Revolution

Can you imagine if a highly skilled mechanic was randomly in the position of being a head chef? With no experience other than making grilled cheese sandwiches, using a can opener and operating a microwave. Bossing people around in a fast paced kitchen, without any knowledge of the recipes, food prep or presentation? Dictating how things should be done? What would be the outcome? Maybe not the greatest Yelp review… So, whoever decided that men should be in charge of dressing women? 
Welllll I could get into that! But let’s just agree that it seems insane that that has been the case.

Time to change that! Who knows better about women’s bodies, the changes that happen to them, the life circumstances that deeply affect how we dress, what we’re dressing for and what makes us feel good in the clothes we are wearing? Drum rollllllllll… we do!

Clothing might seem like a secondary issue and it is, but let’s not minimize that you are wearing them almost every hour of the day. Think about how clothing can make you feel in a physical way. They can make us too hot or too cold. They can be soft on our skin or irritating and itchy. They can feel confining. They can get tangled up while we’re sleeping and be bunchy and uncomfortable. How annoying is that? Even though they were designed to shield us from the elements, there’s way more to it than that.

Clothing is powerful!

What we wear affects our emotions. It can make us feel cozy, productive, powerful, lazy, sexy, sloppy… all the things! How do you feel when you wear pyjamas for three days because you have a cold? Not the greatest and not just because of the cold you had. How do you feel when you try on clothes that don’t fit you properly? And alternatively, when you find a pair of jeans that look like they were made for you!

When we feel good in our clothing and it does not matter what the occasion is, there is no question that it can elevate our mood, perhaps giving us a boost of self confidence. When I go out to chop wood (yup, that’s a thing I do a lot of), I’m wearing my Stanfield, jeans and boots. I feel amazing. I feel prepared and warm and strong. When I go out for dinner, I’m not wearing my waffle shirts and wool. I like to think of clothing and jewelry being like armour that prepares us for the day and the situations we face.

Whenever we are given the opportunity to help someone to find what they need and feel amazing in it, whether that is for their job interview, recovery from surgery, trip to Disneyland with the grandkids, we have a chance to remind women to love their bodies and be proud of them. These opportunities have always helped me to be a bit gentler with myself.

We all have the privilege and duty to hold each other up, build each other up, support one another, so that the next time we’re trying on jeans, we can look in that mirror with tenderness and love and see the best things about ourselves. And it never hurts to have your friends, sisters, partners, teenagers and us here to remind you to tell that mean girl voice in the back of your brain to back right off. You are beautiful!

We’ve got you!