Style isn't always about getting dressed up.
Sometimes it's about comfort, confidence, and finding a little bit of yourself again. This episode explores the pieces we reach for when life feels heavy—and the role style as self-care can play through life's most challenging seasons.
This week on Styled, Off Script, we’re talking about style as self-care.
Not in the bubble baths and face masks sense of the phrase, but in the everyday ways clothing can offer comfort, confidence, familiarity, and a little bit of stability when life feels uncertain.
From favorite sweatshirts and matching pajamas to go-bag essentials and comfort outfits, we explore the pieces we reach for when we’re overwhelmed, caregiving, navigating major life changes, or simply trying to make it through a difficult season.
Along the way, we share the clothes we’ll never get rid of, the outfits that feel like a hug, and the surprisingly powerful role style can play in helping us reconnect with ourselves—even on the hardest days.
🎧 Listen below, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or read the full transcript further down this page.
🆘 This Week’s SOS Style Emergency came from someone staring down one of the trickiest dress codes of all: wedding season.
With multiple weddings on the calendar, overlapping guest lists, and invitations filled with phrases like “cocktail attire encouraged” and “summer formal,” they were looking for outfit ideas that felt polished, comfortable, and worth wearing again.
The conversation led us to one very relatable question:
What do you wear when the dress code says everything—and nothing—at the same time?
Got a style dilemma?
We’re taking real SOS submissions for future episodes.
Click for the Full Episode 4 Transcript.Marge (00:02.402) Welcome back to Styled Off Script SOS. We are here for our fourth episode.
Liz (00:12.947) Woo, welcome back.
Maloree (00:13.454) That’s crazy.
Marge (00:15.892) Hell yeah. I’m Marge. I’m joined with my two co-hosts, producers slash we haven’t established roles yet, fully. but I’m here with Liz and Maloree.
Maloree (00:29.676) Hello, hello.
Liz (00:30.089) Hello.
Marge (00:32.746) And I actually have a question at the top of this because you both know, but like I’m going through it. I’ve alluded to going through it in the past couple of episodes, but I want to know are there certain things that you grab from a like fashion style item piece when you need comfort? Like, my God, I can’t wait to get home and grab my sweatshirt or
Liz (00:33.171) Yeah.
Marge (01:00.99) I had a rough day and I have to take my bra off and launch it across the house. Like, are there certain things that you find comforting?
Liz (01:12.905) I mean, absolutely. Not to be a complete cliche, but I am somebody who loves a good pair of pajamas. I’m a pajama set girl through and through.
Marge (01:28.958) It’s really life changing.
Liz (01:30.759) It really is. took me a little bit of time to get there. But I, the first thing I do, I think I mentioned this actually on my last episode, on the last episode or on one of the episodes that my fashion icon, one of my fashion icons is my grandmother. And the first thing that she used to do when she would get home was like take off all of her clothes and put on comfy, cozy clothes or her nightgown. And so literally one of the first things I like to do when I get home from a long day,
or when I’m feeling overwhelmed or when I’m yeah, overwhelmed is to take off my clothes, take a shower. I want to be clean and then I want to put on a luxurious set of matching pajamas. Now, not all of my pajamas match. I have not hit that stage of life yet, but when I need some comfort, that is definitely what I gravitate towards.
Marge (02:24.328) I literally just bought matching PJs for me and my mom. Matching floral short like short sleeve short shorts PJs for the summer. We you are not that like we haven’t been that type of people for since I was really little. And I’ve gotten into the like fun PJ sets. Not all of them, but it really is a thing that makes you feel like you’re put together.
Liz (02:28.631) stop!
Liz (02:49.673) Great.
Marge (02:53.808) Even when everything else is not put together. And I saw the set and I was like, this is really cute. Mama liked these. And then I was like, wait, but I kind of want them too. And they’re really cute.
Liz (02:53.961) There’s.
Liz (03:03.591) Yeah, there’s just sort of nothing better. There’s just sort of nothing better than like washing the day away and then having that like refresh moment of, I don’t know, it’s like starting fresh in a new quote unquote outfit, but still being comfy and cozy. And it feels like I’m doing something just for me. Like there’s absolutely no one else, like definitely nobody in my house cares.
Maloree (03:03.822) Yeah.
Liz (03:32.947) I don’t think anybody notices and no one outside of my house is going to see me. So it’s literally just something that I’m doing for myself, but it makes me happy. And it always, I don’t know, sort of puts a smile on my face.
That’s mine.
Marge (03:50.398) I love that. How about you, Mal?
Maloree (03:52.594) I am not on the matching pajama game unless it’s Christmas. We always do matching Christmas pajamas, but I just I’m not a pajama person. So I have like my top three like big oversized comfy. They also probably have holes in them, sweatshirts, and a pair of leggings are like that’s my go-to. As soon as I get home.
Marge (03:57.993) Yeah.
Liz (04:04.607) you
Liz (04:13.903) love a sweatshirt.
Maloree (04:21.824) It d and it doesn’t even I keep my house cold all the time. And so
Liz (04:26.045) I know I always see you with a blanket and I’m so jealous.
Maloree (04:29.108) Yeah. I I’m I may live in Texas, but it’s always at least seventy to seventy-two degrees in my house. Like seventy-two is warm for me, so but there’s always a fan. There’s always air conditioner on. So I like I would just much rather cuddle up in a blanket or a sweatshirt than turn the air down or turn it up because there that’s just not me. But
Liz (04:38.045) I love that.
Maloree (04:58.452) I definitely have my big sweatshirts that are like I can just cuddle up in. And then when it’s time to go to bed though, I take that off because I need to be able to be cold when I’m sleeping. So then I have like a really thin t shirt that also probably has some holes in it. But it’s because it’s so worn. Like I wear it literally all the time. So that’s my yeah.
