This is the title from an excellent book by Fashion Psychologist Dawnn Karen, in which she talks about how to harness the power of your clothes to transform your confidence.
Having lost my dad just over a week ago and my mum some 18 years ago, both to diseases caused by exposure to asbestos, a material not understood to be harmful at that time, I’ve been contemplating life and what really matters. As people rightly say, none of us know what is around that corner. My mum and dad had no idea that they had been exposed to a life-limiting material and the impact that would have. So, for me, life is for living to the full. Not in any great showy way, far from it. I am 100% happy just being me, feeling confident, spending time with those I love and grasping opportunities to enjoy life.
The way we show up is one way that we can feel us and, as importantly, feel confident. It’s not frivolous to want to feel nice by wearing clothes that lift you. As Dawnn Karen expertly explains, there is a real mindset connection behind what we choose to wear. We can use clothes to reflect our mood; she talks about wearing baggy black clothes when she was at a particularly low ebb following a harrowing experience, or to enhance our mood, to positively shift our emotional state. Putting on something that you wore at a time when you felt confident or that you received compliments wearing, or simply wearing a brighter colour, for example. If you’re a sensory person, then wearing fabrics that feel soft on your skin, that maybe even feel like a hug to you. All of these things can make a big difference.
This ability of clothes to boost our self-esteem is genuinely why I choose to do what I do. I passionately believe that we all deserve to look and feel good. This doesn’t mean that we need to look the same or dress in a certain way. It simply means that we can use our clothes to help us tell the world who we are whilst also boosting our self esteem.
I intend to enjoy life, wearing the clothes I love and helping others to do likewise. This makes me very happy. I think my mum would approve. She used to say that “health and happiness are the two most important things in life”, something I say to our children too. I keep active and try to eat healthily so I feel I’m not doing too badly!
If your wardrobe isn’t lifting you I’d love to help you. Simply give me a call – 07917 663330 – or say hello via email kerrie@kerrieellis.co.uk.