by Llewellyn

1. What is a "magical fashionista?"

A magical fashionista is someone who employs fashion and self-care practices to positively affect every area of her life. Of course, many of us consider fashion and self-care to positively affect our lives through our appearance and confidence levels, and this is definitely a big part of it, because when you feel good about yourself, everything in your life blossoms. But a magical fashionista takes this a step further by being highly conscious and intentional about what she wears and what vibe she wants to embody, as well as by allowing her wardrobe to be both a calibration device and a diagnostic tool that helps her to activate, enhance, and harmonize every aspect of her life experience.

2. In your new book, Magical Fashionista, you say that one can employ fashion for all sorts of what you call "magical" purposes. What's an example of a magical purpose, and what's the simplest way to begin working wardrobe witchery right away?

So, a magical purpose can be any quality, mood, or condition that you desire to draw into your life. But for an example, let's choose something simple and something that everyone wants: happiness. Let's say that your magical intention is to be happy, because perhaps (let's say) you've been depressed or bummed out for a stretch. So a really effective way to begin working wardrobe witchery right away would be to do a closet purge, and to get rid of every little thing that doesn't make you feel happy. In order to get stuck energy moving, it can be a great idea to pull everything out of your closet and dresser. Everything. Perhaps you could set a happy mood by lighting a red, sweet-smelling candle and putting on a happy playlist. Then, don't put anything back in your closet or dresser unless it supports your intention to be happy. We all have those "low self-worth clothes" that can tend to accumulate (you know, the ones you never feel fabulous in but wear anyway?), so definitely get rid of those. Donate them to a thrift store or invite your friends over for a clothing swap. Then, even if you only have a few things left in your closet, you will have created the space for happiness to flow into your life, and simply by setting the intention and acting on it, you will have set these positive conditions in motion.

2. How did Magical Fashionista come to be? What gave you the idea, and what sources did you draw upon?

As many of my readers know, I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Healing from something like that can be a lifelong journey, with lots of layers and nuances, and I had recently been going through a lot of healing with regards to my body and sexuality. So, during this time, I began to take care of my body with reverence and love. Even my daily shower and self-care practices were like a therapy session with myself, and like a sacred ritual of healing my relationship with my physicality. Also during this time, I happened to watch the documentary Bill Cunningham, New York (about veteran street fashion photographer Bill Cunningham), which really got me thinking about how fashion can be a tool of personal healing and transformation: I realized that adorning my body lovingly and finding clothes that helped me feel good in my skin and in the world could be a highly sacred and magical act. After sitting with this idea, I quickly realized that this wasn't too different from what I had already been writing about and expressing through my work as a feng shui consultant. After all, feng shui starts with the premise that everything is connected, and that our outer environment affects our inner environment and vice versa. I thought to myself: "How is feng shui different than fashion and self-care? It isn't!" So, in the book, you'll find that I draw upon feng shui principles as well as other metaphysical modalities.

Click here to read the full interview.

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