The Cobb salad. I always start with the bacon. Depending on how crunchy it is, I will eat it as is or plunge it into some dressing before shoveling it into my mouth. Next comes the fork kabob of blue cheese crumbles, avocado, and chicken. The eggs and tomatoes bring up the caboose. This is my Cobb salad routine. Every single time. It’s a salad for crying out loud. I’m supposed to eat it to be a healthier human, but I approach it in a much more comfortable way by eating the yummy stuff first. Most of the time I don’t even eat the lettuce! Not kidding.

Yesterday, after I crushed my Cobb toppings, I sat there staring at my dry lettuce thinking "Seriously, why do I keep doing this?” and going over (once again) how I missed out on the most nutrient-rich portion of my lunch. Do you ever have a Cobb salad moment, except it’s happening every morning as you get dressed? There’s no time to waste and single-piece dressing takes zero thought, so you grab one of the three comfortable breezy summer dresses you own, your go-to sneakers or sandals, sunglasses, and your everyday tote. You know, the comfortable stuff. The yummy stuff. The whole process feels okay for a while because what you're reaching for is safe and easy, but eventually, the routine of wearing the same thing leaves you wondering why you have a closet filled with things you never wear. While you may think this article is about eating more lettuce, it’s not. I’m a stylist, not a nutritionist! This is a message of encouragement. It’s time to challenge yourself to mix things up a bit and here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Your clothes 

• Decisiveness

• Sense of self

• Mindfulness

• Curiosity 

• Guts

Step 1: Your Clothes + Decisiveness 

The best place to start is in your very own closet. Begin with the category you like the least. Go through the items you never wear. What prevents you from wearing them? If they don’t fit get rid of them. You don’t need that negative energy in your closet. If they are outdated but hard to part with, store them. If they are tired (my word for shot, old, beat-up, stained, pilled, or ripped) get rid of them. If they are perfectly fine, but you don’t know how to style them keep them. Repeat this process for every category. 

Step 2:  Sense of Self + Mindfulness

A great exercise to try is deleting all social media accounts for one week. You’ll realize that the moments you reach for your phone become moments of space and freedom. Take the opportunity to be mindful and present and notice what you’re drawn to in life. Once you actively make the time to pause, you can figure out who the heck you are as an individual. What do you like? What do you dislike? What colors are you drawn towards? What are your hobbies? What are your favorite places to travel and why? What type of music, art, and culture draws you in? All of these things matter and shape who you are as an individual and who you are from a personal style perspective. 

Step 3: Curiosity

Now that you’ve taken some time to understand who you are, get back on the Internet. While the internet can sometimes be a total bummer, it is an opportunity. You can literally search for anything you need and find it in seconds. How great is that? Your first stop: Pinterest. Pinterest is a great search engine for inspiration. Type in exactly what you’re looking for and it will serve up some seriously good style ideas! Here are a few things I would search for: “modern and sporty outfits,” “oversized feminine outfits,” and “casual chic outfits.” You can be body-type specific too: “chic outfits for athletic shapes,” “casual elevated outfits for broad shoulders,” or “edgy outfits for a short torso.”

Step 4: Guts

A good friend recently told me, “You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable,” and a mentor encouraged me to “See every challenge as an opportunity to grow." It takes guts to break a routine, so take baby steps. Even if you can try to wear something outside of your comfort zone once a week that is progress and progress is growth! You owe it to your closet. You got this!