If there is one thing that I have learned over the years, it’s dress to impress yourself. Yes, I said it! You need to wear what makes you happy and feel fabulous. What does it mean to dress to impress yourself? It means you wear clothes that you like, not clothes that someone else likes or wants you to wear. So many times girls (even guys) will dress in a way that pleases their significant other or the opposite sex, that they forget what they like to wear. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been guilty of that in my past. It doesn’t feel very good because you don’t feel like yourself and you miss out on trending styles that you would usually go for while shopping.
I’m sure this is the story for a lot of people, wanting to have clothes to impress someone else. Like I said, for me, I did this a lot in my younger years. Mostly for boyfriends, which all had different styles. When the maxi skirt and dress style became popular, I loved it. However, the guy that I was dating hated that style. So naturally being younger and let’s be real, severely lacking confidence, I steered clear of all styles in the maxi length. I remember looking longingly at all of the cute maxi dresses, wanting to wear one so bad.
This scenario was not the first instance or boyfriend where this occurred. Oh no, I’m sad to say there were several. Of course looking back, I realize then that I was not satisfied by dressing for someone else. The fact is, I was just not being myself and knew it.
I recently read an article that talked about the best-dressed women dress to impress other women. Well, I will have to say that I disagree with that article. In my opinion, this is no different than was I was doing to dress for the opposite sex. I’m going to give a hard pass on that idea. Why would I want to dress to impress someone else when I want to wear what I like and what makes me feel like myself.
Another way where people don’t dress for themselves is when they are trying to fit in or be “cool.” However, I’m here to tell you that the coolest thing that you can do is just be true to yourself. Being who you are, will help you fit in with the crowd that you belong in, which might even be that same crowd.
I do things a little differently these days, and maybe it’s because I have more confidence now that I’m older (check out my article on confidence). I want to dress in clothes that help me express me and how I feel. Lately, there have been so many times where I’ve had a boyfriend say that he hated my outfit or the shoes that I was wearing. Back in the day, this would have sent me straight to my room to change, but not anymore. Hell no! Now, I say “that’s nice, I love these shoes” or “actually, I look hot in this outfit.” It’s true; I feel completely myself and confident by dressing for myself.
So I encourage all of you, please dress to impress yourself! It doesn’t matter what anyone says, if you are happy with your outfit, then rock it. I guarantee you will feel better about yourself and gain the confidence you need to look fabulous.
Outfit Details
Forever 21 pants (similar here) | H&M top | Urban Outfitter backpack (similar here) | Marc Fisher shoes
This article is not sponsored by any of the brands mentioned above. They are my thoughts and preferences.
Photos by @cristaltapp
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