I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and thought it would be an interesting topic for a Tuesday’s Ten! (Or at least not completely boring. Maybe? Maybe.)

Anyways, fashion blogging is such a weird thing. Ten years ago, I seriously doubt there were many people making entire internet journals devoted to their wardrobe, and now it’s still a really odd concept that people can blog about what they wore to the grocery store and somehow get invited to New York Fashion Week. I mean, not a bad thing at all, but…when you stop and analyze it, it’s like “…whoa.”

So why am I blogging about my outfits? I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that I will never be invited to New York Fashion Week (or asked to become a photographer, because that’s clearly not one of my gifts in life), so why do I do it?

#1: It’s a Self Esteem Thing

I am, um, not known for feeling good about myself. Ever. Most of the time I still feel like the kid I was in high school- dumpy, shapeless, frizzy-headed, bespectacled, poorly dressed. I wore a lot of tight tee shirts and jeans that were too long, but too tight across the butt. And in college I was still tremendously awkward, since I chose to dress in baby doll tops that made me look super pregnant. (Did I mention I’ve always been overweight? Because yeah. I’ve always been overweight. I was at my heaviest as a college freshman, and man, it was bad. At that point, I was about sixty pounds over my ideal, doctor-recommended weight.)

Taking pictures of my outfits has helped me feel like…well, like I’m not as dorky as I used to be. I’ll always be nerdy and socially awkward, but at least I can look at myself in the mirror and not cringe. I know how I look, and it makes me feel confident about sending myself out in the world.

#2: I Can Figure Out if I Look Like a Weirdo

Again…I’ve never been good about all of this dressing nicely thing. I have a tendency to pair up really weird things and wear it several times, thinking it’s awesome until one day I catch a glimpse of it and think “holy crap, I left the house in this?!” Taking a picture helps me see if I look like a doofus, and not just when I stand in front of a mirror facing in just one direction with my stomach sucked in. Pictures are a lot more honest.

#3: It Motivates Me to Dress Better

Because some days I want throw my hands up in the air and wear an ill-fitting old knit dress with broken down ballet flats and my hair in an unkempt ponytail. And then I tell myself “self, no. You are better than a cheap knit dress with pilling under the armpits and ballet flats you purchased in 2006. You can do better than this, and you deserve to do better.”

#4: I Actually Wear Makeup Now

I never wore makeup in college. When I started working at the bridal shop, I would sigh and make myself put on moisturizer, concealer, chapstick, and mascara. And that was it. I just…didn’t care.

Now I wear makeup not because I feel like I have something to hide, but because it’s fun for me. I like getting dolled up, and it’s more fun to do it every day than to just save it for a rare special occasion.

#5: It Helps Me Remember Cool Outfits

Do you ever come up with a cool outfit, and really like it, and then forget about what you actually wore? Now I won’t forget! And I won’t forget and rewear that same outfit every Tuesday for a month.

(When I was in middle school, I wore the same pair of overalls to every Bible quiz meet I attended. Some people thought those were the only pants I owned. I was just trying to be a hip kid of the late ’90s, like one of those nifty Babysitters Club girls. Claudia and Stacey wore overalls, right?)

#6: It Reminds Me to Be Grateful

One of the follies of reading fashion blogs is envy. It’s easy to read about bloggers with immense wardrobes, free outfits from fancy brands, invitations to parties, all that sort of thing. I must admit that when I first started reading fashion blogs I would gaze wistfully at their exquisitely put-together outfits and yearn for a closet filled with marvelous clothes and a veritable Noah’s Ark of shoes. But you know what? It doesn’t matter. I have lots of fun clothes and shoes, and while I might not shop exclusively at Nordstrom and Anthropologie, I like what I wear, and I’m lucky that I have what I have.

#7: I Need to Practice Taking Pictures

Have you seen my Facebook photos? I look like one giant derp. I mean, I try to smile all pretty and stuff and then I end up looking like this:

#8: I’m Starting to Develop a Style (Kind Of)

Remember when I said I was awkward in high school? Yeah. I wore a uniform for most of high school, so my weekend clothes were pretty whatever. And my senior year school had a strict dress code, so khakis and ill-fitting polos it was. When I got into college, I started off with graphic tee shirts (usually with cartoon characters on them, worn unironically) and jeans that were a mile too long. Later that became too-short baby doll dress, leggings, and ballet flats (read: I dressed like a toddler).

I still wear dresses 95% of the time, but I don’t feel like a toddler quite so much. (Okay, so maybe I should stop trying to make the saddle shoes work attire, but still.) I dress kind of like Rachel Berry from Glee, but do you know what? I like what I’m wearing, I know what styles I gravitate towards, and I’m getting better at dressing my body type. I call that a win.

(although seriously, I am one bad animal sweater away from becoming Rachel Berry).

#9: It’s Helping Me Socialize

Blogging my outfits and posting them to Flickr groups gives me a chance to push past my social anxiety and talk to people. And when I go out in public, I have something to talk about. Someone asks where I got my nifty teal shoes and bam, conversation starter. I might clam up in social settings or start babbling helplessly, but ask me about my nail polish and I’m like “yay, I can handle this!”

#10: It’s Fun

Seriously. It’s fun. I’m having a jolly time.