Only the Emperor Gets a Pass

The one thing that we all have in common is that every day we get up and get dressed. Some of us make a devastatingly conscious decision about what goes on our bodies and some of us just throw on whatever is not stained and is comfy. Then there are those in between who spend plenty of minutes standing in front of the closet going “great, this again”. The never ending cliché of a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. One may wonder, how does that even happen? Well, it’s like having a pantry full of food and nothing in the stew pot. If you don’t know how to cook, all the groceries in the world won’t make dinner.

So back to the daily dilemma, there you are standing in your bathrobe just staring into your closet, praying that something, anything will pop out as wearable. Most women feel trapped by what is in their closet and I know from personal experience when getting dressed is stressful or a disappointment it begins to feel pointless. That’s when it just breaks down to the world of yoga pants and t-shirts. I personally believe that getting dressed should not only be easy but exciting every day. You should wake up and look forward to what is waiting for you in your closet. Everything in your closet should make you happy, make you feel like you look great and most of all make it easy every morning to get out the door and get out looking AND feeling great.

As the title says only the emperor gets a pass on walking around with no clothes. You have to make a decision everyday and it’s hard to get or to understand that how we look is how people will treat us. You may not get attention at work because of what you wear; you may not get attention by anyone ever because of how you look. If you think I’m full of it you need to take a long hard look at yourself and your wardrobe and take a wide eyed look at those around you. I notice how I get treated in comparison to others who do not dress the same. I’ve had people presume that I am more competent in my job, have more money, have a higher social status or have more perceived power simply based on how I dress. I do not wear designer labels or super expensive clothes I just pull myself together and walk out the door with my shoulders back and my head held high. I can tell that I often intimidate women when I’m out in public that my perceived power from other women makes them move mountains for me.

I want every woman to feel the way I feel every day. Imagine what we could accomplish as a group if every woman felt good about who she is and felt confident in her body and her dress. The results would be unimaginable. Too often in life woman hold themselves back because they do not feel good enough, pretty enough or valid enough to pursue what’s really important. I don’t want to validate you – I want you to validate you. You are worthwhile and you are an amazing woman you just may be buried underneath some self doubt and some bad clothes. Let’s shake it off and let go of those bad feelings and find the real potential underneath. The truth is undeniable that as woman our self image is tied up in body image. Dressing should not be a means to end (i.e., not being naked) it should be a means to express yourself and show who you really are or can be. When we don’t feel good about ourselves we want to hide in our clothes and use them almost as a barrier to the world. We figure if we look sloppy or dowdy that no one will pay attention and we can blend in to the background. The truth is that when we dress a mess we call more attention to ourselves. As Coco Chanel said “dress shabbily, they notice the dress. Dress impeccably they notice the woman”. Don’t you just want that to apply to you?