Liz (05:25.587) It’s your comfort tea, I get it. Wait, are you a cold room, warm bed person? Like, do you like to keep your room really cold and then your bed is warm? Because that’s how I, that’s my dream.
Maloree (05:28.109) Yeah.
Maloree (05:35.466) Yes, and Andrew and I both have separate blankets that we sleep with. Like we don’t sleep under the same comforter. One because he is Yes, it is. And we actually got it after we stayed at a stay pineapple hotel and they did that. And I was like, this is life-changing. So we now sleep under separate comforters, which is great because he like sheds his.
Liz (05:44.884) I think that that’s very European of you.
Marge (06:03.017) I love that.
Liz (06:03.167) I think I need to do this.
Maloree (06:05.122) But it life changing, do it. You won’t regret it.
Liz (06:09.799) need to do this. Marge, what about you? What’s your go-to comfort, attire, or piece?
Marge (06:20.585) I’m going to try to say this without Poppy barking. P my dog is close by and she is seeing somebody outside because of course she’s quiet all morning and we hit record and she’s like, No, no, no, I’m a part of this too.
Liz (06:24.959) Thank you.
Liz (06:33.855) She’s a star. She was born to be a star.
Marge (06:36.627) She really is. She really is. So hopefully y’all can hear this and not hear her, but maybe she’s she’ll make her appearance at some point. I’m big on the big comfy sweatshirt. I think not all sweatshirts are created equally. I think there are some that immediately are super comfortable. And I’m like, yep, you’re part of the like you’re on the court playing, you’re not on the bench.
Maloree (06:52.472) Mm.
Marge (07:04.679) And then there are others that I’ve obviously been watching a lot of basketball, go Knicks but I’ve been really, really into like building a wardrobe of really comfortable things. And like I have sweatshirts that are like Dia swag sweatshirts from I think 2017 was my favorite year.
And when we closed one of the offices, or like I think it was during COVID, I found an extra stash. And I have probably three of varying sizes for varying like days. Because there are some days that I want something that’s a little bit fitted. And then there are others that I want like a really, really big, cozy, comfy, like
Liz (07:36.671) Good luck in the mail.
Marge (07:58.506) Could go down to my knees if I wanted it to. And I actually really like the long sleeves and shorts when I’m around the house and I’m super comfy. Something about it just feels like being wrapped in a hug. And I also like fabrics. I think when I think about like cozy sweatshirts, I think it depends on the like weight and touch and feel of the fabric really sort of sets some above the rest.
Liz (08:06.719) Bye.
Liz (08:27.815) Mm-hmm, absolutely.
Maloree (08:28.034) Yes. My favorite brand of sweatshirts is comfort colors. Comfort colors knows how to do the sweatshirts. And that’s all of my cozy ones that I go to. They’re all comfort colors and they’re all like two sizes too big, but they’re perfect.
Marge (08:33.724) Yes.
Liz (08:34.985) Absolutely.
Marge (08:38.387) Yeah.
Marge (08:49.575) And sometimes the cut of them, not cozy colors, but like sometimes the cut of sweatshirts is like very different. I also think what’s interesting is the I was very much a hoodie girl growing up. And even like early adulthood, I have a closet full. I probably have more sweatshirts than I do shoes, and I have a lot of shoes.
And so I have a lot of hoodies that I like don’t wear very often, but I’ve been really into the crew like crew neck for a while. because I also just like I don’t know, sometimes a hoodie stresses me out. Like I get like sensory issues sort of with things around my neck. And I think sometimes if the cut of the sweatshirt is wrong, especially in the hoodie part, I like start to feel trapped.
That’s like a normal thing, right? Totally normal behavior.
Maloree (09:43.586) Yes.
I mean if it’s not normal then I I’m not normal either, so
Marge (09:50.953) I’d rather be not normal.
Liz (09:51.485) I totally find myself asking like when to hoodie, when not to hoodie. And I think it’s funny when I think of Marge you’re talking about like, have you more sweatshirts than you do shoes? I feel the exact same way. Sweatshirts take up the vast majority of my closet, but I also feel like my sweatshirts hold the most sentimental meaning to me of all of my clothes. And they have been like,
Marge (09:56.626) Yeah.
Marge (10:15.006) yeah.
Liz (10:20.731) my comfort items and like my most worn items throughout my life and like the things that I hold on to the longest and that I don’t want to get rid of. So yes, there are pieces that like I gravitate towards and I wear on the regular basis, but then like there are also pieces that like I won’t wear for a very long time. And then one day I will be like, I need that sweatshirt from 20.
11 that I haven’t worn probably in five years that just is going to give me comfort in this moment or remind me of something that like I need to feel right now. I don’t know I hold on to those sweatshirts with every ounce of my being. I feel like it’s taken the place of what people used to do with t-shirts that I just don’t have that same connection to.
Marge (11:10.471) Yeah.
I feel the same. Like I also still have a ton of t-shirts, but I don’t wear them I don’t wear them as often as I like grab a sweatshirt. And then there are some sweatshirts that I wear constantly, and then others that I’m glad I have that I just don’t wear. I don’t know, not like I’m saving it for a special occasion, but like
Liz (11:23.079) Yeah.
Liz (11:33.959) Yeah.
Marge (11:39.185) It just doesn’t hit the same.
Liz (11:42.355) Yeah. Yeah.
