S is for Style // Layers A to Z Tour

My style helps me to feel like my self. 

I currently work from home, and the ease of staying in bed, in my pajamas and just sliding my Macbook onto my lap has a pull of black hole proportions. 

But there's a part of me that misses the part of corporate life where I got up in the morning, pulled on a sweet frock, slid my feet into a pair of heels, and slipped a statement necklace around my neck. That felt good. I felt creative and self-assured and ready to take on the day once I was pulled together and polished. Feeling great in my clothes, and in my skin, made me feel like I was about to be a creative rock star--and my own self-belief made other people believe that I was capable too. 

So I get dressed every day--usually in jeans as opposed to a dress--but it makes a difference. Taking time to get tastefully and comfortably dressed and to put on my eyebrows and a bit of lip gloss is what helps me to feel capable now, and to send that energy out through the work I do virtually. 

“Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak”

― Rachel Zoe

Personal style is about so much more than how a person looks--it's a window into how she sees herself. What she's proud of, what makes her feel strong and confident; and likewise what she's afraid of, what she wants to hide, and what makes her feel insecure. 

Your true power may come from what you write, or create, or how you carry yourself, but your style is the outward expression of that power--of that awe inspiring authority--it allows you to bring what's inside of you outward for the world to see, and use that to be of influence. 

You see, they go hand-in-hand to create a brand. The "You" brand. The version of you that people see before you ever speak or flip your lips upward into a smile. 

It may be in your flawless makeup, or your beautiful dress, your casual jeans and tee, or your oh so fly twist out--but it affects how people view you before they ever get to the work. So it's best when it all comes together to create an ease and a warmth that draws people in and makes them want to learn more; that light that lets them get close enough to take in your soul shaking work. 

That's why your personal style, the way you show up, matters. 

For some people, personal style is something to be disregarded. Vapid. Self-indulgent. Unimportant. Useless. But I would argue that it's all in an effort to let the world know who you are and what's important to you. 

Even choosing not to care about how you present yourself visually is a manner of expressing who you are. You are always making an impression, for better or for worse, whether you want to be making one or not. 

So, humor me for a minute. 

What if you chose to look at personal style as something fun and artistic and imaginative? 

What if you viewed getting dressed in the pieces that speak to you as a confidence booster, a way to express creativity on the human body, a walking billboard of your gifts and talents, a way to share your mood, to create value, and to feel decidedly unique and unstoppably powerful? 

Yeah, that's how I prefer to view it too. 

This post is part of The Layers of Self-Discovery Tour created by GG Renee of All the Many Layers; a tour through the blogs of 26 women exploring the complexities of womanhood and self-discovery from A to Z.