Rebranding the Self through Conscious Clothing Choices
Life (and our self-identity) surface in phases and stages.
It’s time for our clothing to reflect the transition.
What’s beautiful is that our outside world can support our inner shifts or vice versa.
We can externalize our deepest inner desires through an external vision board (representative pictures collaged). We can externally read daily affirmations to support inner cognitive shifts as a self-care practice. We can use our external world to emphasize and support our inner shifts.
Grief… Aging… Low Self-Worth…
Anxiety… Marriage… Divorce… New baby… Empty Nest… End of life…
There is no shortage of transitions in life. These forks in the road can wreak havoc on our sense of self (i.e., the person we “thought we were”) pre-transition.
Suddenly, the new mother finds her post-baby body wants more freedom – and still – to find beauty… but how?
The middle-aged career woman wakes up to the fact that she has gone through her whole life unconscious of her appearance and shifting that one detail alone starts shifting how others treat her on the job.
The party scene so common in this recently married woman’s life no longer fits, and neither does over half of the contents of her wardrobe.
The breast cancer survivor – who is beginning to prioritize what’s more important to her these days – realizes that she’s always hated the color blue, which she only wore because her mother told her it matched her eyes. Claiming the colors in her closet helps her claim more parts of herself and her life.
I’m sure you’ve noticed…
How often have you been in a mall or airport and observed the vast differences and endless varieties of clothing that humans use to express themselves?
People are incredibly creative and adept in their desire to either stick out or blend in.
Your body is a canvas, and clothing is often the portal into which you and others view yourself.
Your clothing reflects who you are: your awareness, your confidence, your self-esteem, your physical and mental health… it shows in how you present yourself.
So, in a very real way, your psyche lives in the confines of your closet! Who knew?!
When we work together on your clothing…
We’ll be working through your identity, values… and stories.
If you want a non-traditional approach to therapy where we shift the contents of your closet to match a shift in your life, look no further!
Divorce, death of a loved one, relocation, mid-life crisis, and a new job… can all mark transitional periods where you reassess your identity and presentation of self.
We’ll start with an initial intake and evaluation.
We progress as slow or as fast as you need. We are designing these sessions together to fit your unique circumstance. Sometimes, people see working through the closet as an adjunct to the self-healing work they already do in traditional talk therapy. Sometimes, working through the closet is the primary mode of the healing journey. We will discuss options and opportunities in our initial meeting.
Sessions will then take place in your home.
We consider every article of clothing. We pile it together on a large surface such as a table, open floor space, or bed. We take stock as an objective observer of what we see.
Then, we delve into the stories behind certain clothing, using the item as a processing point to metabolize the experience and understand if the article is still representative of your current self-identity or the person you want to become. After identifying and working through the inevitable blocks of stuck identity, we begin crafting a wardrobe that reflects your current circumstances and life.
No matter what… Remember:
No one is going to give you permission to live your life.
No one will pat you on the shoulder and say, “There, there… it’s okay, dear,” every time you need reassurance in the face of anxiety you’ve invited into your life.
No one will green-light every purchase or get involved in all the nitpicky decisions of your day.
No one has a photocopy of your dreams, and no one knows what it feels like to journey in your shoes.
It’s time to step up to the plate for yourself and take your life to the next level.
Ready to move your life from black and white into technicolor? Give me a call: (402) 937-0027.