It has come up a lot lately, due to the vast change in my wardrobe. I get a lot of people asking questions, “why are you wearing a dress”, “you said you would never wear dresses”, “what’s with all the loud prints”, “how much of your wardrobe is LulaRoe now”, “you always used to shop at Goodwill”, “what’s so great about LulaRoe”, “I thought you said leggings weren’t pants”, and the list goes on and on. They are right to question and it is okay to ask. I don’t often answer other than to say, “LulaRoe has changed me” and typically I get some kind of befuddled look, a head nod and we go our separate ways. I really don’t want to bore anyone with the long back story and really “changed me” describes it pretty well.
I guess the questions that people should be asking are more “why wouldn’t you wear dresses before” and “why wouldn’t you wear bright/loud colors”? Because that’s where the answer to all of this starts. And the reason is simple, I didn’t love myself. I didn’t love my body, I didn’t love how I looked, I didn’t love how I looked in clothes and I didn’t want to spend money on clothes since I looked the same in all of them. When I looked in the mirror I saw lumpy, bumpy and frumpy. Those should be the names of Snow White’s dwarves or something. The new and improved Snow White. Or maybe not so improved.
I remember trying at various times. Stepping out of my box and trying a new look here or there. But it always seemed to backfire and I never got it quite right. I also had plenty of help at home being told I looked ridiculous, or what was I trying to prove, who did I think I was, etc…. Nothing like a shot in the self esteem to be told that anything other than loose fit khakis and a sweater make you look ridiculous. I was told my boobs sucked - so nothing low cut. I was fat, so no belting or anything snug. Every color under the rainbow wasn’t “good on me”. And dresses? Why are all dresses so fitted? And so many show your legs. I’m not so proud of my legs. Lots of bumps, bruises, scars and yes - I have psoriasis, which apparently is repulsive. So I’ve gotten really good over the years at covering, well, everything.
Then my best friend in the whole wide world starts selling this stuff called LulaRoe. I literally had to google it when she told me her big news. That’s how far out of the fashion loop I was. Well, let’s be honest, I’m still completely in the dark, but I have like this candle I carry around now. And I’ll be honest, my first thought was, “OMG. I have to be a good friend and buy something. But how do I not hurt her feelings when I never wear it? And I cannot wear that stuff - I would look ridiculous! And it’s so expensive! (Remember - I shopped Goodwill. But not just Goodwill, Goodwill on Blue Tag Tuesday when everything with a blue tag was $1.50. And I was pretty serious about only buying blue tags.)
But I bought something. Do you remember what it was, Amy? (I know she’s reading this. She reads all my blogs. She is my BEST friend, remember.) And because she is my best friend I agreed to host her first party. To promote her party she had me wear a pair of leggings prior to the party. They weren't exactly wild, but they were still WAY out of my comfort zone. But much to my surprise. I loved them. A lot. And thankfully I earned some rewards from my first party and bought something else, or a couple something else’s.
And then I branched out to another style and tried that. Then I got my first dress - a Julia. Which, for you non Lula people, is a fitted dress. I still can’t believe it! And I loved it on me. It made me feel pretty. (Gotta love my facial expression in this one.)
To be completely honest, I still wear leggings under all my dresses. We will see how brave I get by this summer. Right now the temperature is my friend and makes it so I have an excuse to keep covering up. And I have a new favorite dress, the Nicole. But I love my Carly's and find them to be the most versatile. I've worn them so many different ways from turning it into a shirt to a belted dress. But still not brave enough to show my bare legs. Working on it.
From then on it was love. I loved how they made me feel. I get compliments, but that’s not the half of it. I like looking in the mirror and liking what I see. I feel fun and I feel adventurous. I feel brave and bold. And I don’t feel lumpy and bumpy, because these clothes are all about comfort and flowy fit. I love the bright colors and fun prints. I have an excuse to buy leggings with unicorns on them. Unicorns and I’m 40 - but everything goes because it is LulaRoe!
Speaking of unicorns - I've always been in love with unicorns. You know, since like, birth. I think it is that horse gene that I have. And guess what Lula followers call their favorite but hard to find patterns? Yeah, unicorns. Unicorns might be roses or raccoons or rabbits. Any pattern that you're looking for, but can't find, that's your unicorn. An "elusive" print. You could say I have a pinterest board devoted to prints I want to have someday and you wouldn't be lying. You could also say Lula and I were destined to be together. (Yeah - I'm being dramatic. It's my blog, I can be.)
I started researching ways to wear each piece and have watched dozens of youtube videos, I have a playlist on youtube just for Lula styling ideas. These pieces aren’t just a shirt. There are a million ways to turn this or that shirt into everything from a tshirt to a halter top to a strapless dress. Want to do something different? Turn it backwards and start over with shaping and tying it differently. People are so creative. So I can be creative without having to even think about it. All the hard work is done. I just have to take the pieces I own and play with them. And I absolutely love it. I mean, who would have ever thought I would research and then buy fishnet stockings. Fishnets people. But they completely have changed my world - check out how they look over solid leggings!
I love how each piece can be dressed up or dressed down, how wearing it tied a different way completely changes it. Here's a Lindsay worn a couple of different ways. There is a third way that is kind of cute where you turn it into a wrap shirt. I tried that, but all I could hear was my mom's voice in the back of my head telling me that horizontal stripes make you look wider and I just couldn't do it. Maybe if I get a different Lindsay down the road. I hear they come in lace, hmm....
And of course I can't forget my two favorite shirts. Just today I took my solid Irma and turned it into a halter top. I love this look. Love love love. And the Randy is so cute. Easy to dress down, but also easy to dress up too. And everything comes in so many super cool patterns and colors. You can go monochromatic, gray and black are in the color palette, but why when there are so many other and better options?
I guess to answer the question, "why LulaRoe?" my answer will always be, "why the hell not?" If you find something that makes you feel like a new person, makes you feel like a million bucks, is fun and makes you happy, why not? I still love to accent and add to my outfits with my Goodwill finds, but choosing which Lula combo to wear each day is my favorite part of the morning. I believe that LulaRoe has changed my life. It has changed how I feel about clothes, but most importantly, has changed how I feel about me. I hope that my story inspires others to step outside their comfort zone and try something new. Find that something that makes you feel good about you and share it with the world. And maybe, just maybe, you'll drag your loved ones along with you. I know I did!
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