True Style Is Self-Acceptance

One of my very favorite online sites is StyleLikeU. I've shared posts from it before, most recently the one featuring designer Betsey Johnson. I am a big fan of the Closet video series that allows us a peek into the personal style of select people along with their inspiring stories of what has shaped them. Mother-daughter team Elisa Goodkind and Lily Mandelbaum are amazing at seeing and showing the beauty in people who are not mainstream but always stylish, often quirky and sometimes misunderstood. Their latest venture that is receiving much attention is their video series What's Underneath. It's sort of the opposite of their Closet videos. In What's Underneath, a person shares about their struggles to accept their body, all the while shedding layer after layer of clothing until they are almost bare - because true style is self-acceptance. Clothing is really just a window dressing for the body and soul, and style is more about who we are than what we wear. Sometimes these videos are raw and hard to watch but at the same time they are inspiring and reflective. I ask myself  who am I without all the layers of protection and self-expression that my clothing gives me? Do people see who I am, or what I want them to see? Do my clothing choices really tell my personal story? Now a Kickstarter project called I Am What's Underneath, this video series will become a feature-length documentary that we can all help fund.