I have this old school Dia sweatshirt and probably a four or five X that I used to exclusively leave at my parents because I like it fit exactly how I wanted to. There weren’t any like oil stains or anything on it that like I could have it here and wear it around the house and like bum around the house when I was here and feel really comforting. I have this old school Dia sweatshirt and probably a four or five X that I used to exclusively leave at my parents because I like it fit exactly how I wanted to. There weren’t any like oil stains or anything on it that like I could have it here and wear it around the house and like bum around the house when I was here and feel really comforting.
covered in it. And then there was a point in which I brought it back to Brooklyn with me. And then now it’s just become like the traveling sweatshirt that goes in all of my bags. It’s finally made it back up here to Connecticut in this last trip. and it’s it is that like go to piece that I just feel like hugged by. I think it was during really during like
the COVID years of I lived alone and needed like was trying to like find things of comfort and I bought a bunch of blankets and I like really like leaned into the cozy sweatshirt life. And that sweatshirt in particular was one that I wore a lot during those years. And now I just feel like it’s been through it’s been through so much with me that I don’t know, it feels like a hug from myself.
In a way that’s not really sad and depressing, but more like a like, you got this. And or like there’s like sweatshirts that like remind you of a moment in time or a memory or people that you’re like, this like just feels really special. we’re talking about this because I had sort of brought up to Liz and Maloree about using style and fashion, or if folks
Liz (13:11.494) Mm-hmm.
Marge (13:33.8) really resonate with the idea of like style being self-care and taking care of yourself. And I know I personally do. And like I think as I’ve sort of evolved my personal style and gotten older, it’s definitely something that those pieces that I really love to wear are absolutely in like their own echelon. But then there’s this like sub-adjacent category that is pieces that
Liz (13:41.727) You
Liz (13:51.295) Thank
Liz (13:59.557) Thank
Marge (14:01.853) are like the instant comfort pieces. And I think like personally I’ll share here. I’ve been sort of acting as a caretaker and advocate for my parents as my dad battles cancer for the last year and we’re good. I’ll say like things are better than they were. So like we’ll take we’ll take some wins while we got it and he’s hopefully on
Liz (14:16.031) Thanks.
Liz (14:19.876) soon.
on the road to mend, but I’ve actually spent the last six weeks up here living at my parents’ house while he’s in the hospital. And I typically live in Brooklyn alone. And so first it’s like I get a call in the middle of the day saying, hey, dad’s in the hospital. Can we see you tonight? So you have to like pack a go bag, which is not really something until the last year that I thought about. on the road to mend, but I’ve actually spent the last six weeks up here living at my parents’ house while he’s in the hospital. And I typically live in Brooklyn alone. And so first it’s like I get a call in the middle of the day saying, hey, dad’s in the hospital. Can we see you tonight? So you have to like pack a go bag, which is not really something until the last year that I thought about.
And then you end up staying here for longer than you expected. And so it’s okay, well, what pieces like when I left it was April and it was cold and chilly. So I packed sweatpants and sweatshirts and my go-to sweatshirt and like a pair of jeans and a cashmere sweater. And that was it. And then very quickly it was like, well, now it’s 75 degrees and it’s hot and humid. What are we going to wear?
Liz (15:24.511) Ho ho!
Marge (15:27.997) And finding pieces that like give me that same sense of comfort on the really, really hard days, but also help hold things together when you have to talk to doctors or do hospital visits or whatever. It’s like becoming way more apparent to me how I use style and my love of style as like a route of self-care when a lot of my mental energy is caring for other people.
Liz (15:56.243) Mm-hmm.
Marge (15:56.732) It’s like that little bit that I keep for myself is my style and making it super easy is important.
Liz (16:08.051) I think that’s really interesting Marge and I wonder like if that resonates and how that resonates for other people like who maybe don’t like see themselves as connected to you know style and fashion because like I obviously have a different I’m not in the depths of this like you are right now but I
Marge (16:25.459) Yeah. Yeah.
Liz (16:36.479) remember at some point during COVID especially, like feeling the need to like dig into my closet. when I, in the times when I was like really struggling during COVID and trying to manage having the kids at home and you know, we didn’t see my parents who we live on the West Coast, my parents are on the East Coast and
We didn’t see my parents for over a year and I was just feeling so isolated and so alone. I really found that I, well, I 100 % leaned into the sweatpants and the athleisure and the, you know, getting dressed from the waist up only for work and all of the things that I think the whole world was doing. There were also times when I was like, how can I use getting dressed up?
Marge (17:25.113) Maloree (17:25.998) Right.
Marge (17:27.879) Yeah.
Liz (17:34.171) as a way to make myself feel like myself again, because one of the things I love to do is to put together an outfit. And I realized that by not doing that, a part of myself was missing. And I found myself like creating moments when I needed to get dressed. Like I really did like force these moments that didn’t need to happen that were all about getting dressed. And so,
whether it was creating tea parties for like virtual tea parties where the whole point was for everyone to put together a tea party outfit or, you know, hosting a virtual scav… I’m sorry, a scavenger hunt around my neighborhood where, you know, everyone had to wear some sort of costume even if they had to wear a mask. Like the idea of having to…
get dressed and put together some sort of outfit was really the central character or idea of the whole thing, just because that was something that I missed so much. And I found that it really did have an impact on my life. And I have translated that into my life today. And I find that I work from home still, and I love working from home. And I love that I get to wear sweatpants and sweatshirts 99 % of the time.
but I do find that it affects my mood sometimes. And so over the last several months, as the world has been incredibly challenging and my personal life has been more challenging than normal, and I’ve been juggling more things and felt like I’ve had less time for myself and less time for like true self care to focus on myself. I have over the last couple of weeks said to myself, Liz, like,
why don’t you do one thing for yourself and allow yourself to like get dressed during the day? And I’ve noticed the difference. Like I’m not forcing myself to do it every day, but if I take the 15 minutes in the morning to put together an outfit or 15 minutes the night before to think about what I’m going to wear the next day, I’m still not wearing hard pants every day. Don’t worry, ladies, I’m not crazy. But like I am putting together a real…
Liz (19:56.67) head to toe, I’m sometimes even wearing shoes, look, and it feels good to me. I find comfort.
