Get Dressed to Please Yourself

 

I’m choosing the mantra “Get Ready for Now” as this month’s focus. Why? For one thing, this time of the year is unique. We’re not complete with winter and spring is a few weeks away. How do we get our wardrobes ready for right now, for this in-between season? I can’t wait to share with you some of the things I’m doing in my clients’ closets to help them have fun during this transitional time. Look for that in upcoming blog posts.

There’s another aspect of “now” that I’m interested in and it’s more the mental and emotional resistance to taking action, now, on your own behalf. People come up with all kinds of reasons to linger in the past or put off facing the present. Here are things I’ve heard.

 

1. I just want to lose these five pounds and then I’ll do something about my wardrobe.
2. I’m too stressed out. I can’t think about myself right now.
3. It doesn’t really matter, no one’s noticing me. Fashion is for young people.
4. Everyone’s causal. If I wore a scarf or a pretty necklace I’d look different. I’m afraid to look different.
5. I’m uncomfortable spending money on myself. It’s easier to spend money on my kids, grandkids or husband.

 

Those strategies send the wrong message.

I believe that taking care of yourself sends powerful messages to your brain. Sure, some people say we get dressed for other people and maybe that’s true, sometimes. But at the core, it’s that person who looks back at you in the mirror who is the most important one to please. When we do that, all things are possible.

We can relax.
We can feel less serious and more lighthearted about life.
It’s a way to demonstrate kindness to others and ourselves.

 

It helps us feel present no matter what comes up in the day whether that’s dining with friends, attending a conference, problem solving with someone at work, or hanging with the family.

 

 

When you’ve dressed with the intention of pleasing yourself, you can be authentic to any moment that comes up in this experience of life.

 

Wise words by Jean Vanier

 

I listened to a great interview from the radio program On Being with Krista Tippett. In an episode called “The Wisdom of Tenderness” she’s speaking with the French Canadian philosopher and social innovator, Jean Vanier. He’s been compared to his late friend, Mother Teresa and called a living saint.

About seven minutes into the interview he says, “The big thing for me is to love reality. I come back to the reality of pleasure and the reality of what is my deepest pleasure. The deepest desire for us all is to be appreciated, to be loved, to be seen as somebody of value.”

You may think it’s a stretch to take Jean Vanier’s words and apply them to style and fashion, but I don’t. I believe that by paying attention to that everyday event of getting dressed, we demonstrate to ourselves that we’re appreciated, loved, and have value.

There’s no time like the present to be present to yourself.

How do you do that using the tools of style and fashion?

1. You wear what you love.
2. You choose colors and textures that delight you.
3. If you put something on your body and it feels icky on you—whether it’s the feel of the fabric, or the bad fit, or the general dour feeling you have when you’re in it—you let it go.

Start right now. Looking in your closet, what can you put on that makes you feel loved? Choose that thing and wear it. Make that choice to wear what you love again tomorrow. In fact, make it your March habit. I’ll be there on your shoulder cheering you on.

 

 

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