Last Saturday, I got to be part of Max Daniels' fabulous teleclass, Into the Closet. I'm still feeling marvelous little ripples from that experience. I love the notion that life shifts can happen, not only through making changes from the inside out, but from the outside in as well -- or, perhaps best of all, through movement in both directions. Change my clothes, change my life.
Or -- and this is fascinating to me -- I don't necessarily have to change my clothes much at all, at least not if I don't want to. Even just noticing what I'm wearing, just being more mindful about those choices, makes a tremendous difference.
The version of myself who has been wanting to come out (of the closet, sure) and play is, in a word, confident. She wears what she wants to wear, and she makes it work. She understands the difference between effortless and just not making an effort. I'm not sure that I can explain it, but she probably could. She gets it.
(Confidence, she whispers. That's the core of it. That's most of it, really.)
Back to those ripples, though. This week, while falling through Google rabbit holes, I found my way to Eccentric Glamour, a tasty little book by Simon Doonan. I found a copy in my local library, and I've been reading it, and I can feel it doing me good. I'm inclined to agree with the New York Times' assessment: "[Doonan is] a postfeminist writer cloaked in the drag of a sly fashion insider." Just what the doctor ordered.
Another ripple: Halloween. I have a couple of go-to costumes that have been in my closet for years: a green and gold medieval gown, and a jagged black witchy outfit. The yoke has a silver bat accent; the hat is bedecked with spiders. This year, I topped off my witch's garb with an edgy blazer, with lace cuffs and lots of silver buttons.
I felt...confident. Yes. Halloween is a good season for confidence, for me at least, and it's also a good time to let hidden versions of myself come out and play.
It'll be midnight soon, and tomorrow will be another day. I'm not finished yet, though. I intend to keep right on playing.
Or -- and this is fascinating to me -- I don't necessarily have to change my clothes much at all, at least not if I don't want to. Even just noticing what I'm wearing, just being more mindful about those choices, makes a tremendous difference.
The version of myself who has been wanting to come out (of the closet, sure) and play is, in a word, confident. She wears what she wants to wear, and she makes it work. She understands the difference between effortless and just not making an effort. I'm not sure that I can explain it, but she probably could. She gets it.
(Confidence, she whispers. That's the core of it. That's most of it, really.)
Back to those ripples, though. This week, while falling through Google rabbit holes, I found my way to Eccentric Glamour, a tasty little book by Simon Doonan. I found a copy in my local library, and I've been reading it, and I can feel it doing me good. I'm inclined to agree with the New York Times' assessment: "[Doonan is] a postfeminist writer cloaked in the drag of a sly fashion insider." Just what the doctor ordered.
Another ripple: Halloween. I have a couple of go-to costumes that have been in my closet for years: a green and gold medieval gown, and a jagged black witchy outfit. The yoke has a silver bat accent; the hat is bedecked with spiders. This year, I topped off my witch's garb with an edgy blazer, with lace cuffs and lots of silver buttons.
I felt...confident. Yes. Halloween is a good season for confidence, for me at least, and it's also a good time to let hidden versions of myself come out and play.
It'll be midnight soon, and tomorrow will be another day. I'm not finished yet, though. I intend to keep right on playing.
RSS Feed