Welcome to another #3NoMoreThan5 in 5! Having just posted Warrior Wardrobe, I got to thinking about fashion.
What has fashion done or what role has it played in my space?
I know, I’m hearing eye rolls, “fashion is frivolous,” “fashion doesn’t matter. Okay, peace! I get it! For some people, fashion isn’t that big a deal. But as I thought about it, it has contributed in different ways to me, my space and who I am.
In my corporate world, fashion helped me get my mind set for a day. Fashion prepared me for what was ahead. Fashion allowed me to express myself, to give me a sense of confidence; Going into a difficult meeting, participating in a presentation… Whatever that was, my fashion allowed me to prepare for that and support that mentality/mindset I wanted to bring to a given event, space or time.
Sometimes I wanted to be bold and make a statement! So the canary yellow dress would come out! Other times, maybe it was more of a formal or somber meeting, and the navy or more suit oriented type of wardrobe selections would come out. All of those things helped me prepare for what was coming, gave me a sense of self, and allowed me to express myself with confidence in a given environment.
So fashion did contribute to that! And it was important to me and my brand in my corporate world! Now, not being in a corporate environment, fashion is really stretching my creativity muscle. I don’t know if I’m going to be wearing high heels to Costco, but I do have fabulous pieces that I don’t want to waste, pieces that I want to be able to use in different ways.
In the spirit of sustainability (whole other conversation on that as I’ve been listening to my podcasts on fast fashion!) how do I take what I have, put a different twist to them, look at them through a different lens, and utilize them so I’m not wasting? Still putting that brand out there. Still feeling confident and comfortable in my world even though it isn’t a corporate world. It’s more of a semi-retired and in search of glam (I guess?) type of world.
And finally, as I thought more about how fashion has contributed to me, it has really contributed to my community, to my circle! It has contributed great people into my environment; my Glam Squad, I miss them so much! Sam and Leslie! Even former Glam Squad participants; BB, Buck and Alice! All of these folks are people I really enjoyed, and for the most part I still keep in touch with them in some way, shape or form! So they’re still a part of my world.
Fashion has also been the source of much humor and mocking. From friends like Bavan who videotaped me and another friend Verett. We were shopping in New York City, there was a lot of joking about how over the top and perhaps ostentatious Verett and I were being in our shopping moment. Bavan doesn’t look at fashion in the same way we do. We had a lot of laughter and fun about it, and to this day we still look at those videos and can’t stop giggling over how that brought us together. Bavan was like “I don’t even get it, y’all do you, but that’d not me.”
So while fashion may be frivolous to some, for me it has contributed to my confidence. It has allowed me to be creative in some new and different ways. And it has really brought people into my circle. It has contributed laughter to that circle. It’s something that I truly do still enjoy in so many shapes and forms.
Whether fashion is for you, not for you, something you believe in or not believe in, think about it!
How does what you portray, the fashion you bring into your world, contribute to who you are and perhaps your recipe of leadership?
Until next time, cheers!