DAY 2: 30 Day NO-BUY Challenge

Rewiring Your Style Mindset

In Day 2 of the 30 Day No Buy Challenge, we shift from dressing for outside approval to dressing from the inside out, grounded in how we actually want to feel. We start to see our closets like pantries full of ingredients, where each piece can be used in many outfits instead of just one. We use a simple style formula, switching one thing in a favorite outfit, and we begin capturing our outfits so we always have a ready to wear menu waiting for us when we get dressed.

ACTION ITEMS

1. Notice your approval source

Catch your thoughts when you get dressed today
Write down or say out loud one “outside approval” thought, like
- “Is this trendy”
- “Will they think I look okay”
Then rewrite it as an “inside approval” thought, like
- “Do I feel good in this”
- “I like how I feel in this outfit”

2. Pantry walk through your closet

Stand in front of your closet and literally say, “This is my pantry of possibilities”
Pick one top and ask, “How many different bottoms could I pair this with”
Pick one pair of pants and ask, “What tops or layers have I never tried with these”

3. Style formula, switch one thing

Choose one favorite go to outfit
Switch out just one element
- Shoes, top, pants, or a jacket
Wear it for a real part of your day, not just in front of the mirror
Notice how you feel in it

4. Start your “What to Wear” album

Create a new photo album on your phone and name it something fun, like “What to Wear”
Take one to three quick outfit photos today
Drop them into the album and you are officially capturing your outfits

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Day 2 of the 30 Day No Buy Challenge

Hello, I am Casey, your fashion bestie, and welcome to Day 2 of the 30 Day No Buy Challenge.

Yesterday, we talked about getting rid of the yuck in your life, the yuck in your closet, and the yuck in how you speak to yourself. Today, we are going into three new topics.

Nobody is paying attention as much as you think they are
A different way to look at your clothing so you can use it in more outfits instead of just one or two
A simple style formula that lets you look at some of your favorite outfits in a new way

What we talk about each day builds upon the last day. I do not want you to forget about yesterday or any of the previous days, because everything stacks together.

We are basically changing your full mindset about how you look at yourself, how you look at your clothing, and how you look at your closet. We cannot do that if we keep forgetting the things we learned in previous days.

What we are doing over these 30 days is rewiring all the things we have been taught about style, fashion, and image. We cannot do that without repetitive learning, which means going back to each topic and repeating it in your head and in your daily life.

I will keep giving you simple ways to go back over these topics as we go through the 30 days.

Topic 1

Rewiring your brain around how you get dressed

Right now, most likely, you are getting dressed for outside approval. It is not your fault. This is just how you have been wired your entire life.

When we are getting dressed for outside approval, our brain is focusing on things like:

Is this trendy
Am I going to fit in
Is what I am wearing accepted
I cannot wear this because someone will perceive me in a certain way

We are constantly getting dressed for outside approval.

What we are trying to change is this. We want you to have your own approval first, so that everyone else follows. That is the new order.

Instead of, “I am going to get dressed for everyone else, and then I will feel good about myself,” we are switching it to, “Let me feel good about myself first, and then everyone else will follow.”

People will think, “Dang, this girl walks with so much confidence, it does not even matter what she is wearing, she is just rocking it.”

To change this, we need to understand where the need for outside approval comes from.

When we were young, we were looking at fashion magazines or watching TV, and there was always a “worst dressed” list for celebrities. Maybe in junior high and high school, you had this idea, “If I do not wear this, I will not fit in.” We wanted to fit in. We wanted that outside approval. We did not want to end up on the “worst dressed” list of high school.

We wanted to fit into the trend boxes, because that is how we were told we would be accepted.

What we do not realize is that we have grown out of that season of life. We are not really in the stage of being “in or out” anymore. But we are still acting like we are.

So we need to understand that no one is paying attention to us as much as we think they are. They are not watching what we are wearing as closely as we think.

We think that when we walk out of the house, everyone is automatically judging us and sizing us up. Actually, most people are not. And if someone is, that is their own problem, their own deal, their own stuff to deal with.

The majority of people are not judging you and sizing you up. The majority of people are so worried about themselves that they are not paying that much attention to you.

Think about it. You are paying so much attention to yourself, how you are showing up, how you are feeling, that you are probably not judging everyone around you. And if you are judging everyone around you, then yes, that might be something to look at more deeply, but that is for another time and place.

Most people are not looking at you. You are not looking at a majority of people and sizing every person up. We need to really let that sink in.

We have grown out of the idea that we need to be accepted by people on the outside. The main thing people actually see is:

How you carry yourself
How comfortable you are in your own skin

You do not have to have the “best style.” If you show that you are comfortable in your own skin, people adore that. People look up to that.

When you are comfortable in your own skin, your style radiates. Then your style helps you be even more comfortable in your own skin. Then you take more chances. It is a circular, cyclical thing, but you have to start somewhere.

You just have to start showing up more comfortable in your own skin, and knowing that no one is paying that much attention to you and what you are wearing.

So keep this on the top of your mind. We are not going for outside approval anymore. It does not matter. No one cares that much. We are going for inside approval and breaking down everything we have been conditioned to believe.

I will go more into trends next time. Today we are focusing on where we are trying to get our approval from, and how we need to switch that.

Topic 2

Seeing your closet like a pantry full of possibilities

Another thing that shifts our mindset is how we look at our clothes.

Right now, most likely, you have a handful of favorite outfits that you go to over and over again.

