On Fashion and Joy
Fashion has always brought me joy. I remember a rainbow striped outfit that entailed a cardigan and overalls made out of the same rainbow-hued sweater material that brought me such happiness that, when the sweater went missing from my pre-school cubby, caused a despair from which I have still not fully recovered. I’ve heard from my mother that I would change outfits three times a day when I was a toddler, anytime a speck of dirt descended onto one of my perfect ensembles. My love of fashion began then, apparently.
Admittedly, there was a dark period as a pre-teen where I veered off the rails and, wore mostly stirrup pants and a panda-emblazoned flannel shirt. (But even that brought me a lot of joy, to be honest.). After my mom bought me a subscription to Seventeen magazine, my sartorial choices seemed more in line with what other people might deem fashionable. For a long time (especially while I was practicing law), I wore mostly black, largely because most shades of black match each other and, therefore, my limited wardrobe all coordinated.
For a long time I thought that, though I loved fashion, it wasn’t important enough to devote too much time to talking about. But then I started a fashion blog, as a hobby, and really loved it. Other people responded to it, too, and it grew into my job for five years. During that period I started to wear a lot more color. Like, a LOT more color. I got back to wearing rainbows, just like I had when I was in preschool and had that fabulous rainbow-striped sweater/overall ensemble.
After the election in 2016, I started to feel again like maybe there were more worthy pursuits to spend my time on. That I wanted to try to make a difference in a way that a strict focus on fashion wouldn’t allow.
But I have been surprised, through it all, how much my days can be buoyed by the choices I make abut what I wear in the morning. It is real and would surely be measurable, if a social scientist took to trying to quantify the effect of loving what you’re wearing.
Over the past few years, I have had lots of people comment that they wish I would start my fashion blog again. And, at various times, I’ve tried to, but never quite made it stick.
But I’ve noticed that fashion (or style, or just picking what to wear each day) brings me a lot of joy. And that’s part of the name of this blog (and a big part of what it’s about). So, I thought I’d bring some fashion here. Because it brings me joy. And because I think we should all lean into the things that bring us joy. Because it makes our lives happier, and because people respond to what you share with them out of the spirit of sharing something you love.
So here are four outfits I wore in the past week that made me really happy. And in each case, I found similar items under $100, which makes me really happy too. I hope you enjoy it!!
Dress: Innika Choo (old, similar here, here, here, here, and here)
Shoes: Tabitha Simmons (on super-sale here, similar here)
Cami: Gap (old, similar here)
Jeans: Mother (same jeans in different washes here and here; similar here)
Sweater: Inhabit (similar here and here)
Dress: Ulla Johnson (similar here and here)
Shoes: Celine (old, similar here, here, and here)
Bag: Saint Laurent (similar here, here and here)
I cannot figure out why this one picture is coming out wonky, when they all were (clearly) taken the same way, but I wanted to include it anyway, because I love a jumpsuit.
Jumpsuit: Caron Callahan (in green here; similar here and here)
Shoes: Chanel (similar here and here)
Drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts! Does fashion bring you joy? Would you like to see more of it here?
