Why Every Woman Should Pay Attention to Her Clothes

A couple weeks ago I was combing through my closet trying on different outfits for church. I tried my fun black dress with a sweater and then put it back. I tried on a maxi skirt but couldn’t find a shirt I liked with it. I put on a denim tunic that was cute but not nursing-friendly. Finally I pulled out the same pink shirt I wear at least three times a week and my maternity jeans.

I didn’t feel too discouraged because I have gotten better at giving myself grace. This body was a home for a child for nine months and if it doesn’t like my regular clothes that’s perfectly fine. Honestly, those clothes probably all would have looked fine to someone else. But I didn’t wear them because I didn’t want to direct my attention to them.

One of the reasons I curate my clothes is so I don’t have to pay attention to them. I want to put them on and feel good in them and then forget about them. I don’t want to feel self-conscious or like I need to suck in my stomach or tug down my skirt or waste any time worrying about my clothes. Clothes matter because when you feel confident and comfortable in your clothes you stop thinking about them.

I want to put them on and get on with life. I want to be free to bend over and run and chase my boys and serve coffee and sing and whatever else I have to do. I don’t want to be distracted from my work because I’m fussing with my clothes.

Paying attention to my clothes for a little while helps me to forget them and get down to the work.

The Clothes

Don’t feel like you’ve found your style? Here’s a few thing I’ve done that helped me. And I feel quite silly saying that since I’m cycling through the same three or four outfits right now but oh well!

-Make a board on Pinterest and actually get on there and look at outfits. This is also helpful if you’ve fallen into a rut with what you wear.

-Take note of what irritates you about the clothes you have. My biggest annoyance? Clothes are usually too short.

-Find the colors you like and look good in. Only buy clothes in those colors and all your closet will coordinate pretty well.

-Find the general styles you like. I like closer cut bottoms and longer, more flowy tops for the most part.

-Make a daily uniform (haven’t quite gotten there but would like to as I transition back into my normal clothes). If you always wear jeans or shorts (specific colors and colors) with a certain style of t-shirt and some fun earrings, you don’t have to put a lot of thought into your outfits every morning. Yet you still feel and look good!

The Planning

Where else can you do this in life? Can you automatically start picking up (or making) coffee for the ladies in your mom group? Or every night set out the story you’ll read with your toddler when he crawls into your bed in the morning?

I want to do life purposefully in many areas for this reason: a morning routine, a routine for work, a rhythm for our weeks. When I know what’s next or what my strategy is, I can just do it without a ton of mental energy and it isn’t distracting me all day. Pay attention to forget about it sounds weird but it really is the plan.

Make it easy for yourself to get on with the right work.