Marge (20:05.757) You were talking about the COVID years of planning, like forcing, forcing themes in the loosest way of using the word force. But I think one of my very, very first interactions with you was probably at a styling team party that was virtual. They’re always still virtual. And you are the queen of a theme and getting folks to
Maloree (20:32.312) That’s right.
Marge (20:34.535) like dress up and make the themes like relatable and fun for people to participate. And creating the right kind of atmosphere where people feel safe leaning into the theme is actually a very, very rare skill and like a wonderful quality that I think I attended one and saw how many folks participated and just like your energy around it was just so addictive that I was like, I don’t know who she is.
But I love that. And you have outdone yourself, meeting after meeting after meeting, in person otherwise, that it’s contagious. And it is, it is really exciting and fun. And I think those are the moments, whether it’s super casual, whether it’s not. Like we all have the three of us plus a few of the other folks on our team, like we have meetings a lot. And a lot of times it’s like, I love your earrings. I love your shirt. I love that, like.
Maloree (21:06.426) Yeah.
Marge (21:33.861) style how folks are styling what they’re wearing when we meet up and it is such a great like expression of who you are and sort of s shines through in in those moments and it’s very contagious.
Liz (21:51.871) That means a lot to me because I think so many people are intimidated or overwhelmed by, I don’t know, just the idea of putting together an outfit or feel pressure by that. And it’s something that I find so much joy in. And just like, you know, someone who is an artist wants to spread their art to somebody else or someone who
is a scientist wants to teach their science to someone else. Like I want people to understand that this can be really fun and really accessible. And if I can make it accessible to other people, then I feel like I’m doing what I want, what I should be doing. And like, that’s all, that’s all I’m here for. All I’m here for is to make what I feel like is fun, fun for other people and accessible to other people. So I hope that that is happening. And I love to hear that.
Marge (22:50.877) You’re in the right place, Liz. And now we have a podcast where we just talk about it and share it with everybody. We’ve manifested it. I love it. Mal, how about you? Do you lean into style as self-care? Do you resonate with that?
Liz (22:51.561) Thank
Exactly right.
Maloree (23:06.976) I it’s funny listening to Liz, it’s like I think I do it without realizing that I do it because it’s definitely that like fake it till you make it kind of thing. Like there’s those days that you just you don’t feel like it, but you get up, you get dressed, you get ready, and it you actually do feel better. And I
Marge (23:14.854) Yeah.
Liz (23:20.583) Exactly.
Marge (23:21.863) Yeah. Yeah.
Maloree (23:32.751) Hate that sometimes because it’s like, I don’t want, I don’t want to do that, but it really does help. And the particularly for me when we were discussing the theme of this podcast this week, the time that I really thought back to that was the hardest for me personally was when my daughter Gracen was in the NICU. she was born at 34 weeks. So she was in, I think for almost three weeks. but
Liz (23:40.895) you
Marge (24:00.938) Wow.
Maloree (24:03.006) Navigating that, plus we had just moved back to Texas. my husband was still in the military, so he was like not here full time. there was just like a lot of back and forth. Life was up in the air. I had an almost two-year-old at home, and it was just the most incredibly hard part of my life. but the things that I
enjoyed the most was like what I was going to wear that day because and it seems so silly and so trivial but it really did help and thinking about it and putting it together I wore daily literally I still have them in my closet and I wear them all the time. It’s a like linen set from Aerie and it came in like
Liz (24:36.82) Hmm.
Maloree (24:59.95) Four different colors. And I bought every single color that they’ve come out with in this shirt and short set thing because it buttoned up. So at the time when I was postpartum needing to pump or do skin to skin with Gracen that was easy. But they were cute. And being in the hospital, it gets cold. So I had the long sleeves that I could roll up if I wanted. And they were soft and comfortable.
Liz (25:16.755) Mm-hmm.
Maloree (25:27.896) But they were so cute and they had bright colors. They were all colorful. And that just like it brought joy in a time that didn’t feel very joyful. And it’s definitely that like you just have to fake it till you make it. And I did, and we did, and we’re here now. And it’s crazy to think she’s about to be three.
Liz (25:38.825) Hmm.
Maloree (25:57.867) And just that whole time in my life looking back, it was so hard. But doing things like that, taking care of myself, making sure that I was okay and still taking care of everything else, we’re in such a better place. And it’s just incredible. So I do definitely think
Marge (26:21.821) And she’s such a colorful little girl.
Liz (26:24.232) Yeah.
Maloree (26:24.456) She is a hundred percent a colorful little girl. You earlier today she was walking around with two different shoes on, a bow, two different bows in her hair, and a purse. So
Marge (26:31.795) Yeah.
Marge (26:38.749) Was it two days ago that she came in and needed you to tie the purple sparkly cape around her neck? Yes. Yes. Yeah. I love that. I think I think it’s so I interesting. I think there’s a lot of things that’s interesting about this. I know in the recent few weeks, sort of as the weather has transitioned and
Maloree (26:43.854) her Cape, her princess cape. Yep. Yep. Yep.
