the deep simplicity of finding your personal style.

I’ve gone through so many “phases” in my personal wardrobe. I followed trends blindly, wasting money on quick purchases, damaging the environment with fast fashion purchases, and ultimately feeling like a fake version of myself. However, I have come to realize that true authentic personal style lies in a profound simplicity. 

Until a couple years ago, I always wanted to fit in. Whenever I tried to step out of the box I felt criticized by others, so fitting in made me feel safe and comfortable. Where did this criticism come from? Was it truly coming from others? Or was it actually coming from myself? 

Everything is energy; what’s going on internally and what's going on in our surroundings all has influence on how we feel. The 3D world, is daily life, and what we perceive from our higher energetic sensing, all has influence on how we feel. After sooooo many experiences of feeling uncomfortable in my own skin, I realized that it’s not necessarily the person sitting across from me that I feel is criticizing my style, but it’s actually how I feel about myself that impacts how I interpret my environment. This has an impact on how I feel about myself and the world around me. So, from all this, I finally realized that I need to move into my power. 

Feeling comfortable feels easy, but feeling uncomfortable feels scary. I realized that feeling uncomfortable is actually how we grow, but in the moment the subconscious does not allow you to recognize that. 

At this point, you might be asking yourself, but how does this relate to fashion and finding your personal style? I say, it has everything to do with it. How you feel about yourself and when you truly come more and more into your power, you allow yourself to be more free in expressing yourself through your fashion. 

For me, my personal style can affect everything. The more I explore my style, the more I feel my personality, and the more I’m able to fully be conscious, and present. 

In my experience, there are ways to support yourself such as: meditation, yoga, different types of therapies, being in nature, exercise, taking time for stillness, listening to music, doing art, being with animals, to list a few. Once I realized that my body was rejecting fear, and I mean physically and emotionally, I started to take action, because I just wanted to let go of all the heaviness in my body, and feel light, and free! I find myself, and notice I said find instead of found, because it’s not an ultimate fix, things come back sometimes, and you re-introduce your positive mindset and skills to shift it again. That’s life. 

There are also things that you just do in the moment that lead to this point as well. The small things that you just do on a daily basis or even once a week or biweekly, the tiniest shift that makes you uncomfortable, can become the biggest shift. Funnily for me, this is even something as subtle as wearing heels. 

For the longest time, I wasn’t wearing any shoe that had a heel over an inch or two. I had these shoes with heels, but they were basically stored in my closet. My mind kept on telling me, “Yasi you’re too tall, it’s gonna draw too much attention to you”, all which is a load of crap, because in reality nobody cares, and if they do care, why does it matter? I feel good in these heels. Just like how I feel good in my vintage 60’s leopard print one piece. I wear it as a romper with chunky boots, maybe sometimes tights, and an oversized leather jacket, or even a faux fur coat. 

The paralyzing fear of being seen held me back, and at this point I wanted to shift drastically. However, this isn’t something that happens over time, you have to give yourself patience. These hypothetical scenarios are simply illusions we create in our minds, so you kind of have to train your mind to think differently, which happens through subtle shifts. 

My subtle shift, as it relates to fashion, is that I started to wear heels. I started at about 3 inches and made my way up to 4, and am currently trying to get to 6, maybe soon even platforms! It’s the same as me wearing this amazing vintage 60s leopard print bodysuit my mom got for me at a flea market, it’s just incredible. To paint you a picture, it reminds me of a bathing suit a 60’s barbie would wear, but imagine it in like a velvet leopard print, with a built in bra, and an open back. Totally to die for, and it’s like a bodysuit but with hot pants at the bottom, which essentially makes it a romper? I think! This will be my ultimate night on the town look, for a while. It makes me feel like Chrissie Hynde. 

The point of all of this is, once you tap into yourself, start doing things for yourself, and start being yourself, life rewards you. For me, a lot of this has to do with fashion, because my goal is to use fashion as another form of healing. If I can’t tap into myself, how can I tap into others? How can I create a space for ultimate freedom of expression, and how can I advocate for others? 

There is an art in immersing yourself around individuals who fearlessly be themselves; I find their unapologetic approach to life inspiring. Fashion, like all forms of self-expression, is a canvas on which we can boldly paint our individuality. Trends come and go. However, as we approach a new year, where the boundaries of time and space blur, there is no room for doing things “the right way”, because there is no right or wrong, especially in fashion. In this world of infinite possibilities for yourself, everything is relevant and vibrant. 

Shift your energy, because being your most authentic self is what makes you. I know a lot of people say this, but truly, being different is the biggest gift to yourself, that's how you shine.

Love Yasi