Well, I started writing this last night as I was sitting at Silver Vines wine bar in Arvada, Colorado listening to my husband, Erik, play a three-hour set. Let’s just say that rereading the post this morning… gave me second thoughts. There’s a guy who had one too many last night, who bowed down to Erik and told every patron who walked in that it’s a “privilege” to listen to this man (Erik, the one I married) play piano. A gorgeous pit mix named Oaf laid on the floor directly across from the keys setup, not seeming to mind at all the loud PA blaring in his face. Meanwhile, I enjoyed a Syrah at the corner bar seat with a cheese board and strangers. Not a bad way to spend a Friday evening — but the writing wasn’t exactly great.

The problem is that I wasn’t sure what to blog about this week — it’s been an unusual week of physical and emotional ups and down. On Monday, I (accidentally — embarrassing story) hit on my head on our granite kitchen countertop and ended up at the doctor’s where I was prescribed rest, rest, and more rest after “a really hard bonk” (doctor’s words, not mine). I’m finally feeling better, but I haven’t given much thought to this week’s post until… well, yesterday.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how and why fashion resale became such a hallmark of my life. There are so many bloggers, influencers, public figures, celebrities, and researchers out there who talk about the psychology of how we present ourselves — what we wear, how we style our hair, how we do our makeup, how we hold our head up high, etc. — impacts our physical and emotional wellness, earning potential, and confidence. I think this probably resonates with most of us — it’s relatively easy to relate. Duh, when we look good, we feel good. Mostly. Not to trivialize the results, but it doesn’t strike me as a huge leap of logic.

Fashion resale and consignment became important to me because I didn’t want to look like — or feel like — every other young woman in an office setting when I was working in Washington D.C. in my twenties. Not that I thought I was an amazing fashionista or anything — I just knew I wanted to look and feel different, but I couldn’t really afford designer pieces, and I knew I didn’t want cheap shit. And so, I frequented Secondi, Current Boutique, and Clothes Encounters of a Second Kind on the weekends. Soon, I added digital platforms like Poshmark, The RealReal, and Tradesy into my rotation. And soon after that, I found myself unexpectedly an expert in this space, advising friends on how to sell the pieces they weren’t wearing and where to find the pieces that would make them feel special. Confidence, check. Extra pocket change, check. Helping friends, check.

Next week we’ll be spotlighting my favorite consignors in the Denver metro and sharing a TSL community member interview. Until then, wear your house helmets and look out for granite countertops, friends. Here’s a photo of my cute dogs to tide you over.