I wanted to start by talking about gratitude. This is something I try to practice on a daily basis by listing off all the things that I’m grateful for in my journal. Starting the day off on a grateful and positive note can be very powerful and I would encourage you to do the same thing. For instance, today I am very thankful that when I woke up this morning, all three of my kids were in my nest. That makes me insanely happy because we’re in a life stage right now where not everyone is home and not always at the same time. So tell me, what are you grateful for today? Leave me a comment and let me know.
Now on to the second thing and this one is a little harder and a little different than what I’m used to. I have a lot on my heart that I want to unpack so I hope you’ll bear with me. It all sprang from a post I made earlier in the week. For more details, check out my weekly Coffee Chat video below.
Tee Shirt and Jeans for Life
So as I was saying, earlier this week I shared a post about a blogger who told me that I was never going to make it if I wasn’t constantly posting new clothes. That I wasn’t going to gain followers or that I was never going to make money and so on and so forth. I call it my tee shirt and jeans post because that’s what I talked about in the first line of it. Maybe you saw it, maybe you didn’t but if you didn’t, I’ll post it below for context purposes. It went like this:
This is me. Tee shirt and jeans for life! Funny thing is when I started out I had a blogger “friend” tell me I was never going to make it. 😲
She said that if I wasn’t constantly posting new clothes and outfits (not just my tee and jeans), I was going to fail, let alone the fact that I would never make any money at it.
Her words didn’t really bother me at the time because I wasn’t trying to make money. But I couldn’t help but wonder if she was right about followers. Would women be interested in a blog where I was rewearing and styling the same clothes over and over?
So I conformed for a little while and started buying new stuff and yes, it made it easier to post more outfits. But after a very short time, it also became soul sucking. I had more “stuff” than I was comfortable with and it just wasn’t a representation of my real shopping or spending habits. Even with all of those clothes, I’d go back to rewearing my tried and true pieces in my real daily life.
I knew early on that I wasn’t going to be “THAT” blogger.
And in a way, she was right. GYPO’s growth has been slower and more organic. I never had that moment where things just caught on fire and took off. When I committed to blogging full-time for a living, things were really tight for a long time.
Staying true to myself absolutely hurt my blog and business.
But then this beautiful thing started to happen. More and more women were finding me because of my philosophy of rewearing my clothes, not in spite of it.
I’m still not a huge influencer. That was never my goal but building community was and the GYPO community has been the best part of all of this. Its made up of like minded women who want to look and feel great in their clothes without having to constantly buy MORE. Who know the power of having great closet staples and how easy it can be to transform them with just a few new fun trends.
That’s the post word for word and the response from the GYPO community and the comments were very eye-opening as well as completely humbling and touching.
More Than Just Clothes
Over the years I’ve realized that GPYO is something different. Yes, it is about style, but it’s also about contentment. It’s about confidence. Honestly, when I started out, confidence was the main driving force behind me getting dressed every day because it made me feel good. It made me feel better and I wanted to share that feeling with other women in the community. And your comments mirroring my hopes, well I couldn’t be more appreciative. When I read how much GYPO has helped others gain confidence, or that it pulled them out of a dark place or taught them to shop with purpose or that they are finally at peace with their closet, that makes me smile and affirms that I’m doing the right kind of blogging. That’s also why I also do the Rediscover Me Challenge once a year because I feel like my mission is about so much more than just clothing.
Shopping With Purpose
It’s okay to not get caught up in the shopping frenzy. I’m not saying to not buy new things. That’s not my philosophy at all. But it’s bigger than that. It’s about shopping with a purpose. It’s about being aware of what you have in your closet before you set out and go into the store. When you walk in and you don’t know what to wear, you just start grabbing this and this and this. And even armed with all this knowledge it’s still easy to get caught up in the frenzy, I know I do sometimes. I heard something a few years ago and it stuck with me, limit your gurus. I severely limit who I follow on social media because I specifically don’t want to get caught up in that frenzy. For example, just last week I was watching some stories that I don’t normally watch and I started seeing all this cute stuff from Amazon. I went online and put a bunch of stuff in my cart. And then I stopped myself and realized that I already have a sweater almost exactly like what I was about to buy. I didn’t really need any of the items that I had selected, but I got caught up in the fun! It’s exhilarating! It’s like a dopamine hit when you’re buying new things. And again, there’s nothing wrong with having new things. But adding them to your closet mindfully, I guess, is the point here.
Rapid Versus Organic Growth
So here’s the truly vulnerable part of what I’m sharing today. I think there’s this paradox that because I don’t want to focus so much on consumerism and spending and always buying new things that it’s caused slow growth. That blogger may have been right on some level, I didn’t grow fast like she did, she skyrocketed and never looked back. My growth has been slow and not many people know about the mission. Doing things differently sometimes means being overlooked, but I truly feel that what I’ve built here has been so much more powerful and it means so much more than I could have imagined. It feels so much more authentic.
So why am I pouring this out to you other than the fact that I’m honestly feeling extremely vulnerable right now? It always helps to share when you’re struggling with something. And this is something I’ve never shared with the community before. I want you all to know that I have so much appreciation for this community. And this is in no way, shape or form, to say that I’m not proud of what I’ve built because I am. I wake up and I just feel so fueled to serve this community and to be here for you and see your confidence grow by supporting each other.
Share the Secret
With all the said, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t want to be a best-kept secret anymore. I have something important to share and it’s something life-changing and I would love to have your help in this. If you want to help please continue to share in this mission. Continue to be okay with not getting caught up in this frenzy of feeling like you have to go out and buying new things to fill you up or to find contentment. Again, I’m not opposed to having nice things and things that make you feel great and confident, and that’s totally part of my mission but doing it in a way where you’re in control. Please continue to like and share my coffee chats with your friends, share the tee shirt and jeans posts that I did this week. Tag your friends on Instagram, let them know what it means to be content with your wardrobe. Share outfit posts on Facebook using your closet staple pieces and tag me, I love seeing your outfits!
You all fuel me and keep me going so much so that I want you guys to know that I truly, truly appreciate that. And most of all, just thank you for listening to me with an open heart. This was not an easy topic for me to cover. I woke up this morning wondering if I could even do this so thank you for your support! And now if you need me, I’ll be having a vulnerability hangover for the next few days.