I cried as I held her…
… the beautiful pink dress I wore in Paris almost ten years ago. (If you’ve been around for a while, you know.)
As I decided to let her go, I felt a flood of emotions.
So much more than a dress.
She represented an era — the emotions of a divorce, building a new business… discovering the next version of Tonya.
She had accompanied me for a BIG chapter of my story. But that chapter was finished. So, I put her in the box and cried a bit more.
Then, I wiped the tears from my face and finished cleaning out my closet.
Our closets are so much more than a storage room for clothes. They are a rack full of memories.
Some of them, painful. Some of them, joyful. Some of them, embarrassing. Some of them… still happening.
It’s important to know that the reason a closet cleanout may feel stressful to you is that it’s not just about the clothes.
It’s about the emotions that each piece of clothing brings up. The weight gain. The friendships. The loss. The leftovers. And the moments that were never lived at all - with the tags still hanging on to prove it.
A closet cleanout is an emotional process but you can do hard things.
We all have our version of the pink dress, and we all need to let her go. That’s why I’m calling this edition of The Edit The Pink Dress Issue.
Here’s to finally letting her go.
Love,
Great style is a tool for manifesting wealth
You might have heard me mention enclothed cognition before. I’m a BIG believer in this psychological phenomenon, which suggests clothing plays a powerful role in our mental and emotional processes.
Adam Galinsky, one of the foremost researchers on enclothed cognition says, “It has long been known that clothing affects how other people perceive us, as well as how we think about ourselves.”
So it naturally follows that if we want to grow our wealth, we need to feel wealthy in our clothing. It doesn’t matter WHAT you wear, as long as WHEN you wear it, you feel more like the wealthy version of yourself.
This means that if…
… that faded t-shirt reminds you of a former lover - it’s gotta go.
… or if that too-tight jacket reminds you that your budget is also a little snug - it’s gotta go.
What is your pink dress? Are you hanging onto an old version of you or are you focusing on your future-self?
By letting go, you are making valuable space in your closet - and your life - for a wealthy and abundant future.
Out with The Old
with Laurie Teschner Adams
“Before early 2020, I had an in-office crazy-hours job for 7 years. I resigned just about the time the global health crisis began. Since then, I have trained as a life coach, weight loss coach, and Full Focus Planner pro. I was on my way to a new life.
But after finishing those certifications at the end of 2021, I was surprised by a strange illness, my mom’s declining health, then her death, and my daughter’s high-risk pregnancy and cross-country move, and with all this heavy burden, I lost my mojo for some time…
And guess what brought it back? Style.
I started to get my groove back at SOSI Desert Live. I revamped my wardrobe, started to lose weight again, joined The Style Experience, had a transformational photoshoot, had my [wardrobe] colors done, and just launched my new podcast!
Tonya’s coaching, compassion, and understanding of how self-image translates to self-identity has been life-changing!”
My Top 5 Places to Shop
As you purge your closet, I wanted to share a few of my favorite places to shop, so you can start investing in pieces that represent the woman you are becoming.
Best Customer Service
Neiman Marcus
Best All-Purpose
Nordstrom
Best High-End
Net-a-Porter
Best Variety of Choices
Revolve
Best Accessories
Anthropologie
The Emotion of Clothing
Saying goodbye to that pink dress, with all its memories, was not easy. But it was necessary. How did I finally work up the courage? I’ll tell you on this week’s podcast.
// TheEDIT
A weekly digital magazine by the School of Self-Image
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