{"id":13346,"date":"2015-02-13T12:08:51","date_gmt":"2015-02-13T20:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145696.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=13346"},"modified":"2015-02-13T12:11:01","modified_gmt":"2015-02-13T20:11:01","slug":"fashion-can-help-embrace-individualism-live-authentic-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/articles\/fashion-can-help-embrace-individualism-live-authentic-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How Fashion Can Help You Embrace Individualism and Live an Authentic Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am such<\/em> a sucker for TED talks, and I recently came across a really inspiring by Morgana Bailey, called The Danger of Hiding Who You Are.<\/a> In her talk, she highlights a pretty basic human need- the need to express our individualism, wholly and authentically!<\/p>\n

Bailey begins with stories about her teen years as an audacious extrovert, but somewhere along the way, she gets lost. She discovers something about herself that\u2019s different <\/em>(I\u2019m not going to spoil it- you have to watch the video to find out what it is!).<\/p>\n

But all I could think of while watching this video was fashion. Not silly, frivolous fashion, but fashion as a form of art and expression, and as a way to express individuality without using words. The great Rachel Zoe said it best: \u201cStyle is a way to say who you are without having to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Individualism<\/a><\/p>\n

In her TED talk, Bailey says she began hiding and conforming the moment she noticed she was \u201cdifferent\u201d, and then that shame became a progressive habit. But that shame is also what stifles creativity<\/a> and exploration! Fashion (and really all of life) is exploratory, and offers a fantastic way to celebrate our differences.<\/p>\n

As someone with classic but quirky style, I can appreciate a tailored black trouser AND a slightly offbeat cat-themed sweater (yes, I have multiple). And that\u2019s a pretty accurate portrayal of who I am; I am structured\u2026 but also kind of weird!<\/p>\n

Then Bailey talks about the real reason for her TED talk- to promote individualism as a way to overcome the perceived discrimination that made her feel so alienated. For me, there\u2019s no better way to show people who I am than how I dress. And I only hope that when I celebrate my slightly offbeat style<\/a> by rocking some kitty loafers, I spur someone else to overcome a sartorial stigma and be their weird, authentic self too!<\/p>\n

So, the moral of story is, as Bailey\u2019s title suggests, don\u2019t hide who you are! It\u2019s pretty rewarding to express yourself freely and fully; and in effect, you give others permission to the same. A win-win!<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Happy woman photo via Shutterstock<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am such a sucker for TED talks, and I recently came across a really inspiring by Morgana Bailey, called The Danger of Hiding Who You Are. In her talk, she highlights a pretty basic human need- the need to express our individualism, wholly and authentically! Bailey begins with stories about her teen years as […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":13355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[8137,661],"tags":[249,6512,123,5837,8768,8750,8753,8751,5675,8752],"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/individualism_through_fashion.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13346"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}