Lost in the Layers

In attempts to be everywhere and do everything, all at once, we are constantly

changing to fit the mould of who we are supposed to be in each role throughout our daily

lives. No literally, I change my outfit at least five times a day. The desire to live a ‘balanced

lifestyle” is more prevalent than ever before, wake up at 6, make it to pilates for 7, be in the

office by 9, meeting at 12, let’s meet for coffee at 3, get groceries at 6, grab a drink at 9,

sleep, repeat. It all seems impossible for one person, but somehow those people on Tik Tok

make it look so cute, so effortless, I mean they even have time to document it all. How does

one make the transition from one role to the next so smoothly? They layer. The morning

starts off in a matching little workout set, then a blazer is added to make it professional, then

a tote bag big enough to carry every single hat you wear so that you can showcase that at

your meeting, then some sneakers to make coffee casual, then a ball cap to shadow the

bags under your eyes that are getting more defined by the minute, but wait you still have

dinner plans at 9, so you throw on some jeans and a pair of heels, to dress it up. Your friend

comments on how “put together” you look and it only adds more pressure on you to keep

layering more clothes on top of more roles and tie it all together with a cute little handbag,

because “clothing communicates”, right? You make it home and can finally, layer by layer,

take off every role that you fulfilled that day. You can stand there, unclothed, in the mirror

and have five whole minutes to discover who you really are under all of those layers.