Sorry I'm late to the party, but today I had a lightbulb moment: fashion is storytelling.

When I was a kid I was obsessed with brown bucket hats because Haynes from Twister wore one, and I wanted to be a storm chaser. When I finally got my paws on some itchy monstrosity from Old Navy, I wore it anytime there was a thunderstorm.

I was storytelling to myself about what I could be! Fashion tells a story about what you want, where you fit in society, what you care about, your moods, which subcultures you identify with. You're telling an entire story to anyone that sees you.

But perhaps more importantly, you're telling a story to yourself. You are telling yourself how you feel, the range of your aesthetics and emotions, what you imagine for yourself, whether you feel healthy and organized, or tired and pessimistic.

Some people don't care about fashion, or don't consciously engage with it very strongly. But that also tells a story! It tells a story about their values, what they think is cool or trivial. Their clothes are still saying things about them.

Manly Men Who Don't Do Fashion come to mind here. By avoiding engaging with something that they think is too feminine, they're telling a very particular story, and maybe not a very positive one that leaves them bereft of personal expression.

So isn't it better to take conscious control of your story?

As a professional story teller, I probably should have figured this out a long time ago.

Are we telling ourselves good stories everyday through what we wear? They don't have to be extravagant, expensive stories. They don't have to be perfectly coordinated stories. But fashion is a story language like any other, it's a tool in our arsenal for engaging with the world.