Think About Your Fashion Legacy

Last week I attended a funeral service for a woman I did not know. I am currently working for her son and daughter-in-law. Though we never met, I left the services so impressed by her and her life. I feel as though I do know her now through her adult grandchildren and her DIL, Nancy. They all spoke their remembrances.

“My grandmother taught me to be a woman of grace, yet, fierce,” said her granddaughter, now the mother of a daughter. This line stuck with me the most because I love the strength, dignity, intelligence, bravery, and poise all associated with that statement. I also learned that she was impeccable with her style and fashion, very elegant indeed.

This reminded me of a quote I found four years ago,

“It’s not very easy to grow up into a woman. We are always taught, almost bombarded, with ideals of what we should be at every age in our lives:

“This is what you should wear at age twenty.”

“This is what you must act like at age twenty-five.”

“This is what you should be doing when you are seventeen.”

But, amidst all the many voices that bark all these orders and set all of these ideals for girls today, there lacks the voice of assurance. There is no comfort and assurance. I want to be able to say, that there are four things admirable for a woman to be, at any age! Whether you are four or forty-four or nineteen! It’s always wonderful to be elegant; it’s always fashionable to have grace; it’s always glamorous to be brave; and it’s always important to own a delectable perfume! Yes, wearing a beautiful fragrance is in style at any age!”

– C. JoyBell C. 

The quote makes me smile. I was not taught poise and grace from my own mother and it has been something I have strived for later in life. To demonstrate these qualities with intelligence and diligence are important to me. These are qualities I hope to pass on to my own children and grandchildren. These are also the things that I think about when I dress. I desire my clothing to speak these things without me saying a word. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have fun or speak creativity occasionally, but it does mean my main message lies within the voice of strength, dignity, and an intense desire to be taken seriously.

Today, I would like to ask you this question. Do you ever consider the messages your clothing sends? If so, what are the most important messages to you? Because like it or not, what we wear – how we look – these things say something about us, and become a part of the legacy we leave our family. What are you saying to yourself, to the world, to your family and friends?

I feel thoughts of thanks to have experienced this sort of understanding and realization, for I, too, desire to be graceful; yet, fierce.

See you next week in The Joy Boutique!