I’m going to be honest: this feels vulnerable.

I’m not a fashionista, and I never have been. I like following fashion, but I also think a lot of it is silly and impractical, at least for my stage of life. I’m fully in my bleacher mom era, and I kind of love the sporty feel.

I’ve spent most of my life in workout clothes. Before I started working online, my life was devoted to running a gym. I lived in workout gear. And I still seem to use that phase of life to justify yoga pants and sweatshirts as a wardrobe. Those have been my go-to, my comfort. Of course, they’re easy and comfortable, but they also hide a body I didn’t always feel good in. It was rare for me to put on “hard pants,” as we started calling them post-COVID.

My Wardrobe Moment With God

A few years ago, in the middle of winter, I realized my wardrobe was creating evidence for my lackluster life. It was quietly supplying proof that:

1. I didn’t feel good in jeans, because I didn’t feel good in my body.
2. I was bad at style, so I just wore bad-looking clothes.
3. I was struggling to be productive, which is a natural byproduct of wearing pajama-like clothes daily. (Of course your mind is like, wait, why are we working when we’re in pajamas?)

In the darkest days of winter, and some of the darker days of my mind, I had a moment with God. He nudged me to put on some real clothes. I know that sounds crazy… God told me to get dressed. But it was really more of a nudge that said, okay, it’s time to grow up.

I can’t say it’s been perfect since then, but from that day I saw style in a new light. Not as arriving somewhere, and not as a show, but as an act of obedience. Getting dressed isn’t God’s call on my life, but it’s a choice I get to wake up every day that reminds me to walk in that call. It was a choice I got to make about how I would show up that day. And it did become a small act of faith to show up daily.

It’s never really about the clothes. It’s the meaning behind the clothes. What I put on became the evidence for the edited story: the bigger, God-written story over my life. And it was the beginning of my grown-girl era.

I’ve never really talked about style before (and I’m not saying you should take fashion tips from me). But I think this is going to meet someone today the way God met me.

Are your clothes supporting the story you were created to live?

Style is its own kind of medicine.

I find it interesting how impactful style is on health. It may be the most unexpected health tip, but it’s changing our biology by changing our nervous system. Researcher Daisy Fancourt even calls it “the forgotten fifth pillar of health” (I dig into the research in Reclaim Your Style (An Unexpected Health Tip)).

Style changes how you show up, not just in life, but in your mind and body. As mentioned, getting dressed is one of the first decisions you make each day, and that decision becomes a thread that runs through everything else you do.

Let’s be real: rolling through the school drop-off lane in your pajamas is great, right up until your kid leaves their shoes in your car and you have to walk them into the school.

It feels good in the moment, but in the long run it leaves you feeling kind of blah. And I only know this because I’ve lived it.

But I also know the other side. The side where a nice pair of jeans makes you feel so good. The side where doing your hair makes you feel like you can actually conquer your to-do list. And the side where a nice sweater and a good pair of pants make you feel like you’re in control of your health. Let me remind you, you are.

Invest in feeling good (and let the “skinny jeans” go)

We invest a lot of money in supplements and medications, and find that some of it is necessary. But what if you also invested in feeling good in the clothes you wear?

That might mean buying some new clothes and getting rid of the ones you don’t wear. If you have a pair of “skinny jeans” lurking in your closet, it’s time to let them go. And I’m not talking about the style skinny, but the jeans you wore when you thought you were skinny. They’re not doing anything good. They’re only reminding you of what you’re not. Let them go.

And then decide what you feel good in. Because why not feel good in what you wear? Buy the size that fits now. Trust that confidence changes you in a way no supplement can.

Don’t get lost in fashion trends.

I don’t think you need to buy new clothes to feel good, and yet I think it can be good, and even healing, to also buy some new ones. You’re already spending money on plenty of things that can’t change how you feel the way a good outfit can.

But at the same time, you don’t need to get lost trying to keep up with trends. If you ask me, the one trend that is always in is you feeling good in your skin. It’s you walking around in confidence. That’s the only trend that matters.

So before you get lost in the trends, take time to evaluate what feels good on you. What do you prefer? What makes you feel confident?

Do a Closet Edit

Then do a closet edit. Sort your closet into two piles:

1. Feel-Good Clothes: The pieces you reach for and feel like yourself in.
2. Leave-it Clothes: The pieces that fit someone else’s life, someone else’s body, or someone else’s idea of you.

From there, do a little edit. Start with what you have, then figure out what you need to fill the gaps. If you have zero pairs of jeans that make you feel good, mark that as a potential investment. I started a notes document of what I had that I loved. From that, you can let Pinterest (or AI) help you put what you have together and highlight anything you might need to make it make sense.

