Jeannette Longworth

Time to stop hiding in the Wardrobe

by Jeannette Longworth

Those who know me know that fashion and clothes are not the top of my list of priorities. But recently I have found myself watching vlogs about the choice of clothing you put on; These weren’t done by experts in fashion, they are just regular women who have all recently had moments of epiphany around their image, and it strangely all made sense to me. With a vague feeling of unease, I began thinking about my wardrobe. I opened the doors and began to pull it all out onto the bed. As I looked at the mass of clothes, I couldn’t help but notice an air of exhaustion about the majority of it, a little bit faded, a little bit worn and with a massive amount of grey! Staring up at me from the bed was something that I managed to overlook when it was all hidden behind the closed mirrored door. And it hit me – my clothes were sending out an unmistakable message to the world that I was past it and not worth a second look. OMG!! When did that happen?? I know I have looked good in the past. I know I have received compliments and made the guy who never gave me a second look do a double take. I know I have gone to business meetings with an air of confidence in my well-dressed self; but somewhere along the line in the last few years, making an effort became too much of an effort to make. Fashion designer Peter Morrisey said, “Dress like you’re embracing life, not hiding from it”. Not only have I been hiding from it, but I have also been dressing like I have pulled up the drawbridge and thrown away the key. But that is not who I am. I am the Badass Warrior, a Crystal Goddess, a woman with fire in her heart, a need to prove that being over 50 is not the end of the world and that there are new adventures to be had! If I genuinely embraced all those things I say I am, I would be wearing purple, red, turquoise, orange or any other in your face colour that there is and there would be no sign of grey. I would put on the ‘I am woman, hear me roar’ suit for meetings no matter what colour it was (except grey); I would wear the ‘hippy, dippy’ multicoloured jacket walking down the street and I wouldn’t give a toss. I would choose the me I was presenting to the world. I want to be THAT version of me, and I want to be that woman I have just described. So, it is time for this me to stop hiding in the wardrobe and let that me out. Because at the end of the day, what you choose to wear really is a reflection of who you are choosing to be. And if that means sometimes it is leggings and a long jumper, then that’s okay too - as long as it is a choice.