Marge (27:03.891) Sort of every couple of days, I’m like, okay, I think I’m going to have to stay a couple more days. I think I’m going to stay a couple more days. And for me right now, it’s just easier for me to stay up here than then get back to my apartment and switch out clothes and come back. And so I’ve had to do a little bit of like spring summer shopping on a budget, to just like get some things that I can wear, just like, you know, throughout whatever. And when I traveled up the mood and moment that I was in was like black sweatpants, black sweatshirts. It’s cold. It’s like late winter, early spring. It’s rainy, gross, whatever. But as it’s lightened up and we’re spending more time outside and things are starting to feel a little bit more hopeful, I bought a few more things in colors and I bought lighter weight like linens and things that just feel really bright and beautiful and
I think back, Liz, you sort of triggered some memories for me during COVID, really, where there were moments where the only person I was quote seeing at the time was myself in the mirror. And it was those moments that on days that I did put on something that was different from the norm, or I put on lipstick. Like there were some days I put on lipstick or jewelry or
Liz (28:16.169) Mm-hmm.
Liz (28:29.691) I’m
Marge (28:30.835) Just like something that I love to really boost my my mood. And I caught glimpses of myself in either the bathroom mirror or my front mirror or something. It sort of kick started this like rewiring, and I think was sort of a really critical moment in my journey of like accepting my body as it is and really loving it more than I had before and really appreciating what it’s gotten me through. And
Liz (28:36.125) Thank
Liz (28:46.207) Bye!
Marge (29:00.691) How fashion and style have helped me get to that point where in at that point, like in extremely dark time for everybody, finding those moments of joy, finding that, like, hey, you’re the one that’s getting through this. Like, you got this, we’re going to like just keep going. And finding those little bits of joy in that is really.
Can do wonders. And I feel like over that period of time, like I became way more comfortable looking in a mirror. Like, I’ll be really honest with y’all. I did not have a floor-length mirror from the time I moved out of my parents’ house at 17 till probably I don’t think I had one in my first or second apart. Like it was a while. It was like a very long time that I did not want to see my reflection. And
Liz (29:34.175) you
Liz (29:37.674) Thank
Liz (29:51.272) Wow.
Marge (29:55.238) I can say that now and be honest and whatever. And it was really, really I struggled a lot with my body image. And now, like even on a bad day, on a good whatever, like there are moments where I catch a glimpse of myself. Truly up here, I don’t wear a lot of makeup. I’m just like, okay, let’s like pull ourselves together. Let’s look good. We like what we’re wearing. Out the door, rings on, earrings on, out the door. See you later. And
Liz (30:02.302) Yeah.
There’s moments that I catch my reflection as I’m walking through the hallway, and I’m like, okay, we got it. We feel we could do this. We’re still kicking it. And it does help in those moments where you really are like feeling as much of yourself as you can be in moments where things feel crazy. I think I said earlier, control what you can control amidst the uncontrollable and There’s moments that I catch my reflection as I’m walking through the hallway, and I’m like, okay, we got it. We feel we could do this. We’re still kicking it. And it does help in those moments where you really are like feeling as much of yourself as you can be in moments where things feel crazy. I think I said earlier, control what you can control amidst the uncontrollable and
Liz (30:48.116) Yeah.
Maloree (30:50.958) Mm-hmm.
There are very few moments when things feel uncontrollable that you can have some sort of control over. And you know, am I gonna go out and buy a whole new wardrobe and have millions of dollars to buy all the things that I would think one day could make me really happy? No, but I’m gonna add a couple of things that brighten up my day or add a bit of fun into the day-to-day just to There are very few moments when things feel uncontrollable that you can have some sort of control over. And you know, am I going to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe and have millions of dollars to buy all the things that I would think one day could make me really happy? No, but I’m going to add a couple of things that brighten up my day or add a bit of fun into the day-to-day just to
Liz (30:59.103) Thank
Marge (31:22.832) Add a little something.
Liz (31:25.008) I think, mean Marge, I think it’s really powerful for you to share about how you may be used to feel versus how you feel now because you are such a ambassador for our brand and for Dia and just, mean, for anybody who
follows you on social media or who knows you in real life, the way that you share so much of yourself and your style. And I think people see you as somebody who just is so confident. And so to hear that that maybe wasn’t always who you were, I think really important for people who are maybe still on their journey. First of all, I think we’re all always on our journey, right? Just because of where we are right now, right?
Marge (32:04.723) Yeah.
Marge (32:11.835) One thousand percent.
Liz (32:14.687) I just appreciate you sharing that so much because I think for myself and for other people who maybe are listening like it’s okay if you’re not there right now, whether you were there before or you might be there in the future and Yeah, I just think that that’s really important. I also just like you’re talking about you know, spring is coming and spring is coming and
or spring is here, summer is, I don’t even know what’s happening in our world right now, forget everything I’m saying. But as we head into a different season and we think about like, or I think about the world that we’re living in now and like, like how, I don’t know, things like just do feel so heavy around me still, us, I think a lot of us are just feeling like,
Maloree (32:46.177) Yeah.
Liz (33:11.807) It is so heavy. And at the same time, like it’s, I guess when this video come for this video, oh my God, what is wrong with my brain? I did this. When this podcast comes out, it’s about to be pride month or it is pride month. And like, there’s so much to celebrate. It’s also, I feel so conflicted. Like it’s the 250th anniversary of America and
you know, are we being patriotic? Are we not being patriotic? Like there’s just so much going on in the world. And like, how am I using my style to embrace all of that, I think. And that is something that I think about, like, I’m someone who puts outfits together. I’m someone who loves color. I’m someone whose kids are looking at me for, you know, inspiration and sort of.
whether they do what I do or they don’t, they are aware of what is going on and what I am doing and I don’t know like it’s something that I’m very conscious about right now. Like I swapped out my Apple watch band and put on my pride watch band this week. Like that is my accessory of the season I guess and that and I’m just
Marge (34:32.711) I bought rainbow French tip nails. I’m very excited. Yeah.
