Like anyone, I’m picky about my clothes. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a fashionista (anything but, really) but I do like to feel beautiful, comfortable, and confident in the way I dress myself. So, when I find an item that I really like, I’m reluctant to give it up…even if it’s gone out of style.

Fortunately, things like jeans and jean shorts don’t often go out of style (skinny jeans have stayed popular, or at least acceptable, for well over a decade now) and so it’s easy to hang onto them for as long as they fit. As it so happens, jeans and shorts also are the items of clothing that I feel the most picky about. Jeans are designed for women of all shapes and sizes, which is a good thing, but I guess selfishly I wish they were all designed perfectly for me. (hehe…)

My favorite jeans are from Target, and I purchased them 4 years ago at this point. They’re pretty worn out, sadly, but since the time I bought the pants, Target completely got rid of their Mossimo brand. They replaced it with other brands that don’t seem to fit me as well as the Mossimo ones did. I was really bummed about this because jeans don’t last forever, but recently I realized that I can buy them secondhand on eBay.

As it is, I’ve never fallen in love with a pair of shorts like I’ve fallen in love with my Mossimo jeans. I feel like every new pair I try on ends up being baggy in the wrong parts and tight in the wrong parts. Other pairs are too short, some too long, some too stiff, some more like spandex. They ride up, slide down, and in general just frustrate me. I prefer to wear athletic shorts most of the time for comfort reasons, but they aren’t always the most appropriate wardrobe selection.

This summer was really hot, and pretty much all social activities took place outside because of COVID. I didn’t feel comfortable or confident in any of the shorts I owned except for my hiking shorts, and those posed the same problem of appropriateness as other athletic shorts. I found myself wishing that I had shorts I loved as much as my favorite jeans and then one day I realized I could…I would just have to make them.

I was super lucky to find the exact same size of my favorite jeans on eBay for less than $4. I bought them immediately and they arrived less than a week later. To trim them, I laid my hiking shorts (perfect length) over the top, cut off the legs of the jeans, rolled up the cut ends and added a few stitches on the sides to hold them in place.

The result? My new favorite pair of shorts.

Sometimes I feel a little silly for worrying about the comfort of my wardrobe so much, but then I remember that planning ahead keeps me from worrying later. There’s nothing more distracting that ill-fitting clothing. If I’m pulling up, straightening, adjusting, or otherwise fiddling with my clothes, I’m not able to be fully present in my life. I prefer to get dressed, start my day, and not think about my clothes again until I put on my pajamas at night. Being intentional about buying and wearing clothes that I love helps me to live my life according to my values.

In addition to clothes and jewelry, I have a few permanent decorations on my body…like my recovery tattoo. I just had it done a few months ago, and I love it. I’ve considered myself recovered for more than 6 years now, but the tattoo isn’t just about recovery, or my eating disorder—something I’d sometimes prefer to forget about. But despite how difficult that time of my life was, God redeemed my relationship with food and has allowed me to use those experiences to help others (like with this blog, and my book!) In the bible, we’re promised that God is bigger than our struggles and is continually working on our behalf, even using life’s challenges for our good and His glory. My tattoo reminds me that God followed through on his promises with regards to the difficulty of my eating disorder, and it helps me trust that he will continue to be faithful in the future.

Do you have any tattoos? What do they mean to you?