So the question is, how do we get more out of the clothes you already own

We look at them differently.

I want you to start looking at your clothes as ingredients in a pantry that are waiting to be used in multiple different ways.

Imagine your pantry. You have flour and sugar. What if you only used your flour and sugar to make the exact same sugar cookies every single time, and you never used them for anything else

You would be doing that flour and sugar a disservice. A disservice to them, and a disservice to you. There are so many more possibilities.

That flour and sugar could go into banana bread, muffins, different kinds of cookies. Multiple things, because those ingredients are meant to be used in lots of ways.

That is how your closet is supposed to be looked at.

One shirt can be put into twenty different outfits
One pair of pants can be in fifteen different outfits

Instead, we get stuck in, “Okay, this combination works. This shirt with these pants with these shoes works, so I am just going to wear it over and over and over.”

When we start viewing our closet as possibilities, and we look at every item as something that can be part of multiple outfits, our brain expands. We stop seeing only the “set outfits” we always put together and start seeing new options.

That is what I want for you. I want you to walk into your closet and think, “Oh my gosh, look at all these possibilities,” instead of, “Oh my gosh, I do not know what to do, I only have three to five outfits I can wear.”

This is also why we got rid of the yuck in your closet yesterday. We do not want your possibilities to be toned down.

If you have a bunch of yucky stuff that brings you down in your closet, you will not see possibilities. You will see limitations.

You will walk in and think about:

Shirts with holes
Things that do not fit
Pieces that do not make you feel good

And that is the feeling you will carry.

Right now, we want to get rid of the yuck so your closet can shine with possibilities. Your homework here is to start walking into your closet and seeing it like a pantry full of ingredients waiting to become something amazing.

Different way to look at it, right

Topic 3

A simple style formula, switch one thing

Now, we are down to a style formula. I know you love a good formula, so here we go. This is where we infuse little tricks that help you start using your clothes to their full potential.

We have been talking about the habit of wearing our favorite outfits on repeat. The first style formula I have for you is simple.

Switch one thing out in a favorite outfit.

Here is how to do it:

Pull out three to five of your favorite outfits
They do not have to be fancy or wild, just three to five outfits you wear all the time

Then, take one outfit and switch out one thing.

Some ideas:

Maybe you normally wear a brown boot with that outfit
- Try flats
- Try a wedge
- Try a bolder heel or a bolder color flat
Take the same outfit and switch out the top
- Challenge yourself
- If you always wear those pants with lots of tops already, that is easy, so instead choose a top you never wear with those pants
- Or swap in a sweater instead of a top
Or switch out the pants
- Maybe there is a pair of pants you never wear
- Try those pants with the exact same top and shoes from your favorite outfit

Why this works:

In a favorite outfit, you already know all the pieces fit you well and you feel comfortable in them. Instead of trying to create a whole new outfit that you are unsure about, you only switch one thing. You know the rest already works.

You are taking a chance on one piece.

And please, take chances. Do not just switch something out for another super safe thing. Put a bold piece in there sometimes.

Repeat this over and over with outfits you are already comfortable in.

One round, just switch shoes
Next time, with that same outfit, switch the top
Next time, add in a jacket you never wear

Focus especially on the things you usually ignore in your closet and try to blend them into your favorite outfits.

As you are doing this, remember the big ongoing theme of this whole challenge. We are changing your style from a look to a feeling.

So, while you are switching pieces, tune in to how it makes you feel.

If there is a little discomfort because it is new, that is okay. That is normal. Be okay with a little discomfort. Notice it, and then keep going. Wear the outfit in the real world and see how you feel after you live in it for a day.

Ongoing habit

Capturing your outfits

Another thing I want to introduce, that will be a constant in my style teaching, is capturing your outfits.

Every time you come up with an outfit you like, even if you only made a tiny change, take a picture of yourself in it.

Do not worry about how you look
You can even cut off your head in the photo if you do not want to think about your face

My rule is simple. I only take three pictures of an outfit, and then I stop. I do not spiral about how I look or if the angle is perfect. We are not doing that here. We are simply capturing the outfit.

Then I put the photos into an album in my phone called “What to Wear.”

There are lots of ways to track outfits, like styling apps, closet organization apps, or even putting outfit notes in your phone. We can talk about those later.

Right now, I just want you to start with the easiest thing.

Take a photo
Make an album in your phone
Title it something like “What to Wear”
Drop your outfit photos in there

That way, when you are in a rush or trying to think of a new outfit, you can open that album and say, “Okay, boom, I am going to wear that.”

You always have outfits top of mind that you can choose from.

Quick recap

Nobody is paying attention to you as much as you think they are, so take chances and wear what you want
Look at the pieces in your closet like ingredients in a pantry, full of possibilities and not limitations
Use the style formula of changing out one item in a favorite outfit, and repeat this over and over with the outfits you already love
Capture your outfits, take pictures, and keep them in a “What to Wear” album in your phone so you have a library of ideas when you feel stuck

These concepts are not “try once and forget.” All of these things stack together to change your overall mindset about style, fashion, and image.

The goal is for you to wake up in the morning, go to your closet, and feel a more positive feeling, to see possibilities, not limitations.

I hope you are able to put these into play and start seeing your closet in a new light. Tomorrow, we will keep building on this.

Signing off, your fashion bestie, I am Casey.

Have a wonderful day, and I will be back for Day 3 of the No Buy Challenge. Love you. xoxo