Liz (34:35.941) Right? Like I’m just sort of like, I’m thinking about those things. And I think other people are thinking about those things too. And if you’re not thinking about those things, maybe this is an opportunity to take some of those risks to think about those things. If you want a themed box from Dia, we can help you think about those things. But, you know, fashion is a fun way to incorporate some of the things going on into the world of style is a fun way to.
incorporate some of the things going on into the world into your life as well.
I think some of the best fashion risks, or I don’t know, maybe not risks, but like some of the different fashion risks I’ve taken in life have been like celebrating pride. And especially in New York where things just feel I think some of the best fashion risks, or I don’t know, maybe not risks, but like some of the different fashion risks I’ve taken in life have been like celebrating pride. And especially in New York where things just feel
Liz (35:24.701) Yeah.
Thank
Marge (35:32.238) so fun and celebratory and yet like very real of the moment. And you just like see so many people wearing incredible outfits. Like you go to the parade and you’re like, okay, I can do this. And then the next year you sort of come with a little bit more. Like it is that celebration of self expression and for truly everybody and leaning into style and color and just like
Who you want to be in the world. And I think there’s so much that we tie up in our heads about like the expectations of our body and who we are and our style. And it all feels really hard and difficult. And yet, like your body is the thing that’s going to that’s with you from the very, very beginning till the very, very, very end. And finding ways to celebrate that instead of
Chastising it or putting it in town. Like I talked down to myself for years. And I truly think that like as I started to obviously, therapy is a wonderful thing that I recommend for everybody. I had therapy this morning. but like really like learning to be kind to yourself and be kind to others and know that everybody’s got their stuff and everybody’s sort of trying the best that they can.
the same as we are all trying to fake it and fake it till you make it. The more you sort of like lean into that yourself, the more you see it in other people as well. And I think sometimes that those moments are the ones that like grab that little bit of extra joy or like start to like inspire the fun and exciting even more and fuel it. that’s like, okay, we’re all just we’re all just trying. We’ve had
Liz (37:26.143) Hmm.
me.
We’re just trying to make it through. I’m gonna try to be a little bit easier on myself, a little bit more kind, a little bit more fun. And then you find out like, I’m actually having fun here. Okay, cool. Let’s go. And your body’s carried you through it all. We’re just trying to trying to make it through. I’m going to try to be a little bit ease a little bit easier on myself, a little bit more kind, a little bit more fun. And then you turn find out like, I’m actually having fun here. Okay, cool. Let’s go. And your body’s carried you through it all.
Liz (37:47.591) Exactly.
Yeah, and I think I mean not to bring it always back idea, but I do deeply feel that one of the things that we do for our customers is help our customers find pieces that they might not otherwise find for themselves that truly do make them feel good and like there is like pulling a pair of jeans out of a box Yeah, and I think I mean I not to bring it always back idea, but I do deeply feel that one of the things that we do for our customers is Help our customers find pieces that they might not otherwise find for themselves that truly do make them feel good and like there is like Pulling a pair of jeans out of a box
Marge (38:16.187) Absolutely.
Liz (38:21.545) that you did not pick for yourself and putting them on and they just fit you. realizing that you have a great new pair of jeans that can now become your, for that go bag or whatever it is, that you have a great pair of jeans, you never have to think about it, you can just reach into your closet and pull those jeans out, they’re soft, they’re comfortable.
Marge (38:39.561) Yeah.
Liz (38:48.019) They have great stretch, they look great, they fit great, and you can pair them with that amazing worn-in sweatshirt that is your comfort sweatshirt, and we can help you do that. And I just think that that’s really special.
Marge (39:02.557) I’m going to go one step further with that, Liz. I think on top of that is the feedback that this isn’t like me trying to drop something in there, but the fact that our customers tell us where they’re wearing their like where they’re wearing things or like what they like about something like my favorite feedback is I had no idea that I wanted this, and yet somehow you like sent it, like you read my mind or like
I didn’t think I was going to like this, but I love it. Or we’ve had so many moments where our customers so wonderfully share beyond just their style, but their life, that I find unbelievably inspiring and have helped me become more vulnerable and share because that’s the reality of life. And having like being a company that sells clothes like many others, we
Have a very unique business in which like our customers send us feedback and like write reviews and let us know sort of like how they’re feeling or what they what they’re experiencing. And I promise you, people read every single thing that gets sent. I read it often, like multiple times a week. I’m looking at all of the feedback written in.
Liz (40:19.199) Marge (40:27.901) Because it’s something that I deeply I find very important to my role, but also get a ton of inspiration from. And draws like it inspires my own style. And I think that that is just really, really powerful that that like doesn’t happen in a lot of other businesses or in a lot of other jobs. And that’s I think one of the coolest parts about
you know, our life. Like I feel like sometimes we get to experience all the lives of the clothes within the Dia boxes and we get to sort of be out there and just like being there in those moments. The good ones, the bad ones. Like I loved having customers be like, I’m wearing this to a like I wore this blazer to a job interview and I got the job. Like obviously you’re excited, but like I’m
Beaming and thrilled. Like and I don’t know you
Maloree (41:33.292) It just becomes deeply, deeply relational. And it I think that’s the coolest part about it is like I don’t know you, but I’m living with you. Like we’re doing this together through a box, through a screen, through a styling note, and that’s really cool.
Marge (41:36.371) Yeah.
Liz (41:47.699) Mm-hmm.
