An End for a New Beginning Part 1: The Psychology Behind Fashion and the Truths of Beauty and Self-Worth

Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a fantastic, relaxing summer. I definitely am! I don't think I've had this much freedom from responsibilities since middle school. Simply said, I'm totally enjoying it. I move into my dorm in 6 weeks, so I've still got some time to be lax. It's funny because I'm realizing how lazy and relaxed I can be when I want to be hehe. I like that I'm literally just chilling out for once. On the contrary though, many of my friends are beginning school as soon as next week. We'll soon be swamped back into our academic and social circles which is both stressful and exciting. And speaking of this upcoming school year, I have very important, bittersweet news to share with you all.

Alas...here it is. Acknowledging that I'll be very busy transitioning into a new chapter of my life and Diana going abroad in a few months, we have decided that it is best to stop doing Letrendary once my summer break ends. As much as we love pouring our hearts into this blog, we don't think we'd be able to deliver posts on a normal basis when we aren't together. Since the next few posts will be our last, we are making it a series called An End for a New Beginning. Here's Part 1. Enjoy!

For today's post, I feel inspired to be more personal with you guys about my recent thoughts on style, fashion, confidence, and self-worth. Since we began Letrendary, my personal style as well as my mentality toward fashion has continued to change and grow. Even more importantly, I've seen my confidence and self-worth both strengthen and weaken in many ways. It has been a journey to say the least, and I want to open up so you can see more of who I am behind the outfits and pictures you're used to seeing here. 

So to begin, I'll just discuss how my personal style has subtly evolved. I used to really like preppy and delicate clothing, but now I'd much rather opt for something that's comfortable and casual. In the past, I would have worn skirts and blouses like the one that's pictured here on the daily. The next two outfits you'll see in this post are more representative of my style though. They are much more simple and casual...maybe even unfashionable to some of you. I usually wouldn't showcase such simple outfits like those because they aren't really anything special, but I think it's important to be honest about my style with you guys. I want to be honest so you know that I am not as much of the girly-girl that I used to be. I want to be honest so you know that the world 'fashionable' has a very flexible definition and it is ultimately defined by you! While I still love dresses and skirts, I do think my style is becoming more urban, simple, and comfortable.

The next thing I want to talk about is what I DO NOT like about fashion.

While fashion is inspiring and amazing because it reflects culture, personality, and creativity, it can also be distracting because it is so materialistic. I've had to draw the line for how much I value fashion. It has personally been an important challenge of mine not be so attached to my clothing because it's just material. This may sound dumb to many of you if you aren't attached at all to your clothes, but for me, it's been a challenge.

As a fashion blogger, I think it's important for me to say this because people in the fashion industry will usually only talk about the positives of clothing and fashion...but there are serious negatives that are actually much more psychological. 

I really despise how materialistic fashion can be. People take so much pride in flaunting their pricey outfits and brand-named items. I admit that I am a victim of this. I like brand-named things because it makes me feel wealthier and it boosts my confidence. When I see a mediocre-designed dress and then see that it has a designer's name on it, I automatically become five times more appealed to it. Actually writing out the psychological thoughts and emotions I get from fashion is so odd. I feel like a total idiot writing this out...but IT IS SO TRUE! It is nearly despicable how much people can base their confidence and self-worth on how expensive their bag is or how many new clothes they wear each week. THIS is the part of fashion that I have been trying so hard to stay away from. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's bad to own designer-brand handbags or buy new clothes because I do too. It is, however, unhealthy to see how addicted people can be to materialism. Even more, it's discouraging to see how people consider themselves better than others because they have things that other people cannot afford and would be jealous about. I don't believe in measuring beauty in money, and I have to constantly remind myself of that. Especially being in Southern California of all places, it can be easy to forget.

As you probably know, I love layering simple jewelry.

So speaking of beauty, the last thing I want to share with you guys is about confidence and self-worth. Fashion can be both a real booster and a downer when it comes to confidence and self-worth. I honestly can't even count that times it's been a downer for me. Quite often, I look at myself in the mirror and tell myself, "This makes me look fat," "I can't pull this off," "I need to lose weight." I've been telling myself these things as long as I can remember, and all I can say is that it has gotten progressively worse as I've grown up. Why? Well, all we see on social media are body goals, outfit goals, and relationship goals, etc. GOALS, GOALS, GOALS. It's not wrong to admire others, but it's more about the psychological consequences that occur when people measure their self-worth on what society defines as beautiful and perfect. 

All this to say, I know I'm not the only one who has self-image issues--nearly all women do and most men do too. It's a part of us. I hope you know that you're not the only one that sometimes doesn't like what you see in the mirror. I hope you know that you don't need to be ashamed of that fact that you aren't happy with yourself all the time. All of us already know that we should base our beauty on who we are on the inside. I don't need to tell you that. That's actually what we always hear.  Things like ,"all that matters is how beautiful you are on the inside." It's completely true and it's reassuring, but I always put myself down again after I hear that. And it's because we never really hear that it's totally normal to be unhappy with the way you look and that radiating the best in you takes a LOT of time, effort, and healing. It's also because we don't realize that there are actually solutions to boosting our confidence in which case we're stuck in our own dissatisfaction. Empowerment is a challenge for every individual. I'm still working on it!

Sooo I'm still going to end this on a couple of cliché but fundamental truths. First and foremost, the foundation of beauty is who we are inside. That will always outshine your outward appearance no matter how much media counters that fact. Second, I still believe that fashion is more empowering than hurtful. If you wear clothes that you're comfortable in, it'll naturally make you more confident. Third, materialistic things can never ever replace the value and power of relationships. In other words, your relationships with your family, your friends, and your community is so much more fulfilling and meaningful than things like clothes or cars. Don't ever forget that! And in conjunction with this point, our beauty shines brightest when we understand and live out that principle. Showing love, grace, compassion, empathy, and forgiveness is the most basic yet maybe the most challenging solution to boosting our confidence and self-worth.   

In the next post, I'll be sharing the things I have been doing to see and show the best in me! What's amazing is that we don't even know the fullest extent of who we are. It's miraculous how much we can learn about ourselves as we grow up.

Thanks so much for reading and I hope this post in some ways has got you thinking or was encouraging. Make sure to comment or email us if you have any questions, requests, or ideas for the final series.

Keep shining!