Mixing Up Patterns, Outside and In

This summer, I am mixing up patterns in my home, my wardrobe, my mind, and my habits! Just as much as we are what we eat—and pay attention to, and practice each day—we are what we wear. Our clothing patterns affect our thought patterns, abilities, behaviors, and moods.

Personally, I find bold print-mixing to be intoxicating, healing, and energy-boosting because it makes me feel emotionally and creatively generous, ready for rich experiences, and playful.

Thrift stores offer an abundance of fun clothing and accessories to mix and match inexpensively, without contributing to fashion industry waste. It's a feel-good way to try out feel-good combos, and it saves enough money for repairs and tailoring.

A change of clothes can get you ready to make substantial changes to your life. Northwest University has studied "enclothed cognition," the effects of clothing on behavior and thought. They have demonstrated that wearing clothes that match a goal (a tailored suit for mental competence, athletic clothes for a workout, etc.) give the wearer a measurable boost in motivation, confidence, and ability. In short, you can dress for success, not only because an outfit "sells" an idea about you to others but because it does the same for you.

Some have gone so far as to suggest mood-enhancing outfits as a prescription for mild mental health struggles, which makes as much sense to me as trying out a healthy diet, sleep hygiene, outdoor time, exercise, and other healthy habits of self-care. When you wrap your body up like a gift, how can you not feel the self-love?

I'm having a new kind of fun with bold fashions as I approach age 40, with my silver streaks and the gravitas of a person my daughter calls "The Mother." As a girl, I always enjoyed bright and fun outfits, but I learned to wear them with an edge of hyper-vigilance against all the men and mature women who perceived eye-catching clothes on a girl like me as an invitation to catcalling, unwanted flirtation, or contemptuous remarks. 

Now that it's my turn to be the mature woman, I am finding joy in the freedom to wear loud, happy colors and mixed prints and whimsical shapes while receiving authentic compliments and gratitude from other women who appreciate the encouragement (especially from an authoritative mother/big sister figure) to dress for their own happiness too. When I do still receive the errant catcall, I don't experience the old fight-or-flight response. I just joke to myself, "I've still got it. At least from across the street." Meanwhile, I'm doing my part to look out for younger women in public places, in hopes that the kids in my daughter's generation won't need to wait until age 40 to dress how they like without harassment.

I am finding a new freedom and power in dressing in the artistically daring, bright, and feminine styles that make me feel most beautiful and alive. 

It's especially rewarding to dress in ways that make me feel good while connecting positively with others. I like coordinating—or clashing playfully—with my husband on dates. It makes us feel more present and close to each other and doesn't let us forget that we're out to have fun.

I like equipping my body to calibrate my mind and heart and soul to succeed at a social goal, whether it's crushing a work meeting or leading a family bike ride or relaxing with friends. (Rx: heels high enough to please a tango dancer; high-performance sneakers; comfy sandals, respectively.)

Earlier this year, I got to try out dressing like a wild woman author of artsy novels when I launched Leirah and the Wild Man and The Grove of Thorismud. My book launch dress and heels might not look strange to you, but keep in mind that I am deep in the Midwest, where people get excited over anyone who wouldn't blend into the old Roseanne sitcom. I like how my print dress picked out some of the warm tones and frenetic energy of the bookstore's back wall mural. I especially like how nobody warned me that I wouldn't be "taken seriously" in my graphic stilettos and neon print maxi dress as I earned $100 an hour reading aloud from upmarket hardcover novels in the alley behind Michigan Avenue. This dress is another thrift store find, of course.

 

 

 

Now that I'm on a book tour break until the summer heat subsides enough to hold more outdoor pandemic-safe patio events, I have a chance to get even more wild and playful with my wardrobe as my family takes time to rest, cool off, and do a little Michigan road-tripping. At Michigan beaches and kitschy roadside attractions, neons and clashing prints are always acceptable, and fun is our only job.

 

I hope to create some delightful pattern mixes and, along the way, to discover new patterns of thinking, feeling, and interacting with others that will stay with me after I come home again. I want to feel even more confident, relaxed, generous with my goodwill toward others, creative, playful, and ready to enjoy life's simple pleasures, not just for the summer but for the rest of my life. And I'm going to dress for that vision of success.

For more ideas on jazzing up your life...