Stepping out of your comfort zone!

The weather has finally calmed down- thankfully- and the temperature is just warm enough to start bringing out pre-spring clothes. Let me explain what I mean be 'pre-spring' clothes. The end of March usually signifies the beginning of spring, which means saying good-bye to scarves, woolly socks, beanie hats and parkas and hello to shorts, denim jackets, trench coats, light knitted cardigans, flowy tops, gladiators, wedges… I could go on forever! But as spring gets closer, new insecurities appear. Girls will start showing a little more skin, therefore our legs and arms will be exposed more than they were during the winter and judging by the survey I sent out, most girls dislike their legs and feel uncomfortable in more revealing clothing! During the spring/summer, many girls opt for shorts over jeans, sundresses over turtleneck pullovers and skirts over leggings (or the dreaded jeggings). I don't know about you, but the day I decide I'm going to wear shorts after nearly 6 months of wearing jeans is pretty nerve-wracking for a few simple reasons:

1. I haven't exposed this much skin in forever and it's a little scary to see your bare legs all day!

2.I've always found it kind of awkward to be the only one in shorts, just because I feel like everyone is staring at me when they're probably not!

3.I'm not in my comfort zone. I'm not hiding behind jeans and the fact that they can see most of my legs is a little frightening! 

Girl 1: Speaking of stepping out of your comfort zone, here is the perfect example of a girl who took a risk!  My friend let me style her for this photo-shoot, and she wasn't the only one surprised with the positive result! When dressing up for school, she usually wears jeans, hoodies and t-shirts (like most of us), but that day her whole outfit changed. She's quite tall, so a longer blazer was definitely necessary. Pairing the white shirt underneath was the perfect opportunity to add color to the rest of the outfit without it color blocking the shirt. This is why I love white shirts, they are like a clear palette waiting to be filled with colors! I thought adding a touch of color was a must, and this pink silk scarf did just the trick, it brightened up the entire look! I think it turned out great and she really liked it!

Girl 2: Here are some pictures of another girl who accepted the challenge of stepping out of her comfort zone for this photo-shoot! D usually hates wearing dresses because she doesn't really feel comfortable in them. She would rather wear jeans, t-shirts and hoodies. Convincing her to wear a dress was a challenge of it's own, but she took a risk and wore it anyway. D has a curvy body and a semi-hourglass figure, so the dress works!

The funny thing about this dress is that it belongs to another friend of mine who isn't as tall as D but it still looks good on both of them. And that’s the great thing about LBDs (Little Black Dresses). Both D and V have the same sort of hourglass figure (though one is taller than the other) so the dress works on both of them. The fact that the dress is quite high on the neck but doesn't have any other detail makes it simple and 'neutral' enough to be worn by most girls with the same figure. And the concept of a neutral black dress works with all types of dresses and figures. 

 Stepping out of your comfort zone can be scary at first, but that's okay! After the initial uneasiness it all goes back to normal and that feeling of nervousness is gone. And this is what I'm talking about when I say stepping out to your comfort zone. I think it's important to take fashion risks because you'll never learn if you don’t try. How are you supposed to find your style if you don’t experiment? Yes, this may indeed force you to wear something very different from what you would usually wear, but the trust me, it usually doesn’t feel as terrifying as you may think. But that links itself to self-confidence. If you have a lack of confidence in yourself (personality) or your body, you're more prone to sticking to what you're comfortable in and that's understandable. Though when you think about it, so many of us are feeling insecure about different things at the same time that we won’t even notice what you’re doing!

Stepping out of your comfort zone, taking a risk and trusting in yourself and the people whose opinion you trust is a great thing to do. Because what's the worst that can happen? We've all had bad hair days, bad dress days and terrible, terrible shoe days (I've worn wedges at the worst times ever), but so what? How can you gain confidence in yourself and see yourself in a positive light if you don't experience one or two mishaps along the way? Those experiences will help you grow and help you learn what to avoid in the future! I encourage all of you to wear an outfit that's completely different and out of your comfort zone at least once a month, just for a change.

Because honestly, how bad can it be?