A shoe proposal

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Occasionally I'm asked why it's important for me to invest so much time and energy into clothing and outfit creation.  The simplest answer is that an amazing outfit makes me feel happy and confident.  Why wouldn’t I want to put effort into feeling fantastic?!   

A deeper explanation is how a single item of clothing has the ability to evoke emotion in me.  The items associated with positive, amazing feelings show up in my daily outfits over and over.  Just looking at specific piece in my closet brings back memories of events I wore it to and how I felt in it.  My second wedding anniversary feels like a great time to share my most powerful example of emotion associated to clothing:  my engagement shoes.  

First, some background.  In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a shoe gal.  I am willing to (and I have) spend a ridiculous amount of money on amazing footwear.  I usually create outfits starting with the shoes.  You can change an outfit from casual to dressy just by switching your shoes.  My shoe collection is the soul of my closet.  You get the picture

When I first moved to New York and started working in media, I was  working 12+ hour days and just barely scraping by. My first job had me visiting many of the top magazines and seeing the fabulous world that magazine life is--that’s how I observed it in my early 20s anyways.  I’ll never forget the first time I walked into Vogue.  It was this odd feeling of equal parts embarrassment over my cheap, ill-fitting business suit and awe over the fact that these were real people.  I could maybe, possibly be in their position if I worked hard enough.  I think it was in that moment that I became obsessed with dressing for the job I wanted, and the early groundwork of Magenta Blazer was laid.  I got this idea in my head that when I “made it” as a successful career woman, I would treat myself to the most luxurious, coveted pair of shoes.  Just like the red-bottoms the women at Vogue wore, my sign of success was to purchase my very own pair of Christian Louboutins.  This idea stuck with me for a long time.  

A couple years later I was getting serious with my then-boyfriend and shared this very personal tidbit with him.  Very unexpectedly on a quiet evening at home, he explained how I had accomplished my goal of becoming successful and pulled out the most beautiful pair of t-strap Christian Louboutins.  As I was hyperventilating he slipped one onto my foot Cinderella-style.  While he was kneeling, he continued on about how I needed to set a new goal to strive towards, this time with him.  He pulled out the most beautiful ring, said some other stuff that I totally missed, and I said "yes" about 42 times.  

Needless to say, these shoes stand for so much.  I wore them to our engagement party and our rehearsal dinner, where I got a heel stuck in between two planks on a wooden deck.  I will pull these beauties out any chance I get and along come the beautiful memories each time.  They truly make me feel wonderful.  I will wear them until they are unwearable, and then I will keep them forever.  

Whether it’s an old college hoodie, the leather skirt you splurged on because it makes you feel your fiercest or the amazing shoes that mark the beginning of a new, life-long goal, clothing are so much more than items that hang in your closet.  Fill your closet with ones that make you feel like your best self and wear them over and over with pride.  

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