1. When do you feel at your most attractive?

when i see myself naked in the mirror and admire my curves and shape!

2. Do you notice women on the street? If so, what sort of women do you tend to notice or admire?

not this year (pandemic)

3. What are some things you admire about how other women present themselves?

I'm impressed and frankly mystified by how polished some people always manage to look. Their hair is always done, their nails look fresh, their clothes are stylish. How much work does that take?

I recently had a haircut by someone specializing in curly hair. She gave me some pointers about how to embrace my wavy hair texture. As I learned more about textured haircare, I realized the default in haircare is for straight (white people) hair. I hate that racially biased beauty norms pushed me into a mold for 30 years, without me even realizing it. I love my wavy texture! It's insane to me that I would get haircuts that piled on products that had straightening effects, a blowout, and then recurled my hair. It does that on it's own if treated correctly!

I only buy things that fit and that make sense in my closet. I think it's a good rule.

I am very practical in what I wear. It works for me but practicality isn't always the right defining factor.

I'd say a positive, transformative, and unusual experience.

For context, I had gone up a few sizes into 'plus' sizing. I had had a lot of pretty devastating experiences at stores. Like, thrifting at my local goodwill, there was almost nothing about a size L. I tried using a personal shopper at Nordstrom and left in tears. I was at a consignment store checking out a form fitting dress and the shop assistant said, oh at that size you should wear something more flowing. I had a lot of body shame.

So after all this, I still need stuff to wear in my new size. I went to the Universal Standard showroom and left in tears - but in a good way. Every single thing in that showroom came in sizing that fit me. The shop assistant was SO nice and kind and SO positive about how I looked. I felt so seen and so included and so catered to. It was honestly life changing for me at that time. It made me feel like I could find clothes for myself that were nice, and that fit, and that made me feel good, after a long time of not really trying.

I try to be organized, not have excessive consumption, get stuff secondhand, save over spend, etc.

I recently bought a two pairs of my favorite cut of Levi's. I like the Rib Cage Straight Ankle and it's hard to get in a Size 16, so I bought a few.

I also bought a few of my favorite ORI tshirts and will buy more.

I also have bought multiples of camis, undies, and bike shorts from Thunderpants, because they are THE BEST and so Comfortable for sleeping.

Those two items are the basis of my daily uniform. They're core closet items.

Ruffles. I don't like excess fabric on my body.

She has a bad relationship with her body and struggles to take care of herself. I try really hard to do the opposite.

no

Handmade bathrobe (made by me). It's grey french terry and like getting wrapped in a sweatshirt hug.

Fast fashion.

Reality TV star or instagram influencer

No, it gives me headaches.

I never had a mom or sister who taught me how to do makeup, so I haven't worn it much and am learning from zero. During quarantine I got into lipsticks, as my first foray. I just take it in baby steps. I don't really like a lot of makeup anyway, I'd rather focus on skincare.

-Lots of wool socks from farm to feet and basic athletic socks
-A handful of panache and fantasie bras; I'm a difficult size so I keep a pretty minimal bra wardrobe
-Undies from TomboyX, Thunderpants, and cheapies from target for my periods
-Two sets of workout leggings, bike shorts, and athletic tops
-A zip up hoodie and two homemade pullover sweatershirts
-Lots of cotton tanks for sleeping
-Two pairs of Levi Rib Cage Straight Ankle Jeans
-Two pairs of Universal Standard Reine Jeans (they are a little too big in the waist, need to size down)
-Two pairs of Old Navy linen blend pants (I don't like them very much, the quality isn't good)
-One pair of tencel old navy shorts
-A drawer full of secondhand cashmere and wool sweaters and cardigans, many from Eileen Fisher Renew
-Several knit pencil skirts, most wool knits from EFR
-Four pair of sweatpants / joggers
-3 Tees from Ori Everyday
-A handful of basic Univeral Standard Tees
-Two US dresses
-Several handmade and thrifted fun jackets
-Two pairs of birkenstock arizonas
-Two pairs of New Balance Walking Shoes
-Two pairs of men's oxfords
-Two pairs of high heel wedges
-One black leather sneaker
-One pair of wood clogs
-One red rain coat
-One half length black puffer jacket
-One Baggu backpack (LOVE IT!)
-One red crossover leather satchel
-Assorted other scarves and bags
-One pair of Smith Sunglasses
-Assorted jewelry, most gifted from my mom. I rarely wear jewelry, but the stuff I like the most is pieces that are handmade and minimalist.

The list is not everything, but it's pretty comprehensive.

That's hard. I love most of my clothes, a lot. I don't hang on to stuff that I don't really enjoy and love unless it's a necessary placeholder until I find the right version of that item.

I have a few vintage coats and other pieces I thrifted that no longer fit. The quality and construction on them is so interesting I keep them around as a reference (I sew my own clothes). One jacket in particular has a lot of very special memories relating to my relationship, so I keep that for sentimental reasons.

I learned in the past few years to actually buy what I need.

All the time. I changed sizes pretty dramatically, and at my smaller size, I had a lot of very cool, interesting clothes that I thrifted that were just beautiful and fun and made me feel good. And as I got bigger, they stopped fitting and I started getting rid of them. I have a lot of grief around that. It was traumatic to lose that source of pleasure and it's taken a long time to slowly rebuild pleasure and joy into clothing.

I also have pieces I gave away that I wish I still had because I learned how to resell my clothes and had some really, really nice stuff.

I'd keep a beautiful silk scarf my partner bought me.

I have basically done that over the past few years and I think it's smart to go slow, buy less but good stuff that will last, and take care of items.

Shorts that don't ride up in the thighs.

I bought a polyester knit polka dot jumpsuit second hand online. I wore it once and wasn't so sure I liked it. But I put it on again recently and realized it looked AWESOME on me and it was SUPER comfortable in warmer weather.

Online. 1-2 pieces per month.

I recently learned how to sell my clothes online, so I've made a few hundred dollars from that, and use it to buy new stuff. Then I try to buy stuff I know has resale value. It means I am more willing to take risks because I know I can recoup my costs if it doesn't work out.