Make it make sense: My Batched Fall Wardrobe

I have a decent amount of clothes. And clothes I mostly like. I just couldn’t always get it to make sense. That’s why I decided to do this little experiment: understand what I had and what I needed to make it all make sense. From there, I set a budget and batch-bought the pieces to bring it all together.

I already owned most of what I’m wearing this fall. But what helped was those few key pieces I was missing.

Here are the steps I took to build a batched fall wardrobe.

Step 01: Set your budget

Don’t go into debt to batch a wardrobe. It’s never worth it, and you probably already have most of what you need. Get honest about what you’re willing to spend and whether the reward is worth the cost. There are plenty of ways to do this without spending much, too. Think thrifting, or a closet swap with a few friends.

I gave myself $250 for a full fall closet refresh, and I spent almost exactly that, down to the penny. (My husband would tell you that’s no surprise.)

Step 02: Work With What You Have

Start with what you already own. There’s no need to buy more of what you already love. Save your cash for the real gaps and pieces you need to pull it all together.

I started a notes document listing the clothes I felt good in, and that list became the beginning of my fall wardrobe.

Step 03: Get inspired

This step isn’t about comparing yourself to anyone. It’s about understanding what you actually need and want. Pinterest is a great place for wardrobe inspiration.

This is also a great job for AI. Tell it what you already own and what your life actually looks like, and see what it comes up with. Here’s roughly what I typed:

I want to batch a classic fall wardrobe for a work-from-home mom of three teenagers who spends most of her time in the bleachers. Here’s what I already own and love: [your list]. My budget is [$]. What pieces would fill the gaps and work with what I have?

Step 04: Shop Around

Once you have your list of gap-fillers, start shopping. You can use AI here, too: ask it for the best-quality options for each item on your list, with links. Or browse your local shops and favorite stores.

Tip: Buy everything in one window and keep the tags on. Trying it all on together, with what you already own, makes it obvious what works and what goes back. Plus, batch-buying helps you stay within your budget.

My personal fall edit

The look I was going for this fall: classic comfort. Here are the pieces I already owned and loved:

• Cargo pants
• Jewlery
• Leggings (even though I’m cutting way back on my legging wear)
• A good sweatshirt
• A baseball hat
• Shoes
• Plain basic tees in multiple colors

Things I was looking for:

• A polo shirt (my trendy option)
• Wide-leg trousers
• A striped button cardigan
• A basic sweater pullover
• A farm jacket (my splurge)
• A new sporty look

What I actually bought:

• This polo shirt
• Wide-legged trousers, which I ended up sending back
• This button cardigan, with a big pop of color
• A farm jacket, I cut this once I realized I already had plenty of jackets, and put the money toward shoes instead
• These Sambas (I can’t get enough of them)
• A classic quarter-zip to wear with a basic white tee and leggings
• A new pair of wide-legged jeans

NOTE: I purchased all items during Labor Day sales. Check back for sales or use coupons. It saves you a lot of money.

How I feel:

I always love new clothes. It’s my creativity coming out. While not every piece was a winner, I sent back a few sweaters and the wide-leg trousers. But waking up every day to clothes that fit the season and make me feel good has changed me. A newer, more unfiltered me has been coming out lately (like sharing the one habit I never thought I’d share).

It also showed me how many pieces I already own that work together. It pushed me to get creative with what was already in my closet, and I promise it has saved us money.

Batching it all at once was genius. I knew exactly what I was spending before I pulled the trigger, and I had to evaluate what would and wouldn’t work together. It made sense from both a style standpoint and a cost standpoint.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely.

I do love a spontaneous shopping trip, and I’ll probably still do that here and there. But right now I’ve committed to sticking with my budget and my fall batch, with no new purchases until winter, and I’m holding firm. So yes, it’s saved money just by cutting out the impulse buys.

It’s also made me more excited to get dressed. Come winter, I already own a lot of pieces, and winter is the season I most want to live in sweats. So I’ll do a winter batch edit and see what I come up with, though my budget probably won’t be the same.

Your Turn For a Wardrobe Batch

Before you buy anything this season, open your closet and ask: what already makes me feel like myself? Start there. Then fill in the gaps on purpose.

Getting dressed is a choice to show up. Make it one you feel good about.

Your fall closet edit, in 5 minutes:

1. Pull out everything you actually wore last fall.
2. Sort it into feel-good and leave-it.
3. List the gaps (one pair of jeans that fits now counts).
4. Set a number and don’t go over it.
5. Buy in one batch, try it all on together, and send back what doesn’t make you feel like you.

Let me know what you think!