Be Willing To Take On New Passions!
An interesting thing occurred for me in the last month or so…
I got into fashion (at least more than I have in the past)!
I’ve always valued looking nice, I just haven’t paid a lot of attention to all the ways looking nice can be (i.e., style).
I lived by the mentality that I have what I like and need and use it until it wears out and, then, replace it with the same thing or something similar, where it’s more of an errand than a creative process of picking something new, lol.
But this changed about six weeks ago when I decided to go to Las Vegas with some friends during the NFR (National Finals Rodeo) this year – We leave on Thursday!
All the sudden I started putting energy and attention into thinking about potential outfits (NFR fashion is a thing).
I started paying attention to what certain people I follow in the western industry were saying about this year’s NFR fashion and style in general. Then, I looked into styles that peeked my interest (part of which included going on my Mom’s Pinterest account and wrecking her feed with my searches, lol).
I found it so fascinating to go from never thinking about this stuff to becoming consumed with thinking about it and actually having ideas about it!
Ideas just started coming to me. I didn’t execute on all of the visions, but the ideas were there.
I experienced ideas building on top of each other…
I’d think of one way to style an outfit and then I’d come up with something to add to it or to change and re-style it or I’d come up with an entirely new direction to take the outfit in.
I went from having one “go to outfit” for similar occasions to having more outfit ideas than I had places on the calendar for!
I believe there are a few lessons here…
One, you can go from never giving time and energy to something to opening up an entire creative process around it once you become focused on it. It was like a creative channel was completely shut (and never thought about) and then it was open, and a new flow of energy was activated!
Two, there’s a learning curve to any new endeavor. You’re not necessarily going to hit the mark with everything you try. I attempted to execute on some visions that didn’t pan out. I think this is the case with any new endeavor. You’re going to be excited about a vision, pursue it and fall short of it. It’s just part of the process of learning and engaging in something new.
For instance, I took a chance on ordering some Ralph Lauren tan, suede pants from eBay (never in my life would I think I’d be ordering suede pants, but I was going for a new vision that caught my eye!).
Once I got them, I realized I needed to have them altered. But the alterations didn’t end up giving me the look I was going for (the material wouldn’t allow for them to be altered any more than they were) so this vision now lies scrapped on the floor after having invested time, energy and money into it. It’s kind of a heartbreaker, but this is how new endeavors go. You advance on the learning curve by venturing into the experience of the pursuit.
The last thing I want to share from this experience is to be willing to erase the squiggly lines that we define ourselves by…
I could have kept myself from this adventure by saying “it’s not me to be into fashion”. Or I could have withheld from trying some of the visions for the same reason of it “not being me”. There was a pull inside be to be interested in each of things I explored, whether I had a history of being into that particular style or not.
Let these pulls or nudges lead you into exploring new things about yourself. The lines we’ve drawn around ourselves are not impermeable.
They may feel like it the more attached we are to their definitions.
But, ultimately, they are permeable.
It’s up to us to have the courage to see ourselves in a new expression or exploration of something.
I love sharing this latest adventure with you, but I’m concerned I may have set a higher bar for my actual outfits than they warrant, lol. I love my outfits but they’re not an equal match for the energy and attention I’ve given to this process over the last month and a half! Gotta factor in the learning curve, failed attempts and ideas that never made it off the ground!
I’ll share outfit pics on stories when we’re in Vegas!
Additional Note: I wrote this BEFORE the NFR started and now that I’ve seen some of the fashion, I realize I still have a lonnnng way to go in learning how to style things to the 9s!
Can’t match the pros right out of the gate, but you can have fun in whatever stage of the journey you’re in (and you can most definitely learn from them and be INSPIRED by what they’re doing!)!
To your next, unexpected creative adventure!
Always Shine Brightly,
Shanna
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