The Clothes I Never Wore

For years, I worked in fashion as a fashion print designer, and one of the perks was the sample sales. The fact that I was able to own a beautiful piece from Sass & Bide for less than $20 meant that my wardrobe became designer within months. These were garments that felt like little works of art.

But for some reason, I told myself they were too special to just... wear. I'd save them for a special occasion, like the "right" event. The perfect dinner. A glamorous party. A holiday that hadn't even been booked yet.

Then life happened.

My body changed, and my size fluctuated over the years, the way bodies do. And eventually I found myself packing many of those beautiful clothes into donation bags, because they no longer fit.

As I stood there folding them in, I made a huge realisation...

I hadn't been protecting those clothes.

I'd been protecting them from being lived in!

They deserved to be seen. I deserved to feel beautiful wearing them. Instead, they spent years hanging untouched, waiting for a version of the occasion ( and a version of me) that never quite happened.

I'm in my mid-40s now, and after a cancer scare last year, I have a different philosophy when it comes to hoarding the "good stuff". The pricey perfume, the designer clothing, the original artwork, the fine dinnerware...

If I love something, I just use it.

I wear the colourful clothes to the supermarket. I use the expensive sketchbook. I display the artwork actually on the wall, not leaned against it "for now."

I don't save beautiful things for some imaginary future version of myself. She's not coming to collect them. I'm here.

Life isn't a dress rehearsal.

If something makes you feel confident, joyful, or beautiful... buy it, wear it and display it today.

Don't let your favourite things become someone else's opportunity before they've ever become yours.

With love, Carolyn