I’ve started framing my morning getting-dressed sessions as an act of creative direction.

I work in an industry where becoming a creative director takes nearly a decade of hard-earned experience and countless late night and weekend sacrifices. This title is coveted, respected, and worn with pride. 

Five years into my career, I’m not quite there yet, so I spend a lot of my time creating things for leaders who get the final say. 

I write and build work to please others more than I’m building work I really believe will move the needle. 

At times, this can be deflating.

And so, my spirit perked up when this idea fluttered through my mind:

I am the creative director of my closet. 

At long last! Authority and autonomy and freedom in one of my favorite places—my wardrobe.

When I’m moving fast, getting dressed can be a hassle or something I do without thinking much about it all. 

I believe this is a missed opportunity. 

Whether we’re in an environment where we want creative autonomy but don’t have it, or are going through it—in the dumps, out of it, not feeling like ourselves—what we put on our bodies is one way to claim some joy, inspiration, and creative liberty. 

Color is a great mood booster.
Accessories are an immediate pick-me-up. 
Cowboy boots are a wink from Heaven.

Like the right song at the right time, the right outfit on the right day can spark beauty and wonder in big ways we need it most. 

We are the creative directors of our closets. 

On any given day, we get to decide:

— What vibe are we going for?
— What colors are calling to us?
— What sounds (or looks) fun?
— How do we want to feel?
— How do we currently feel? Do we want to channel that into the look?
— What’s the strategy: browse our Pinterest boards and start with inspiration? Start with one piece or pair of shoes to style around? Start with a blank canvas and go nuts with accessories? Pull together something tried and true or something new?

There are so many ways to go about this, and we get to call the shots. How exciting! 

The practice of getting dressed in clothes I’m excited about vs. throwing something sloppy on has transformed some beauty-barren days into creative spring boards for healing, hope, ideation, and possibility. 

What we wear matters. It influences us. It sets the tone.

If no one has told you, let me be the first to say—you are the creative director of your closet. 

And in even grander ways, we are the creative directors of our lives. We get to collect, curate, build, design, arrange, experiment, and build beauty wherever we go, however we’d like. 

So, go! Create! Experiment! Try! Style! Accessorize! That’s what I’ll be doing, and I hope you’ll join me.

I’m proud of you (and 13-year-old me is, too!). 

xo AR

Silk scarves are the best accessory, always / My all-time favorite jeans / The sunglasses that just feel like “me” / A good ball cap is essential / Cowboy boots that make me giddy every time I put them on / A basic black mockneck: the best blank canvas

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Post Scripts 

— Some of the things that keep us from wearing what we want—

— A full-on gush for accessories—

— The makeup that adds the best final touch to any outfit—

— There is no such thing as the perfect occasion. The outfit you’ve been saving is meant for today!