Dress Yourself Into Happiness

Often when we get down and depressed, we put on a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt and lay on the couch in front of the TV. I know I do. I went through a year of ups and downs, mainly downs. I started reading a lot of self-help books, talked to everyone about my problems, got help, and while I started to feel better, it wasn’t until I decided to stop dressing like I was invisible and start dressing more like I wanted to be seen that I really started to feel better.

Since I could remember I loved clothes, how it could transform you and take you to a make believe world. I use to wear costumes whenever we would go out. I would dress from Snow White to one of the Three Amigos. In middle school I was able to convince my mom that I NEEDED to buy clothes from normal departments stores and not from my summer trips in Taiwan. We were suddenly shopping at the Limited Too and all the department stores I’ve always dreamed about. I was copying the fashions from Teen, Seventeen, and YM.  I loved to see what was “In” and what was “Out.” I loved the idea of trying something new and experimenting with what works and what doesn’t for me. Well somewhere along the way my style has changed all over the map to go along with the changes within myself. How I felt and what I was experiencing in my life was expressed through my clothes. Highs school was all about skater brands and Abercrombie and Finch. In college I went for cheap, comfortable, and color. Born and raised OC girl, when I moved to New York, I suddenly was into gray and black. LOTS of it. I discovered my love for boots, coats, and scarves.

This past year however I started to constantly dress down and baggy. I wasn’t feeling my sparkly self. I wasn’t even feeling like a normal functioning self. I wanted to hide and it showed in my clothes. When I finally wanted to get healthy, I did everything your suppose to do first, from the inside. I didn’t change how I looked on the outside. I decided I didn’t like feeling or want to be invisible anymore and I was tiered of hiding. So trying something new, I decided to dress for myself, for my health. Even waking up and just brushing my hair and pulling on a pair of jeans that makes me feel like a million bucks and a comfy, but flattering tank top suddenly made me walk a little taller, feel a little better.  When I made plans with friends, I put more effort in my wardrobe choices. I enjoyed going out more, even looking forward to it.  I’m not saying that you don’t need to work on your inside self, but sometimes working from the outside in is what’s missing in the healing process. So try it today. Try something new, something crazy, and something fun! It’s just clothes, it’s not permanent and you may feel better. I did.