As a kid, playing dress-up was always my favorite thing.
I had a princess dress that my mom could only take off of me and wash if I was getting into the bath. Otherwise, that dress was staying on. I didn’t care where I was going or what I was doing. I was a princess, and apparently that was a full time job.
My childhood best friend’s mom had a whole trunk of theater costumes that she would let us play with. Hoop skirts, frilly dresses, ridiculous accessories the whole nine yards. We could dig through that trunk and become whoever we wanted for the afternoon. There didn’t have to be a reason for the outfit. We weren’t going anywhere. We just wanted to see what we could come up with.
As I’ve grown into adulthood, that’s one thing I refuse to leave behind.
My bedroom is a dressing room, and my closet is a giant costume trunk waiting to be explored. I love pulling out pieces that probably have no business being worn together and seeing if somehow they work. I love getting dressed, staring at myself in the mirror, changing one thing, changing another, and then completely changing my mind three seconds later.
Sometimes I’ll put together an outfit I absolutely love, walk out into the living room to show my husband, and then immediately disappear back into the bedroom because I just thought of something better.
Sometimes I’ll go through five outfits without ever actually leaving the house.
And honestly? I think that’s the point.
As adults, we’re constantly told that everything we do should have a purpose. Clothes are supposed to be practical. Outfits are supposed to be flattering. There’s always some invisible rule about what you’re “supposed” to wear, what’s appropriate, what’s trendy, and what you’ve outgrown.
I don’t care.
Because getting dressed doesn’t always have to be about going somewhere.
Sometimes it can just be fun.
Giving myself the freedom to play dress-up as an adult is one of the ways I keep my whimsy. It reminds me that I don’t have to grow out of every little thing I loved as a kid just because I got older.
That little girl who wanted to wear her princess dress all day is still in there somewhere.
She just has a much bigger closet now.
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