Because I work at a financial institution, the door has to be unlocked for us each morning as the vault has to be opened. I stood at the door, and I could hear my co-worker inside, who was talking to two others, exclaim, ‘Devon’s wearing a dress, I have to go see what’s going on!’ And she rushed over to let me inside. There was lots of cackling laughter as I entered the building, about how she rushed over to greet me on this day with the unusual occurrence of me turning up in a dress.

I always felt like if I dressed quite ‘girly,’ that I would draw attention to myself. And attention is something I have never wanted much of. So naturally, when nervous, I sweat a bit that day, wearing something so foreign to my typical wardrobe. This was a couple of years ago, and I have gradually now become more comfortable wearing skirts and dresses. I love nice clothes, and always aspired to have a classic, ‘put-together’ look. For so long I just felt like I couldn’t buy the nicer pieces when I have kids and a family that need things. Now, my outlook is, there will always be bills and money going to groceries, why not up my game with my clothing – by which I mean, not just settling for the least costly. Quality pieces go a long way. And I am also deciding that I can be more high maintenance as I get older 🤣(I wrote about this last year: Little Luxe Upgrades).

We have had exceptionally sunny and warm weather here on South Vancouver Island recently, so last week I decided I would make it a ‘skirt week’. A little challenge with myself – that no one knew about, to wear a skirt all 5 work days. And I did it! I almost resorted to my usual security blanket of pants on Thursday, but I stuck with it. No one noticed either. (The photo above is from a month ago.). It is sometimes the little things that no one notices, that take courage.

Reflecting on that, the courage to do something that is so mundane for others made me think of this quote:

“Artists are people driven by tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide.” DW Winnicott.

Wardrobe and how I present myself is a form of communication. Hiding is also perfectly pleasant. The quote holds as true for my art as it does for my daily life.

Sending Love,

Devon