Wear You Feel Good

by: Kate Hampton, guest writer

Once when I was a little girl, my mother attempted to dress me for a daycare party. It was supposed to be a very fancy (toddler fancy) occasion that called for my finest attire but, as usual, we struggled to reach a consensus on my outfit for the day. She was determined to get me in a pretty party dress complete with shoulder puffs, ruffles, and lace (the 90’s, I know). “Kate, everyone else there is going to be wearing a pretty dress. Don’t you want to wear one?”, she repeated after each rejection. With my little gap-toothed smile, I extended an arm to her, clutching my favorite forest green and white striped hoodie. Defeated, she pulled it over my head, completed the outfit with jeans and sneakers, then off to the party we went.

Did I enjoy myself at that party, yes! When we arrived every little girl there was in a “pretty party dress” and to my mother’s amazement, I didn’t care. I didn’t turn away embarrassed or asked her to take me home. I danced because I felt good in my hoodie and I still do because now they make dresses with hoods.

My point here is that when we shop we focus so much on an appearance that we forget about feel. All too often we worry about our appearance from the perspective of others. Will they think this is too tight? What does everyone else have on? We sometimes fail to remember that the only person’s opinion that matters is ours. Now it’s like there is so much pressure to appeal to the masses that we ultimately find ourselves trying to conform to a perceived algorithm all for affirmation (yes, I’m talking about you, social media). There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as we don’t forget our true selves and style in the process.

So, think about it. What makes your style yours? What makes you look in the mirror and say, “Yup, that’s it!” *does a little dance*.