Outfit of the Day: Crawling Out of the Comfort Zone with Pose Wigs (Sponsored)

Over the past few years, wigs have become sort of my “signature” sartorially, mostly by accident really. Aside from being a great way to change up my style from look to look, wigs are also work for those awkward hair days, especially now that I’m in the slow (read: painful) process of growing out my pixie cut.

Photos by Stephanie Stein Photography.

At first, I was pretty hesitant to try wigs for various reasons–comfort, potential damage to my real hair, maintenance, possible ridicule–but I decided on a whim to purchase my first one in late 2014 after seeing some other fashion bloggers rock them in their looks. Needless to say, I’m never going back to my wig-free lifestyle, because it is SO much easier to throw on a kooky wig than to try to achieve these crazy colors naturally (although I owe my stylist an immense amount of gratitude for trying to get me the rainbow hair of my dreams about a million times, bless her.)

Most of my readers know that I went through a pretty intense breakup in mid-2015; however, most people don’t know that I had a fairly lengthy period of identity crisis afterwards which kept me from blogging. I’ve known who I am in this relationship for so long, I said to my old self, I spent so much time trying to make this work and watering down my personality to keep him around that I kind of forgot who I am outside of this. Where do I go from here? How do I find myself again? After much self-exploration as recommended by my friends and therapist, I really began to push the boundaries of my outfits and added a slew of wigs to my collection, which have in turn allowed me to become the weirdest and happiest version of myself and, most importantly, allowed me to love blogging again.

I hear bloggers and other fashion personas talk all the time about getting in a “style rut.” I think that when you do something as part of a career or on an everyday basis, the possibility of burnout is increased exponentially, especially whenever your job is centered around being creative and original. Should I actually post this outfit? Will my readers respond to it? Is it boring or repetitive? Is it “me”? Am I “on brand”? Will sponsors work with me? It’s completely understandable, and it’s something that I struggle with on occasion, especially now that my blog is gaining momentum.

The best advice that I can offer when you’re beginning to feel self-doubt or bored is to push yourself creatively. I know this sounds a bit counterintuitive because you know, followers and sponsorships and all of the aforementioned stuff, but the best way to break out of that rut is to try something totally new that goes outside of your comfort zone.

In my case, Pose Wigs was kind enough to send me this dark purple wig to style for a shoot. I was so excited, and I originally picked out a light purple 70s boho midi-dress to wear, but I’ll be damned if it just didn’t look right. I was so frustrated! I pored through my closet for days and couldn’t figure out what to wear. I tend to veer towards lighter, more pastel colors (aka where I felt most comfortable), but for this look I knew I needed something edgier and more fashion-forward to accompany the wig. I felt really stuck until I consulted with Stephanie and saw this black jumpsuit in her wardrobe. You can’t pull off black, I said mentally, almost like a reflex. But as I pondered what to wear, I thought about what my therapist told me in relation to my anxiety: “What’s the worst that could happen?” Touché, Ed, touché.

After giving myself a pep talk, I decided to say fuck it, because I needed a challenge to keep my blogging momentum going. And y’all know what? I LOOK AWESOME. I ended up surprising myself and really channeling some sexy, dark-lady-of-the-night vibes with the fur coat, choker, and purple lipstick, and I’m much more encouraged to keep exploring what encompasses my style.

Moral of the story? You can pull off anything if you aren’t afraid to leave your comfort zone. Lesson learned.