I Made A Packing Mistake…
Last week we were in Northern California, visiting my family for Thanksgiving Break. We were traveling for 9 days. I packed and I packed and I packed, too much. Which was where my mistake was made. I checked a huge, heavy bag, and proceeded to lug it from destination to destination (Chico, Rocklin, Vacaville, St. Helena, Sacramento…). It wasn't so much that the bag was so big, it was that it made my getting dressed confusing. Because I had too many choices. I fell into that thought process that I'll just “throw in another” and I ended up with 3 unworn shirts, an unworn coat, and one too many pairs of shoes. I packed in a hurry and without intention. The only thing I was intentional about was my Thanksgiving Day outfit, which was comfortable and I felt that way all day long. Typically, I plan ahead, set things aside, play in my closet and take pictures of my outfits. But this time, I decided to say, heck with it, because I was focused on other things in the day to day life. That's where I may have gone astray…
This makes me think of my a conversation I had with my client during her virtual outfit planning session yesterday, which actually started a few weeks' ago. We started chatting over our session in early November when her simple request was to “figure out how to elevate her all black outfits”. As we got deeper into chatting, I started to realize that in order for her to really critique, review, elevate her overall outfits, she needed a little project (which is beneficial for all, so listen up…). I told her we'd meet again in a couple of weeks (hence, our meet up again yesterday) and in the meantime she was tasked with 1) taking photos of her outfits for two weeks and 2) creating a visual moodboard of 10 images or so showing me what she thought “elevating” meant to her. And WOW, I have to tell you while we were on the call yesterday, the first thing she said to me was, “That wasn't easy but I realized that you made me PLAY with my clothes and that was the biggest takeaway of all. I have to play more.” Bam. There. She said it not me. (But, I actually do recommend that all the time, lol).
…me “playing” with my outfit of choice…
Full circle moment here. What did I not do before packing? What is so important to help me feel prepared before trips? To feel like I'm making the most of my pieces, being efficient, and outfit ready…I didn't play. Play, play, playing….IT'S KEY! It's one of the most important parts of dressing myself (yourself) but it often gets ignored, because, well, life gets in the way. But just like therapy, or hair appointments, or Doctors appointments, ladies, we HAVE TO PLAY. We have to set appointments in our calendar to play with our clothes. Why? Because just like a checkup for our mental or physical health, setting aside time to review and play with our clothes is a different version of health care. We all know that feeling of throwing on a wrinkled sweatshirt and stained pair of leggings we wore yesterday, right? If doing that day in and day out doesn't wear you down, well, you are stronger than me. But after a few days of that, I have to do better for myself. I know I'm capable of doing more for myself. When I have on my …..and I walk out that door, I am READY. I am ready for my day, proud to show up to the store, to the school, to the wherever…point is, I'm ready mentally and internally confident. And that is better for my mental health. Play. It's hard, it takes time, but it's valuable. And we are worth the time.
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