Why Getting Dressed Can Be a Powerful Love Letter to Yourself
Reimagine your closet as a space for healing, expression, and joy
At one time in my life, I was more focused on fashion. It was partially because I was an Art Director for a department store, but even before that, I seemed to be searching for my style. It wasn’t until I reached my 30s that something clicked with me.
In my childhood and teenage years, I was more comfortable in jeans, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes, but maybe because I was working in office settings and there were dress codes, I felt a need to be more fashionable. To be honest, it was a bit exhausting.
Now I dress more comfortably, and it has been a rite of passage for my healing, expression, and an act of joy to feel comfortable in my own clothes. Wearing skirts, high heels, and a jacket never, ever felt comfortable to me.
Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.
— Rachel Zoe
It got me thinking about how getting dressed can be an unspeakable and powerful way to share who you are and, at the same time, create a love letter to yourself.
After all, there is something sacred about getting dressed with intention. You knew I was going to connect the dots to spirituality, right? Getting dressed doesn’t have to be about vanity or validation. It can be about expression. It can be a powerful way to reclaim a language for your body as a form of prayer.
Think about it. Every thread, color, and fabric you are naturally drawn to becomes a statement. Every adornment you gently fasten becomes a quiet testimony to your becoming, as it says, This is me. This is who I am, and this is how I choose to show up in the world today.
The quote by Rachel Zoe reminds me that style isn’t just about fashion. It becomes its own silent, powerful form of self-communication. It can also be a spiritual practice that invites healing, nurtures expression, and gives space for new joy.
Style as a path to healing
Style can be a way to rekindle a relationship with yourself if you’re someone who carries invisible wounds of shame, grief, rejection, and a sense of being unseen. And, it might be especially important to you if you’re someone whose body was policed, shamed, or hidden. As I write this, I wonder if that was what I was doing as a young adult — attempting to reconcile body image shaming.
In that way, wearing something that honors your current self can feel like a radical act of self-love. It isn’t about recreating or overcoming a version of your past, nor is it about projecting your future self. It’s merely about being present to who you are now, today. It’s also not about hiding or fixing.
It’s about adorning your healing. The word “adorn” means to “make more beautiful or attractive.” (Apple Dictionary)
Instead of an act of self-punishment, your style today can be about choosing softness. I can still wear jeans and a t-shirt but in softer colors. Or, maybe you choose boldness so you’re not invisible. For me, it’s comfort instead of control. Again, it’s about healing in the most beautiful and natural way that suits you.
Style as a form of expression
I wonder if we often feel the need to explain ourselves or justify our identities to help others understand, but what if we didn’t? What if our very presence could be the only voice we needed?
Style allows you to write your truth on your skin without having a tattoo. It lets you say, I am whimsical, grounded, celebrating, or mourning. Think about clothing as a poem or canvas that you didn’t know you could write or paint. Better yet, it can be the prayer you’re afraid to say out loud.
It can be the prayer you’re afraid to say out loud.
Your expression doesn’t require approval, other than yours. It just needs authenticity. So, the question you can ask yourself is, what aligns with your spirit? What colors wake something up within you? What shapes help you breathe more freely? How can you be more you?
Style as a source of joy
When style becomes playful, it is joyful. When you dress for the sheer act of creating delight for your inner child, rather than dressing according to the latest fad, you honor your spiritual self, and style becomes an act of liberation.
Style as an act of liberation
Joy isn’t something that happens to you; it’s something you cultivate, nurture, and water (like a plant), layer by layer, like a favorite outfit. Maybe wearing your grandmother’s favorite shawl helps you stay connected to her spirit, or maybe wearing a pair of earrings you purchased after a breakup reminds you of your strength, or maybe it’s the shoes you wore when you fell in love, dancing under the moon. These are not frivolous things. They are sacred stories stitched into fabric that help you create your style and liberate you to be who you are meant to be.
This week, each time you get dressed, pause and ask your spirit: How do I want to feel today? Or what am I healing through now? Let your response guide you as you choose the outfit you want to wear, even if it’s just one intentional piece.
Then, as you dress, speak a blessing over yourself: May I be clothed in compassion. May I wear joy like a second skin, and may my body feel like home today.
What pieces of clothing or accessories make me feel most like me?
When was a time I used style to mark a transformation or healing moment in my life?
What do I want my presence to say before I even speak?
May you dress in colors that wake your soul as your clothing becomes a canvas for the truth you no longer need to explain or justify. May your outer layers reflect your inner light, wearing forgiveness for yourself like a favorite sweater. And, may your style become something that brings you home to who you truly are, not just something you put on. May it be so.
May you know that you are loved because you matter.
May your soul be refreshed.