The Importance Of Fashion

“God gave me style, God gave me grace.

God put a smile on my face.

God made me shine like the sun.

Sometimes I feel like I’m the one.”

-50 Cent

You have your own unique style—one of the ways you can express this style is through the clothes you wear (or don’t wear).

Fashion is one of the most overlooked forms of Self-expression and for many the theft of creativity and Self-expression begins at an early age. You obviously cannot express your style as a baby but once you were old enough to pick out your clothes and dress yourself, your parents began influencing what you wore—I’m guilty of this with my boys and am working on giving them more freedom with their style, even if it means a horrible hairstyle—the parents of teenage boys know exactly what I’m talking about. And these fashion restrictions placed upon you as a child were merely reflections of your parents’ fashion restrictions and narratives they’ve lived under their entire lives.

The restriction on your ability to express your Self through fashion doesn’t end with your parents—it gets worse when you get out into the world.

Society has determined what is acceptable when it comes to what you wear.

If you’re a doctor, you wear white or blue scrubs, a white lab coat, and other sterile clothing that shows little to no personality.

If you’re an attorney, you’re suited up in an expensive suit or dress.

If you’re a financial advisor, once again you’re suited up.

If you’re a teacher, you wear conservative pants and tops, maybe a casual dress, and a littler personality is ok. (I will admit this has gotten a lot better than when I was younger when teachers were not allowed to dress as casually as they are today).

*There are more people breaking these molds, so not every doctor, attorney, financial advisor, or teacher dresses this way…but the vast majority do.

What is it about these “uniforms” that people have universally accepted that this is what must be worn?

And it’s not just fashion…there are other ways to express your Self like how you decorate your room when you’re younger, your house as you get older, and your office space. But these too are often restricted by parents (I’m guilty of this), HOAs, and management.

I’m not sure it’s a source of control in The Matrix, but I do wonder if restricting your creativity at the basic level of the clothes you wear is the foundation for keeping your creativity under control.

You may not believe this but what you wear influences how you feel and how you feel influences what you do and how well you do it. Fashion’s importance is underappreciated in your ability to live your authentic life.

Think about this…

When you go out to have a good time with your friends on the weekend, do you wear what you wear to work? Of course not…you want to feel good and confident when you hit the town. You’d never put on those scrubs, suits, dresses, or personality-less clothes you wear to work.

You want to feel good…and what you wear contributes to that feeling good!

I’ve always enjoyed fashion and expressing my Self with the clothes I wear, but I didn’t fully understand why until recently. I’ll never forget when I first realized the positive impact of fashion as a financial advisor.

When working at a 403(b) company, I’d wear a suit every day—this was the uniform we were handed by management and the profession. As I began to understand my time at the company was coming to an end and I’d need to leave for the independent world for the next phase of my career, I began to dress more relaxed and casual.

Instead of wearing my suits, I’d wear jeans with a button-up shirt, maybe a sweater over it in the winter. Nothing too crazy, but definitely outfits I felt more comfortable in and gave me more of an opportunity to express my Self beyond the color of my tie. An interesting thing began to happen when I would show up to see clients dressed more relaxed…

My clients began complimenting me on how I looked.

When I showed up in a suit, which is supposed to be nicer than jeans and a button up, I never received a compliment. But, most of the time, especially in the beginning of my fashion transition, my clients would always tell me how nice I looked when I would dress more casual.

I got more compliments by dressing “down” and more in line with my Self than when I wore suits.

After that, I knew my suit days were limited and I’d eventually get comfortable wearing whatever I felt most like my Self in, which was always guided by my Inner Creator. I’m not sure if my change in clothing was so well received by my clients because the suits intimidated them and were associated with sales, Wall Street, or other assumptions they made, or if wearing what I felt most comfortable in allowed me to express my Self and the energy I put out changed and they could tell.

Either way, that experience taught me to allow my creativity to come through in the clothes I choose to wear.

If you don’t feel connected to your Inner Creator, try going to your closet and putting together an outfit that YOU want to wear—one that allows you to express your authentic Self. Throw all of the stereotypes, societal rules, and parental influences out the window and wear the colors, clothes, shoes, and style your hair the way that you’ve been too nervous to do in the past.

How do you feel?

Fashion is an important expression of your Self and for most of your life you have probably limited your creativity because of the inability to wear what you want to wear. Take back that control today and the more comfortable you become in expressing your Self through the clothes you choose to wear, the more creative you will become in other areas of your life.

Creativity is contagious and your creativity is what separates you from everybody else in the world. Your creativity allows you to solve problems, create art, and live in a way that is unique from everyone else…and unleashing your creativity might be as simple as beginning to dress in a different way.

See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC