I know we’ve all been there. Perusing the Target aisle, trying to find clothes to get us through until we hit our dream weight. In this season of life, post breastfeeding, right smack in the midst of some hard, yet loving years, my body is going through changes. I have a laundry list of to dos each day and exercise isn’t always at the top. My clothes don’t seem to fit any longer yet I can’t bare to bring myself to buy those pants in that size. As someone who’s weight has fluctuated a lot in the past 5 years, I understand the fear of investing in clothes to have them not fit in 6 months. I remember that last trimester of pregnancy where nothing seemed to fit, yet I didn’t want to buy one more pair of pants with an elastic waistband. I loved seeing those cute maternity pictures of women in stylish maternity clothes, but I just couldn’t see spending a lot on something I wouldn’t wear long term. The thing is, if I had known I was going to have two kids, around the same time of the year, I 100% would have spent more on maternity clothes, and probably felt better in them. So why didn’t I do it? Why didn’t I appreciate myself enough to invest in myself, in that very moment? I don’t know and I am writing this post to tell you exactly why I should have gone ahead and spent something on myself in a time where I needed a little loving.
The thing about cheap clothes is that they are ill fitting, they are typically made in a place where people aren’t treated well (i.e. China), and they are made with fabrics and materials that are bad for the environment. Poorly made clothes usually do okay on women that are very thin, but for the curvier gals like me, they always make me feel worse about myself. Recently, I went to Target to find some jeans. I tried ALL KINDS OF FREAKING JEANS on there and I felt thinking I was the biggest woman in America. It was the worst experience ever and I decided I would never do that again, no matter how many IG stories I flip through where they seem to find cute Target finds. Old Navy is the same for me. I leave there feeling like nothing fits and my body is the weirdest. I always want to be the frugal mom because it seems like that’s what every mom is supposed to be. We’re all supposed to be frugal, routine oriented, and avid wine drinkers. No wonder I always feel left out!
I know what you’re thinking, “Wendi, I’m on a budget”. I get it. And I’m about to get super woo woo on y’all, so if you can, bare with me. Money is energy. When we invest our money in things, we’re sending it our love and attention. It feels like it is scarce, and we live in a society built on a scarcity mindset. But here’s the thing, I believe whole heartedly in having a mindset of abundance. When we understand that God (the Universe, whatever your higher power is) is working in our favor, we understand that we are abundant. The balance to that is this. Because money is energy, and because I want to invest in things that mean something to me, I am careful about where my money goes. Does that make sense? I do want to spend money on things I love. I love healthy food that is grown in an earth friendly and sustainable way. I love spending time with family and friends. I love seeing the world and all it has to offer. I love to buy goods from companies that make sure to take care of the people they employ. I love to support companies that make items with the intent of caring for the earth. And I love myself, so I’m worth having clothes that feel good on my body. For me, that means buying less clothes that are well made. I 100% believe in having a capsule wardrobe full of investment pieces that MAKE ME FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYSELF.
I may have lost you there to in summary, it may seem like you don’t have the money for nice clothes, but I believe in buying higher quality clothes in smaller quantity with the understanding that I am worth the investment. In other words TREAT YOSELF.
To continue on with my shopping story above, the same day I went to Target and left feeling horrible about myself was the same day I entered Athleta for the first time. At Target, I had to go up to a size 14 and they still felt tight. In Athleta, I wore a size 10. Why? Because well made clothes tend to be sized differently (and more “favorably), but also use fabrics that are more forgiving and a cut that is friendlier to all sizes. The fabric felt so nice on my skin and the cut looked nice on me. I left that store feeling like myself. Like my, “I am gorgeous even if I’m not my thinnest but who cares because I love me” self. Athleta is also a certified B corp which means they are dedicated to high environmental and social standards. Was I able to buy lots of things, no. Did I buy plenty and contribute to my capsule wardrobe, yes.
What I want you to take away from this post more than anything is that you are worth the expensive clothes right now. So much of our lives are spent waiting for the perfect time. We wait to be the right weight, we wait to be at the perfect job, or have the perfect amount of money saved, but I am telling you to stop waiting and start loving yourself in this very moment.
You don’t have to be thin to be happy
You don’t have to be rich to be happy
You don’t have to love your job to be happy
You don’t have to live in the best city to be happy
You don’t have to live in your dream home to be happy
You deserve the best, right now.
You are worthy of the expensive clothes
You are perfect exactly as you are
You don’t need to change on single freaking thing about yourself.
TREAT YOSELF