The Sun Comes Shining Through

Green sweater: Old Navy, remixed * Mustard skirt: thrifted, remixed * Boots: Ciao Bella, remixed * Necklace: DIY/birthday present from my parents!

Guys, I can't believe that Dress Your Best Week is almost over! This has been the most unbelievably inspiring week. It's been amazing to read everyone's posts and the massive amount of self-love that is flowing through the internet right now is just contagious! I think Chelsea said it best,

I don't feel envious or jealous or insecure reading why others love their bodies, even if they're different from mine... instead I'm filled with awe, appreciation, and inspiration! For the women whose favorite parts I can relate to (being tall, small waisted, large-calved, for example), I am gaining more love for my own parts that sometimes I overlook. For those celebrating aspects of their bodies that are completely different than mine (being petite, dainty feet, piercing eyes), my own definition of beauty is expanding and evolving and I'm becoming more aware of how beautiful we all are in our own ways, and how I can unabashedly admire someone else's different physical traits, without coveting them or feeling inadequate when comparing them to mine.

So, for my final day of this wonderful week, I've decided to talk about two parts of my body that I love.

4. My hair
5. My mouth/smile

...now, both may seem small at first, but these are two majorly important parts of what makes me me.

For a very, very long time, my hair was long. Long and curly and thick and fun. Think along the lines of S. at Academichic or Mary of Undergrad Fab...big, unruly, but gorgeous hair. And I loved it when it was long. It was so versatile. When I wanted to feel more polished and professional, I'd straighten it. I'd let it stay long and wild when my bohemian side was stronger. Pulling it up into a funky, curly updo always made me feel unbearably sexy. So when I cut it short, I realized that the versatility that I had grown so accustomed to was gone. Now I don't have a lot of options in terms of what I do with my hair. It just is what it is. And that's why I adore it so much, now. Because it lets my personality speak for itself. I don't get to change who I am with my hair anymore. I am Clare, un-apologetically, and no amount of product can change that now. Plus, pixie cuts are damn cute.

In the same vein, I adore my mouth and smile. I have these wonderfully full, sexy lips, and I've always been so proud of my mouth. Joe wanted me to talk about my smile this week. He said that it was the best part of me, the part that truly communicated who I am. But he also said that it would be hard to show just how great it is, because it's the development of the smile, the movement of my mouth, the growing joy, that makes it so wonderful. He said that it was the transformation from non-smile to smile that makes my smile so magical. So, in lieu of posting a video of me smiling (not gonna happen), you'll just have to take my word for it. I have a wonderful smile, a smile that truly shows me, at my best.

p.s. Can we all just take a minute to ooh and aah at this necklace???!? My parents gave me the dragonfly bead for my birthday, and Joe and I took an awesome expedition to a bead shop in Old Town for me to assemble the rest. I love the outcome!!

Title song: Frank Sinatra, "When You're Smiling"