This may come as no surprise, but I have absolutely no shame in re-creating an outfit I like. More often than not my outfits wind up being loose interpretations rather than exact copies of my inspiration photos, but today's look is pretty close to a carbon copy. I even tied my sweater slightly off to the side like the catalog photo, just to be cheeky. I drew the line at leaning to right in my photo. ;-)

Some may (and have) called this being a copycat, but I think of it as being resourceful and saving time and money, and I simply don't accept that shame. I think it's similar to using a recipe to cook. You haven't forsaken your own personal style because you got the recipe from someone else (unless, I suppose, you forced yourself to wear or eat something just because someone else did). Just because it existed on someone else's body or plate, does not make it any less your personal style. And let's face it, most likely someone has worn it at some point before you, maybe even in a different decade. Perfect strangers simultaneously come up with the same idea at the same time more often than you may think. Doesn't make it not "you."

So maybe you're not a master chef and creating the recipes, but I don't think that's the goal for many of us. We call chefs "stylists" in the fashion world, and that's their job. But I know at least for me my aspirations lie in simply being a cook and being able to dress myself in the morning, so copying recipes is a great resource. And of course this idea of copying is exactly why I blog - because I want you to freely copy outfits too. Both using inspiration photos you find on your own, or recreating what you see here. 

Have you ever hesitated or felt silly about copying an outfit (here or elsewhere)? Do you think copying shame has grown weaker with the rise of DIY culture and sites like Pinterest? What are your views on copycat fashion?  

Shirt: Forever 21, $20
Sweater: H&M, $18 (similar, similar, similar)
Jeans: Limited, $37 (similar, similar, similar, similar)
Shoes: Banana Republic, $50 (similar, similar, similar)
Necklaces: My Stella & Dot, My Stella & Dot
Earrings: My Stella & Dot
Approx. dates: Shoes are 6 years ago. Sweater, jeans are 2 years ago. Top is 1 year ago.

Forever 21  /  LOFT  /  H&M  /  Old Navy
UO  /  Charlotte Russe  /  Madewell  /  Forever 21
Charlotte Russe  /  Lands' End  /  Gap  /  Gap