s the advantage of shopping consignment. There is a rare chance you end up with something a lot of people are currently wearing. Scraping the notion of purchasing a prescribed uniform entrenched with today’s trends. So, it seems the perfect idea to begin with intention by journaling with images that inspire. This way when a purchase is finally made, there is reverence for the clothing and the process. I freakin love it!  That, my sober darlings, is called walking the talk.

 “Always keep your eyes open. Keep watching because whatever you can see can inspire you.”  – Grace Coddington

P.S. If you are a self-made person who can afford to buy luxury items at retail price, more power to you. I will gladly visit donning some white gloves to thumb through your wardrobe and gush.  If not, we always have fashionating journals to inspire us. So please, whatever your budget, keep going.

Grace & Glam,

Kate

WALK YOUR TALK: Sober Fashionista Kate Vitela curates this section of the site that celebrates fashion and the role it plays in our recovery. Getting ready for life can be just as fun if not more fun, now that we’re sober…because drunk never looks good.

#QUITLIT: Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. #QUITLIT is our curated list of addiction and recovery book reviews. From addiction and recovery memoirs to fiction and self-help, we believe all Sober Curators should be well-read. You can also find us on Goodreads here. 

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