My Reason for Trying Something New and Not Mixing In

I have a confession. I am a serious creature of habit. A lover of routines. There is nothing wrong with that but it can limit what I do and what I wear. Working on earning my doctorate while I continue to blog (and work as a school psychologist) has increased my self-awareness.

In other words, I have been asking myself, “what am I doing, why am I doing this, and why am I doing it in this way?”.  That’s prompted me to expand my boundaries a bit.  So, I decided to start small by breaking out of my usual style and try something new: this dress. I also got one more thing that I am taking on. Wait for it in the end of this post.

Prologue Dress Size XL here  (Runs big so you may need to size down) || A New Day Red Booties here || Who What Wear Purse similar, similar with texture|| MAC “Quite The Standout” Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour here||

Your style gives others an indication of different aspects of you (or the parts that you decide to reveal). We are all multifaceted. So, I want my style to reflect that complexity.

If you have noticed, most of my dresses have the same silhouette or cut. I usually stick to something fitted or that skims with some structure.  I do this since these styles tend to work for my shape.  This kimono dress does not fall into any of these categories. I took a chance, tried it on, and loved the way that it felt. Now, let me tie in life with style.

I see style as a metaphor for life. Hang on…before you click off of my blog, I know that it is just clothes that I am talking about. However, as it is with most things, I find that style is just an extension of each of us.

It is the first thing people may notice about you in an interview, on a date, or at a special event. Right? Your style gives others an indication of different aspects of you (or the parts that you decide to reveal). We are all multifaceted. So, I want my style to reflect that complexity.

Back to this dress! I don’t usually do dresses with so many flowy elements. My fear is  looking like I am wearing a potato sack since I have curves. What got me was the versatility of this dress. Also, that it ties at the waist.  It meets my double duty standard of “wear to work and wear for weekend”. I wore it on the weekend with these fierce pair of red booties and a bold red lip.

For work, I styled this dress as a tunic with a pair of white denim leggings and leopard heels (not pictured here). The key for me was to try something new that worked with what I currently own. I discussed this concept in a previous blog post How I Avoid Buying Items I Won’t Wear.  That way I am not going totally away from my style, just expanding it. It’s a blend of the familiar with the novel.

What I am wearing

The Video

Here is a video that where I talk about why I like this dress:

The Podcast

I took this idea of incorporating something novel with something familiar a step further. If you know me in real life, you know that I have no problem talking. I can chat it up with most people (but need my alone time sometimes -I will get into that in another post).  In the spirit of pushing my limits out, I started a podcast, Don’t Mix In. You can listen to it pretty much wherever you listen to podcasts.

Chatting about my blog topics while I learn podcasting combines the known with the unknown. First off, trying to record a podcast at night under my sheets sounds like I am whispering. I’m not doing that anymore! I am excited to add another avenue to share my perspective while I learn more about myself. Plus, aren’t you just too tired to read sometimes anyway?

Are you trying something new? If so, let me know what it is and how it is going in the comments. We are in this together!

…Because getting dressed (and living life) should feel good!

-Vivian

Check out my first episode of the Don’t Mix In  podcast. Don’t Mix In can be found on Apple Podcasts and pretty much anywhere you find your podcasts! If you are into what you hear, be sure to subscribe and leave me a review.

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