Brands Blue Jeans and Besties
How these three B’s brought me clarity and influenced my business.
Jeans offer a lived-in comfort, easily, the best pair are the ones that just fit perfectly and hug your curves in all the right places. Somedays they stretch, somedays they give you room to wiggle, and on those occasional “fat” days the baggies fit perfectly, graciously giving the body a gentle hug of acceptance.
Over a brief conversation, I had mentioned I needed to clean my closet, my bestie quickly said… “I can help you”. The thought of her looking in my closet made me feel small. It was a complete mess. Jeans piled 3 feet high on the floor clothes so tightly packed you could barely remove an article of clothing without chipping a tip.
Since my bestie is the ultimate organization queen, she opened my closet door, her eyes became huge, and exclaimed… NO girl needs 80 pairs of jeans. I shrugged it off quickly with a slight roll of the eye and thought to myself… wow, she doesn’t even get me. I truly do. I’m a creative girl and jeans represent my personality. I didn’t say a word out loud because secretly I welcomed the extra girl power of pulling all of this denim and clothing out of a 5×8 hole in the wall, known as my closet, that I also share with my husband.
Piles of jeans were scattered all over the floor! If I had 5 pairs of jeans in the same color, she would emphatically say, pick one! WHAT? Pick one? I’d respond. Each pair has its own vibe, fit, feel, attitude! How could I possibly just pick just one? Fit and flare, utilitarian, cargo, moto chic, straight leg skinny, mid-rise, high rise… I asked her, don’t you put on a pair of jeans based on your mood? Imagine my surprise when she said NO.!
Sorting, color coordinating, and ridding out took place, which was a horrible process for my fast-paced mind, but the freedom I was feeling was fresh and light, my closet was beginning to breathe new energy. With the remaining piles of jeans, blouses, blazers, 2-piece business suits neatly sorted I quickly ordered a 3-tier garnet rack from Amazon and began meticulously hanging each piece. Multiple times I had a strong urge to do a quick visit to Goodwill just to be done with this process, I so wanted to press my “magic” button and be free from this monumental task, but my bestie’s words would ring in my ear …. save them, don’t give them away, we’ll sell them. My face grew pale with the mere thought of what that looked like and how in the world was that going to happen. I was completely exhausted by the thought and had no idea how to even begin processing this insurmountable task.
Well, as she is a girl of her word, she spent a few more hours with me the following Saturday afternoon, literally modeling all my jeans. She meticulously instructed me on how to photograph them with the best light. This task seemed daunting, and my brain literally couldn’t comprehend what was happening. My attention span grew shorter and shorter as she, at a rapid-fire pace, repeated this process over and over … 80 times to be exact. I often had this “deer in the headlight” look on my face. She remained calm and directed me on the angle of my photos from my trusted iPhone as she continued to model each pair of my precious pants.
With each pair that adorned her body, I would have fond memories of where I wore the jean, the year, or even how I styled the particular pair. She’d laugh and say, “have you worn them since?” My answer was almost always, well…no, but I will….
My jeans always felt as if they were an extension of my personality.
Being an entrepreneur, when going for the feminine and polished look I’d reach for my mid-rise straight-leg skinny in black. Needless to say, I had 12 pairs of black skinnies, all with just the slightest bit of difference of course.
A more laid-back client would most likely be greeted in destroyed denim or moto-chic ripped jeans that could easily elevate my vibe to feeling edgy, creative as if I had just received a jolt of energy that was unexplainable.
Well, here is where the transition took place. Call it a breakthrough moment.
At one point, my bestie proclaimed I had addictions and I needed to put my energy into more productive areas of my life. As I looked at her, a zillion insecurities flooded my soul. I said under a teary breath…. I am a good person! She responded, “this has nothing to do with you being a good person” I couldn’t even look at her, her voice was strong. I felt misunderstood as my insecurities mounted and vulnerability set in. I have a feeling she knew her words resonated with me. My brain took off like a typhoon processing this lifestyle habit I had created for myself. Hiding my feelings, inadequacies, not enough, littleness through my shopping and other addictions. As the day went on, I felt numb, and I couldn’t stop her words from replaying in my mind over and over.
Her words continued to replay through my mind like a broken record, I knew I needed to change this behavior, and seeing this mountain of denim and clothing neatly stacked into piles made me realize I was hiding behind a false sense of my expression of fitting in. This moment just felt bigger than me, it felt like I had this hole in me that I filled with nonsense addictions that made no difference at the end of the day.
Thumbing through 654 photos in my trusted iPhone, I sat quietly and began creating my Poshmark shop of designer jeans. One by one I began uploading images, descriptions, inputting details, and price points. …. From Rag & Bone, Vince, NSF, Current Elliott… the myriad of colored denim was a sight to see.
Once I had about 19 jeans added to Poshmark, my excitement had escalated to the point I then began posing and photographing my jeans around the house, in the garden, in the glam shack, on the kitchen table… basically anywhere that added a touch of my creative expression to my favorite items. It’s as if I felt I was under a clothing spell and I couldn’t stop what was happening until this wave of release flew through me and out of me.
I was on the most creative high and texted my friend….” thank you and your super organization skills & for helping me. I need to work on filling quiet moments with productivity and not with random addictions.”
She responded…. I can show you. Let your addiction sell pants!
With a big chuckle, I brushed it off as just one of those funny comments my friend will drop on me now and then.
Building brands and making them beautiful is my business, from creating websites, marketing materials, or HTML newsletters…. I love helping businesses succeed and collaborating on building bigger visions to accelerate success.
It then hit me. Selling jeans wasn’t what I was really doing at all, it was merely an outlet to release a closet full of purchases that were holding me back. What I realized is, it helped me create a foundation to channel my energy more positively and productively all the while creating a stronger foundation to share my skillset and passion with others.
Feel free to check out Poshmark for some fun name-brand jeans and chinos. My addiction to denim has been tamed and am now a believer that 10 pairs of jeans are actually more than enough.
If you’re into shredding small details that punctuate flawlessly with a cool, uncluttered approach to your business, pull on your fav brand of blues, and schedule a quick hello and let’s talk about how we can make your business bloom.