Marge (41:47.784) Yeah.
Marge (41:58.986) It’s like fashionable pen pals.
Maloree (42:00.953) Yeah.
Liz (42:01.439) You
Marge (42:03.921) I love that. Well, speaking of I think I know. Who would have who would have thought? We didn’t even plan that part out. Okay. We are going to step into our SOS style emergency segment. And this is where we talk through real life what do I wear situations submitted by our listeners, friends of the brand, and people who just need a little style help. You can submit it at the link in our description or in our bio or
Liz (42:07.667) Perfect transition.
Marge (42:33.925) Dia.com/SOS slash SOS. So we have an SOS for this week. And I promise it’s not me. I don’t know who this is. They remain anonymous and didn’t give us a ton of information on who they are. So that’s kind of exciting. so this listener says I have a few weddings coming up this summer, and the dress codes are kind of vague, open ended.
Things like cocktail attire encouraged or summer formal, something I’ve never heard before, which they say somehow feels both helpful and completely unhelpful. But there’s also it looks like there’s going to be some overlap in guests between the weddings. So they’re trying to find a few options that feel dressed up and appropriate without buying a bunch of one-time outfits, which is always a struggle. they consider themselves, I consider myself “style-ish” so not stylish but style-ish I care about my clothes and I want to look good but I also want to be really comfortable and like myself I tend to gravitate towards knit maxi dresses in the summer that are a bit more casual but I’m also interested in trying something new.
And as someone who got their Dia box that is full of dresses, I know that we have amazing options, but I would love to hear your style emergency solution.
Maloree (43:55.299) No.
Maloree (44:05.518) I love the I mean we’ve talked about it before, but like a nap dress because yes, it can be casual, and I think that it could go for quite a few themes. I have no idea what summer formal is though. But just like you could do it, you could dress it up with accessories, accessorize to make it look dressier, or you could even
For like a more casual wedding, just wear it with some sandals and like simple jewelry. But for a dressier wedding, do a bigger statement earring or necklace. Do something a little bit different with your hair. Maybe not just like what you’re putting on your body, but like maybe do an updo or do something that’s not necessarily your norm, which I think is a fun way.
And I tend to overlook that a lot. I wear my hair the same all the time. But for things like that, when I’m trying to kind of change the entire feel of a look, of a dress, if I’m trying to like dress it up a little bit more, doing something different with my hair does that for me, as well as like putting on a bigger, chunkier statement earring and a necklace and
breaking out some heels for those special occasions. but that’s my that’s mine. I especially if you’re into a maxi dress, going with something that you’re already comfortable in, I think is important. Just because then you’re not going to be fidgety, you feel comfortable, you’re not going to be like feeling out of place.
Marge (45:36.893) Yeah. Yeah.
Liz (45:39.337) So, thank
Liz (45:45.843) you
Mm-hmm.
Maloree (46:02.618) And I think weddings are especially difficult for I know for me, because I’m like, I don’t know half these people here. And it’s very like I know nobody’s looking at me, but also I feel like everybody’s looking at me. so that’s mine.
Marge (46:11.076) Yeah.
Marge (46:22.525) I love that. A nap dress is a go to a go to. They’re also really flowy, so depending on the weather, you can sort of get away with it for quite a few months because you can like it’ll survive a really, really hot day, but also be nice in in cooler weather too.
Liz (46:27.423) Can I also?
Mm-hmm.
Maloree (46:36.098) Mm-hmm.
Liz (46:46.335) Absolutely. Can I plug a couple of specific options that we currently have just because why not? Okay, so I’m gonna start with like a very specific piece and then Go from there. So we have a brand new dress in our inventory that comes in two colors It’s by the brand actually one of our private label brands East Adeline
Marge (46:52.826) Absolutely.
Liz (47:16.447) and it is, I would describe it sort of as a beginner’s entry point prairie dress, but it’s not a true prairie dress. It’s made of sort of a rayon material, so it’s very light and airy. It does not, it has a flowy short sleeve, so it’s not fitted at the sleeve, and it has an open neck, which is, I think, really pretty to show a little bit of.
decolletage, but you can wear a regular bra. It is cinched right under the bust, but enough room for a large bust. And then similar to a nap dress, it’s tiered, but it only has two tiers. So it’s not like multiple tiers, very easy to dress up and dress down. It comes in sort of a cornflower blue and also what I am describing as a cucumber green.
Marge (47:47.557) Mm.
Liz (48:13.055) And I just think it’s perfect for a summer wedding. I also don’t know exactly what cocktail attire encouraged is, but I like want to just throw all descriptions of wedding attire out the window other than black tie, because I don’t know what any of them mean. And so I think this is very easy to dress up, dress down. You can wear it with heels. You can wear it with wedges. You can wear it with sandals. Like you can easily, depending on, as Maloree said, with different accessories.
wear it from like the beach to anything but black tie. Like I don’t think it’s appropriate for a black tie wedding but with like metallic heels and the right fancy jewelry it could be very dressy. So that is a very specific option that you could ask a stylist for or that we could include in a themed box. And then we carry a brand London Times in our inventory that I just think basically
any dress from that brand that we carry could easily work for this ask. And one of the things that’s great about this ask, especially since we don’t know very much about this customer, is that their pieces are like so super versatile, both in style and sort of in age and aesthetic.
Anybody can wear these dresses. They are almost exclusively flit and flit and fair. my god fit and flare and a line so they fit really really well They’re all machine washable, which is great So like I know this customer doesn’t want to buy too many pieces for specific for a specific occasion But she can wear this dress to this and then most of these dresses
can be worn either to the office if styled differently or to a luncheon or a shower or they are dresses that can be worn again and again in different situations and the care for them is really easy. They’re all machine washable and hang to dry. They can all be worn with a regular bra. Yeah, I mean, they’re just like really, really, really fabulous dresses. And so those can easily be requested from a stylist as well, just by asking for dresses from London Times. And I think like,
Marge (50:22.927) Love that part.
