10 Reasons To Look Your Best Every Day

Beauty is truly only skin deep, and at the end of the day, it’s pretty meaningless if we don’t foster the more lasting parts of our identity, like kindness and intelligence. However, sometimes we just want to feel like we look our best.

As much as I firmly believe that way too much emphasis is placed on physical attributes in our culture, and also think that the media definitely creates unrealistic standards of beauty (I’m supposed to hold down a full-time job and look like a Photoshopped celebrity who has a personal chef and trainer? I don’t think so), I also definitely feel more confident when I’m happy about the way I look. It’s an inescapable part of being human, no matter how much we might be aware of our culture’s perverse fascination with looking “perfect.”

That being said, there are definitely super simple ways we can look more aesthetically pleasing, which in turn will hopefully give us that little added boost of confidence to help us take on an important moment or event. Because at the end of the day, so much about beauty products and fashion is really about how they makes us feel, and not about what they’re actually doing to us on the outside.

So in the spirit of feeling our most awesome, here are ten reasons you should always look your best.

1. life’s too short to blend in. Don’t settle for average.

Often, fashion is used in either of two ways, to blend in or to stand out. Life’s too short to blend into the background, why not dress cute wherever you go and turn heads.

2. You deserve to look your best at all times if you want to.

Allow yourself to discover what style, clothes, accessories make you feel good, reflect who you truly are and bring you joy when you wear them. Don’t settle for anything less. This is a powerful way to practice self-love and self-acceptance.

3. Look sharp, be sharp.

The clothes you wear change what people hear you say. For example, if you were lost in a city, you would be more likely to get directions from a man or woman who is dressed nicely. Similarly, if you were on a trailhead, you would ask someone who is dressed appropriately for hiking or camping advice. Dress the message you want to convey. People are more likely to listen to what you have to say if you are well dressed.

4. It’s a confidence booster.

Dressing nice will boost your confidence. Wearing running shorts and a huge shirt may be comfortable, but it won’t make you look good or truly feel good. If you look good, you will feel good — it’s that simple.

5. Express your better self.

Dressing up is a form of art. You have the freedom to express yourself through your clothing while still looking nice. Dressing up for day to day does not mean looking like you are going to prom. If you express yourself by wearing shirts, you can look nice wearing jeans and a tee shirt.

6. Increase productivity.

If you are dressed for the day, you are more likely to be productive. If you are wearing loose and comfortable clothing, you are more likely to fall asleep.

7. It’s fun.

Dressing up is fun. After all, every day is special. Parties are not the only time to celebrate. Dress like every day is your last.

8. Stand out and gain respect.

Are you in college? Working? When everyone around you looks like they just rolled out of bed, your professors and/or boss will start to take notice that you took the time to get ready. If you did just roll out of bed, it takes less than a minute to get dressed; throw on a dress and some cute flats, it takes no time at all. Don’t let the stress of no sleep affect the way you look.

9. It will urge you to stay fit.

If you are wearing loose clothing, or anything with elastic, it will be easier to cover up that you haven’t been to the gym in a month. If your clothing looks good, it will motivate you to stay fit to make what’s under your clothes look good as well.

10. Dress for the shape and size you are today.

The majority of women I know are not 100% satisfied with how their bodies look, wanting to change at least one thing about themselves. While self-improvement is not a bad thing in itself (depending on your motivation), it can sometimes leave us too focused on where we want to be and not on where we are now.

It can be a radical act of self-love to allow yourself to wear a beautiful well-suited for you outfit before you lose that weight or before you tone that part of your body. Because you already deserve to look and feel your best, in this place you are today, no matter how imperfect it may seem. And it won’t stop you from getting to where you want to be, in fact sometimes it gets you there with more ease.

Conclusion

There will be days when your outfit is not perfect, when you forgot to do your laundry and the blouse for that skirt is not available, when nothing feels right. There will be times when you simply don’t have time to focus on what to wear and there will be times when you don’t know what feels good, what style suits you, what outfits are “you” because you are going through a big transition in your life or maybe your body is changing. Showing yourself love at times like these is essential. Sometimes love begins with self-compassion. Everything else can wait.