Ask Dr. C: A Year Without Fashion

I declared it with such confidence. “No new clothes. No new shoes. All year.”

My bold statement was made in November. It seemed like a good way for me to prove in 2014 that my self-esteem and confidence were not resting on something as ridiculous as new jeans or stilettos.

Now, five months later… I look longingly at new spring fashions… Cute shorts, platform sandals, sundresses long and short. I see trends I predicted in my love of fashion and yet I know that it was taking a place in my heart it doesn’t deserve.

I’ve had this internal struggle since I began earning my own money in high school. After putting aside money for charity (tithe) and a small part for savings, I would generally find a way to spend much of the rest on clothes and shoes. Somehow along the way I began to believe that looking good depended on having something new. And ever so slowly, values got confused.

It’s strange that what I talk with girls about – their value isn’t based on how they look – bites me in the backside.

So, to confront my thoughts, that became an action, that turned into belief, I issued myself a challenge: Nothing new. All Year. I will face whatever social and professional situations arise with old clothes and new attitude. The journey had better be better than the destination. The next 8 months is going to bring many lessons that I will share.

But what about you? What are you putting your confidence in? What thing or person do you need to believe you can overcome challenges that roll your way?

I wanna know. We can make this year, the year we depend on the right things. This can be the year our worth is in our humanity, not our vanity.

Dr. C.