Don’t miss out on the opportunity to share your personality, creativity and perspective of the world through style.
“We often get lost in the narratives that others have written for us … or that we have written for ourselves,” said Ashley Wierenga, marketing consultant and lifestyle blogger.
We can’t put a shred of energy toward it any longer. When we tell ourselves that we aren’t enough, we build invisible boundaries. Wierenga’s message is simple: Wearing what makes us happy encourages confidence and self-expression.
“It gives you the permission to show up in the world in the form you want,” said Wierenga, who’s here to flip the script on the negativity and what holds you back, rerouting your mindset.
Replace “I’m not thin enough to wear this” with: My body is beautiful. My curves will look amazing in this.
Switch “I’m not glam enough to wear this” to: I am fabulous and about to rock this.
Instead of, “I’m not cool enough to wear this,” try: I have value to bring to the world. This helps me tell the story of who I am.
“Giving yourself agency to choose what you want to wear and loving yourself through it is a great first step,” Wierenga said. She details ways to move toward the real you, the style you naturally lean toward — the woman and feeling behind the wardrobe.
She recommends allowing your eye to choose what you like regardless of the categories you start to place them in. You can be a jeans and T-shirt girl one day and vamp it up with a tulle skirt and faux fur the next (no need to stay in a lane).
Reconfigure the messaging of what you think you should wear versus how you would like to dress. Wierenga is a firm believer that dressing in a way that expresses who you are means you’ll be much happier with how you are presenting yourself in all settings. “Don’t show up to the world acting like you aren’t supposed to be there in what you’re wearing. Wear what you chose with confidence.”
Want more confidence and control over how you see yourself and what you wear?
Start small, slowly incorporate pieces into your wardrobe that are a bit more edgy, androgynous, sassy — whatever space you want to venture into more and commit to it. Believe it.
A great activity is to go through friends’ closets and help them identify new, fresh outfits from what they currently own. Gather a group and make a night out of it. Bring pieces you can’t figure out how to wear and ask for ideas. Trade items.
Once you’ve created some solid outfits, snap photos of them so you have a pseudo lookbook for the mornings where nothing seems to be coming together.
Shop those places that give you all the feels. Seek out and cultivate relationships with shop owners that empower you to dress with conviction. Wierenga’s hotspots include Gina’s Boutique, Found Cottage, Frances Jaye and Spring Sweet.
