If you’ve been living in your sweatpants since 2020, you’re probably feeling disconnected to your style. Somehow dressing like you did five years ago doesn’t feel right. You are different now. The world is different now.
So where do you go from here? Well, the answer is inside you. You are born creative—you just might have lost touch with that creativity. You know what looks good on you—you just don’t trust yourself because the fashion industry has told you how to dress for decades. Tap into your creative intuition to unlock your authentic style. You can connect with that by tuning into your body.
Here’s how you establish a baseline for how your body reacts when it’s saying YES or NO.
- Take three slow deep breaths. Slowly fill your lungs with air while counting to four. Hold your breath and count to four. Exhale and count to eight. Do this two more times, then return to normal breathing.
- Note how your body feels. Do you feel calm? Do you feel excited? Do you feel a lump in your throat or warmth in your heart? Do you feel butterflies in your stomach? Note any sensations in your body.
- Go into your closet and find something that brings you joy. Anything you love to wear and you feel happy wearing.
- Hold it in your hands. Imagine yourself wearing it walking down the street.
- Again, note how your body feels. How are you standing? What is your face doing? This is your body saying ‘YES.’
- Now go back into your closet and pick something you do NOT like. This could be something that doesn’t fit anymore. Something that makes you feel frumpy, or sad when you wear it.
- Hold this new item in your hands. Take another moment and imagine yourself wearing it walking down the street.
- One more time, note how your body feels. How are you standing? What is your face doing? This is your body saying ‘NO.’
“You are born creative—you just might have lost touch with that creativity.”
Now you have a sense of what your body is telling you.
I usually recommend people go to the thrift store because they are not curated, and there is a large variety of things to choose from. Also, the price is generally lower, so it’s a great place to practice tuning into your intuition while shopping. Go to one section at the thrift store, like tops, bottoms, or dresses and slowly look at every piece. If something catches your eye, note how your body is feeling. Don’t get caught up in size, just take a photo of it. Do this for a few weeks. You’ll start to get a sense of what you like.
Then, you are ready to start building your wardrobe!
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If you’d like to build a capsule wardrobe with clothes you already own, visit Jennine’s website for her free guide!
Feeling stuck in your body? Ground yourself and reconnect your brain and body connection with this short breath workshop, Soothe with Trilby.
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Jennine Jacob is a Capsule Wardrobe Stylist. She was a professional fashion blogger for nearly a decade and founded the early influencer network, Independent Fashion Bloggers. She also was an emotional intelligence coach for three years, and is now combining both professions in a new way. Jennine believes fashion has a tremendous impact on emotional wellbeing, and that emotions are the key to unlocking creative style. You can find Jennine on Instagram.