Dress Yourself w/ Love

I love fashion. I love creating it and I love making it and I love encouraging it. It’s like my child. One of my favorite things to do is continuously curate my style, always analyzing what makes me feel good, what I think looks beautiful, and what makes my soul sing to see myself in. It changes periodically, but I have found that much remains the same. I have always loved color coordination, florals, ladylike hems, and necklines, feminine touches, bold statements, and good shoes. I have never liked leopard prints, but think that on the right person it can be quite stylish and complementary to their personality. I have never appreciated super pointy shoes, but I do think that they can be down-right sexy on women of a certain age. Hence my philosophy of fashion is that the outside of your body should match the interior. On principle, our natural body reflects our soul, so what we put on our bodies should complement our interior too. This is why different women like different kinds of styles - their souls, their personalities, their passions are simply different. 

This holistic thought about fashion is why I love it so much. When I wake up tired and grumpy, I can put on any ensemble that makes me feel confident and joyful, just from my clothes. There is something quite magical about wearing my heart on my sleeve that brings me joy. When I wear clothing that expresses my interior I am being honest with the world about who I am, and this takes a cup of courage and a sprinkling of defiance.

The truth is that I am in love with myself and I want to share that love with the world so that goodness and love will only increase with more people loving. That is why I wake up and get dressed every morning.

I definitely have not always been that purpose-driven. At first, I just wanted to feel pretty, and there’s nothing wrong with that, so long as it’s just a stepping stone. Prettiness in and of itself is worth no more than its face value. But when you use pretty as a highlighter to accentuate the inestimable value of a woman, then you have something that is priceless.

I am fully addicted to feeling my worth and seeing it when I look in the mirror, and it is one of my missions to get others addicted too! The right outfit supplies all the motivation and confidence you need. 

Know yourself; love yourself; adorn yourself.

So when you hate your body, think of everything that you have gone through and overcome. You have an amazing body. Treat it with the love and respect that it deserves.

The next time that you want to cover up the wrinkles and the greys, look at that girl in the mirror and tell her that she is beautiful; that she has laughed a thousand laughs; that she has smiled, cryed, and squinted her way through everything, and that she has earned her marks. 

When you look at that plain face and think that to be worth anything, you have to hide it and change it so that someone, anyone, will value you, tell that face that she is priceless and that if someone can not see her value, then they do not deserve to behold her outstanding beauty in its most raw and real form. 

I believe that this is true of every woman, no matter her age, ethnicity, or paycheck. And every woman, no matter her age, ethnicity, or paycheck, should love herself unconditionally, (because if you don’t, why would someone else feel expected to?), and care for herself in light of her supreme self-love.

Love,

Laney <3