Liz (50:35.815) you really, really can’t go wrong with.
Marge (50:39.379) Their dresses are phenomenal. And I I I’m not always a dress girl. Summertime me is very much a dress girl. And I like options that I can have in my summer wardrobe that I can dress up and dress down without like in case I get invited to something or a plus one or have an event or whatever. Like I like that I have shoes that I can dress something up really easily, but that I can
Throw on sandals and wear it around the city or whatever. and so I I love our options. I want to just speak as the marketer for a hot second. in case you’re new to Dia, when we say something like private label or a Dia brand, we have exclusive styles curated and chosen specifically for Dia for us.
That Liz and our team gets together and produces specifically for our customers. And it is a labor of love, but something that we really, really love to help fill the white space that exists in the market. And so, I don’t know if like private label is something that folks are familiar with, but it’s basically when a brand produces their own clothing,
And like has has clothing exclusive to them. And so I just wanted to to clarify there. We have as of right now five different brands.
Liz (52:13.087) You’re fired.
Liz (52:17.907) I think that’s true. We could take a deep dive into some of our special brands in a different episode. That might be fun.
Marge (52:21.425) Ooh, I would love that. And this sounds like like me being marketing and biased, but like I am constantly putting these brands above all of the other like many other brands. And that’s just sort of like it’s not because I am just like the girl with the Dia tattoo obsessed. It is truly like
Liz (52:38.93) Mm-hmm.
Marge (52:47.911) I’m obsessed with the styles that we have and I love how they fit and I love where I can wear them. So I felt like I wanna
Maloree (52:53.75) I literally have worn exclusive private label all week this week and I didn’t realize it until like just now.
Marge (52:59.749) Yeah. my god. I love that. I love that.
Liz (53:02.419) That makes me feel good. I mean, I think we have a lot of wonderful dresses in our inventory. And I think that there are a lot of wonderful dresses out there. when we put together, I’m assuming we will do a themed box around this. And so if you’re interested in seeing different styles, you can look at sort of the marketing, like Marge said, around that. I just think that the…
Marge (53:19.177) Great idea.
Liz (53:27.633) East Adeline dress that I described and again the London Times dresses that we carry overall and and London Times is not exclusive to to DIA. You can find those dresses out and about as well. Although we’ve curated a specific, you know, selection that we stand behind. I just think that those dresses for the event that are being described for this for this wedding are just like top-notch. So thanks for explaining Marge because you’re right. I’m using
I want to make sure I’m…
I would also say too, like a huge benefit in this situation. A huge benefit of Dia is the ability to try before you buy. That sounds like that is like a marketing term, but like you can get either tell your stylist in your normal style experience or a theme box. You can I I would also say I would also say too, like a huge benefit in this in this sort of situation. A huge benefit of Dia is the ability to try before you buy. That sounds like that is like a marketing term, but like you can get either tell your stylist in your normal style experience or a theme box. You can
Liz (54:07.647) confused.
Marge (54:26.547) Get a box delivered. You have five days to play. Try it on with stuff that you like, and then send back what you don’t. It’s a great way, especially for event dressing like this, like this like specific box. Like, hey, I want five, you know, this box will be like curated for summer weddings. And like the assumption, at least like so customers know, we know you may not like all five dresses. Like, we obviously want to get you five dresses that you’re gonna like.
Liz (54:50.825) Yeah.
Marge (54:55.869) And the hardest decision is which ones are you gonna keep if you’re not gonna keep all of them. But like we want you to have the ability to try different options and make a decision best for you with the the help and styling of a personal stylist that chose them specifically for you. So use that to your advantage, especially for events like.
Try it on with shoes, twirl it a couple times, put on your favorite music, grab a glass of wine. Don’t spill the wine on anything. You do have to send it back if you’re not going to keep it. but you are only charged for what you keep and not what you send back to us. So I think that’s just like there’s not a lot of opportunities that let you do that. I know I used to be somebody that would buy a bunch of dresses online or in person, and then
Desperately try to return them once I picked the option. so the ability to try a few without having to finance that whole lifestyle is nice. So okay, that’s the last like Dia related plug. I’d like to keep this ad-free, but we also gotta hype the brand. It’s also like true life experience. So
Liz (56:09.139) Moving on.
Marge (56:19.569) Okay, well I actually have to go because I have to go back to the hospital to do my daily check-in with dad and and see how things are going and be the the chauffeur for my mom. So that is that is how I am ending my day. And then usually when I get home from that, I am brain dead and exhausted and
Liz (56:35.411) Good luck, Marge
Maloree (56:37.038) Mm-hmm.
Marge (56:48.135) We have girl dinner and watch ha ha hee hee videos on YouTube.
Maloree (56:52.297) Liz (56:52.765) I hope you’re doing it in comfy, cozy, comforting clothes.
Marge (56:57.785) Absolutely, absolutely. This is a great conversation. Excited to hear folks and if they have similar experiences or similar styles that they like or relate to the wedding guest, we want to hear a comment, so make sure to drop a comment. you can submit your so s, dia.com/SOS And we have new episodes every other Friday. So we will see you on the next one. Episode five already is the next episode. So
Maloree (57:27.395) Wow.
Liz (57:28.479) See you soon. Happy Pride. Bye.
Marge (57:28.532) We’re nailing it. Okay. Happy pride.
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