Wear the Bigger Pants
WEAR THE
BIGGER
PANTS
A Cool Magazine Title
WEAR THE
BIGGER
PANT How I Learned To Not Give A Shit About What You Think. By Sabrina Volante
TS
Wear the Bigger Pants
A Cool Magazine Title
I’M HERE TO TELL
YOU
Wear the Bigger Pants
4
THAT
YOU’RE
MAKING A
MISTAKE Confidence is key, and no one will feel confident if they feel uncomfortable. Your mind is your most crucial asset, and it is amazing how many people underestimate it’s power. When you feel “good” you spend less time thinking about it. This frees up cognitive space and allows you to use that space for better uses, like e’ve all been there. learning, thinking, brainstorming, and You’re waking up (prob- basically just functioning as a human ably early) for the day being. Where we live in such a socially ahead of you, and as you conscious age, if you can do something sift through your closet you have no de- for yourself, you can live a happier and sire to wear anything that you see. You more successful life. The first thing you put something on and maybe, today it need to do, is stop wearing what you feel fits you a little differently, maybe it pulls you are expected to wear. Buy clothes to tight, or pinches here. All you know that fit you, not just because you believe is that you’re not happy. This sets the that you are a size 4 and will not take tone for the rest of your day. Maybe one no for an answer when those pair of morning you wake up and you put on jeans don’t fit you. If you walk around your favorite shirt. It has holes, maybe a wearing jeans that feel like they’re gocouple of stains, but if fits you just right. ing to cut you through the middle, you Instead you opt for the more socially honestly can’t expect to get anything acceptable shirt on the hanger next to it. done. If you’re worried that a button I’m here to tell you that you’re making is going to pop on that new button up a mistake. If you look good, you’ll feel shirt you bought, you’ll spend so much good, and it will set the tone for the rest time thinking about the trajectory of of your day.
W
that button that you’ll probably end up spilling your coffee on yourself anyway. Or something like that. Buy the bigger shirt. Buy the bigger pants. When was the last time someone said to you, “Hey, nice shirt! What size is it?” If you actually thought of a time, you need different friends, because no one who is decent is going to ask you that, anyway. Just wear the bigger size. Trust me, once you get past that, it’ll help out a lot. Now that you’ve changed your pants and your shirt into something that actually fits around your body, we can breathe a little easier. Feel comfortable? If you don’t, get your butt back in that closet and find something that feels good. Starting to catch my drift? This bring me to my next point, which is to wear whatever the hell you want. Don’t spend even a second of your time thinking about what someone else is going to think about your choice of outfit. If you have a t-shirt with a basket of puppies that you really want to wear, wear it! Also, buy me one because that sounds like a shirt I would want to wear. If you are really digging on that basket of puppies shirt, you should wear it proudly, because I can guarantee that whenever you look down and see those snuggly little puppies it’ll make you feel happy. When you think about it, that’s all that matters in the end. I have this pair of boots, and I’m going to tell you about them, but first, we have to go back in time. I’ve never
5
A Cool Magazine Title
IF YOU
LOOK
GOOD
YOU’LL
FEEL GOOD
really been one for buying expensive things. My family was always trying to scrape by. I internalized a lot of money saving tactics because of this that carried over into adulthood. I learned to make my own clothes, appreciate the hand-me-downs that came my way, and always buy the bargains. Clothing became an integral part of my life. I drew a lot of inspiration from fashions I saw on the street and in magazines. I picked up a lot from my older sisters as well.
I’ve been through it all. I’ve been the quintessential 90’s kid as well as picking up some style trends from the 80’s. I even lived up the styles of the ‘00, ‘01, ‘02, and ‘03 (but let’s not go there). Needless to say, a lot of my identity was shaped around what I wore. I was known for always changing my style, and I’ll be honest, it wasn’t usually very good, but it worked! I felt great wearing stupid t-shirts that said things like, “Looking for Mr. Right Now”, “Are you a pirate or a ninja?” and one that simply said “Fresh” with a velvet patch shaped to look like a car air freshener. Looking back those were horrible choices and I would totally skip them, but that’s the beauty of it! Fashions change, and so will you! I try not to dwell in the past. Would I wear those shirts anymore? No
Wear the Bigger Pants
deteriorate. First the zipper broke. I was able to fix one boot, but the other was too far gone. Now I have to lace up one, and the other I can zip up. Okay, not so bad, I can do this. Then the sole of the boot comes detached. Okay, not a problem. I can fix this, I say, even though my heart is broken. I hot glue the sole of the shoe back together and I’m feeling pretty good. I’m feeling like I might be able to make it through. Sadly no. The weak plastic bond of hot glue splits and makes my boot worse off than it was before. I have to make peace with it. I have to get rid of these boots.
thank you. Am I ashamed that I used to? No. Why would I waste my time on something as silly as that? Who cares that I used to wear ugly shit? No one is knocking on my door demanding that I apologize for an outfit I wore when I was in sixth grade. No one will ever knock on my door about an outfit. Unless of course they’re coming to tell me I’m fabulous (which I am). Sadly, no one has showed up yet. Alright, so back to the boots. After many years of learning what I like to wear and what I don’t like to wear, I have never lost my desire to hold on to things even if they really aren’t serving me too well. I bought this pair of boots one year, that were perfect. They were everything I wanted in a boot, they were warm, classy, and had a zipper so I didn’t have to lace them up which really made getting ready in the morning a whole lot faster. I loved these boots. In fact, I think I was even in love with them. I eventually started wearing them everyday during the winter and fall and they managed to make it through into the next year. However I experienced a very harsh winter in Maine the second year and the boots started to quickly
It wasn’t until I ordered a new pair of boots from L.L.Bean did I realize the impact that the slow death of those boots had on me. I ordered a new pair of boots and the compliments poured in. Everyone loved them. I was still slightly heart broken, but the void left from my old boots was slowing being filled by these new boots that made me feel like a superstar. They’re also from L.L.Bean so I know that I essentially have them insured for life. When I walk down the hallway in these boots I feel like I can take over the world. I want to shout out orders to random strangers on the street
6
telling them to get me the latest numbers and also where the hell is my coffee? I have the urge to talk frantically on the phone to people and say, “Volante here” and say “Mhmm, mhmm. No. No. Yes.” and then hang up the phone. I feel powerful! When my old boots were in their dying day I spent my time carefully treading through the halls, aware that with each step I was tearing them apart. It took a real toll on my outlook. This is all just further proof, that if you look good, you’ll feel good. If you wake up in the morning and automatically have a positive outlook on life, then I applaud you. For the rest of us, feeling confident, comfortable, and stylish can really set the stage for the rest of your day. If you need an extra boost to feel good in the morning, what you wear can really help you out. The phrase works both ways, too. If you look good, you’ll feel good, but if you feel good, it will definitely make you look good.