can i tell you a story?
check yes . . . er, read on.
this summer i had what some might call the sinus-infection-to-end-all-sinus-infections. two weeks in, after my ears exploded on a plane ride to Nashville and my voice was gone from two weeks pretending i wasn’t sick, i finally asked for medication. LOTS of medication. each day of my trip, i’d retire from work to my hotel room with my bag o’ drugs and all their side effects, watch hours of olympics, and attempt to sleep while coughing, sitting up.
to make a sob story short: i didn’t feel so hot. but this was an important week work-wise, and i needed to be present, energetic, and somewhat put together. tuesday night was especially rough, and i have photographic evidence to prove it.
to psych myself up wednesday morning, i did a little before and after instagram:
i typed out the text without thinking much of it, but the more i thought about that day and the change in my mood as a result of my outfit choice, i knew i’d struck a chord.
and that’s when i cemented my fashion mantra:
dress for the day you want to have . . .
. . . not the one that’s trying to have you.
i’ve found that i set the tone for my day in how i feel about myself, and since clothes are still a requirement at most establishments, that means what i’m wearing. not what brand or trend, but how it makes me feel risky to combine nautical stripes and bright pink, or how i feel energetic in a skirt that swings as i climb stairs to a meeting. how empowering it is to choose your mood early on, and let the rest of the day fall in line!
do you dress with the day ahead in mind?
how can you channel what’s in your closet to set the tone for your day?
put mind over fashion &
join me as i champion this cause!
if you’re into buttons, feel free to grab this one, and link up a post or a photo that tells your story below. feel free to link up anytime during the week, and look for a new dress for the day story each wednesday. even if you don’t link up – join me throughout the week on twinstagram (twitter +instagram) by using this hashtag:
#dressfortheday
do it! you look great!
cute! love it. :-)
madison! i want to see what you’re wearing cutie! do it :)
I’m going to combine your post with Nish’s, do a simple morning face/hair thing, and then post a pic. Love this!
Such a lovely idea as I write this in my fuzzy pajamas and tell myself it is long past to get dressed.
ain’t that the way Sarah? pick a day this week you want to dress for and link up later!
I’ve got a couple of BIG meetings today, so I dressed to kick a$$ and take names! : )
i bet you did! would love to see it :)
So excited to see what comes of this, Abby! I’ll be linking up soon.
This post is the exact reason why I’m wearing jeans this morning at the coffeeshop instead of my black yogas. So there.
i’ve done my job already!
I love this so so so much. I’m doing it.
i hope you do Sarah Mae! i feel like you’ve embraced this mantra as well :)
I love this mantra….I needed to read this post about 6 hours ago but I’m going to get re-dressed for the afternoon I want to have. Thanks for being real and for the inspiration. =)
yes breanne! embrace it! link up if you want anytime, and we’ll be back next week :)
I’m doing this in a bit when I get ready – LOVE IT SO MUCH ABS. <3A
you betta! i love your style!
Oh, I love this. I totally ascribe to this, even when part of me wants to say: this will have baby food and spit-up on it by 10 am. Preach it, sister!
if you can do it, we all can do it!
Love this! The version I’m working on today (er… tomorrow): If I want to feel like I’m a bonafide woman (and not a girl), I’m going to dress like a woman (and not in my gaucho pants that expired seven years ago), whether I’m heading out or sitting at my computer all day. Wise words, friend!
you are woman! hear you roar!
p.s. i know those gaucho pants!
Dude I’m so doing this. Time for fashionz again <3
I lurve you,
S.S.
YES! please do. i’d love for you to host one week with your outfit story over here!
I love this. I think you are right, some days we have to dress for the day we want to have.
~FringeGirl
I’ve always chucked out the idea of these WIWW posts because I was sure there was no way they’d fit in with my blog style. But I think you’re on to something. I’m liking the way you’ve paired meaning with fashion, and nautical stripes with pink.
darcy, i love you. i REALLY wrestled with showing this part of myself in my precious word space, but i think (at least for me, right now), that the little things like stripes are holding just as much punch. i’m so glad you found something here. it will be a challenge for me to continue to bring meaning! thanks for confirming that.
Most days I wear the same old same old – jeans and layers of camis and swingy cardigans. But I read this yesterday, wearing a bleach-spotted old tee shirt and knee-holed jeans for a way-too-rare day scrubbing floors and restoring order in this old house. The day before was black-dress for a funeral. My clothes have been out of the ordinary this week, and this concept of dressing for the day, intentionally, somehow spoke hope in the midst of this strange week. So thank you.
it’s kind of like putting on your shield for the hard day ahead, sometimes. thanks for sharing your week annie.
Hopping over here after Megan mentioned it on FB and I have to say I love this idea! I’m in (and I’m getting dressed)
hi kara! isn’t megan just the most wonderful?
This is SUCH a great idea! I’ll be linking up for sure!
I totally, totally, totally love this.
I would do it every week, if I could get a professional photographer to come over and take pictures of me. Because the classic iPhone self-portraits lack composition, yes? What are you going to do, Abs?
i’m going to make emily take pictures of me! but also, it’s not really about the picture as much as the story and how you FEEEEEL in what you’re wearing! link up anytime.