{"id":6881,"date":"2018-11-06T22:40:32","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T03:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/?p=6881"},"modified":"2022-06-22T10:41:47","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T14:41:47","slug":"self-love-marcy-cruz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/love\/self-love-marcy-cruz\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Outside In: Building Self Love Through Style"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Marcy Cruz is a writer, public speaker, and one of only&nbsp;a few fit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/learn-how-to-model-for-diaco\/\">models<\/a> who wear a size 28. After working in marketing at a plus-size e-commerce company, Marcy realized that women who looked like her could also love and appreciate fashion. This aha moment led her to start <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fearlesslyjustme.net\/\">her own blog<\/a>, which quickly solidified Marcy as a fixture in the plus-size fashion space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We chatted with Marcy during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wear\/skinny-jeans-at-every-size\/\">a recent photo shoot<\/a> to learn about how what you wear can have an incredible impact on your mental health and self-esteem\u2014and she\u2019s here with steps to make it happen for you, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #f3b3b3;\">1. Look to fashion as self-care<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The big thing that I say on my Instagram stories every day is, \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Self-care matters.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d That\u2019s been my mantra. One form of self-care is wearing what makes you happy. Tune out the voices of people that say, \u201cOh, you shouldn\u2019t wear that.\u201d I once had somebody say, \u201cOh, you can\u2019t wear polka dots. It makes you look like a whale.\u201d Are you kidding me? I love polka dots. When you wear something that you love and you don\u2019t care what anybody else says, it can make you feel so empowered and free. Because fashion is a way you can express yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #f3b3b3;\">2. Invest in yourself<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everybody hates to shop, but I see that as self-care, too\u2014treating yourself to the hat or pair of shoes you\u2019ve been wanting. And if money\u2019s an issue? I\u2019m a budget chick. I hit the sale racks. That said, I also believe in investment. I always tell people to&nbsp;put $5, $10 a week in a jar. Save your money. At the end of the season, you can invest in one or two pieces that will make you feel good.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #f3b3b3;\">3. Take it one body part at a time<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expressing yourself through fashion takes courage\u2014you have to&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">take it one <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">body part at a time. It can become overwhelming if you try to love yourself completely, all at once. Dress that one body part. Say, \u201cToday, I\u2019m going to wear some skinny jeans and show off my legs.\u201d Live in the body you have now and dress that body as it is now. If you wear something that you love, it\u2019ll make you feel good when you\u2019re walking down the street. I like to imagine that I\u2019m walking down a runway when I\u2019m walking down the street and it makes me feel amazing.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #f3b3b3;\">4. Live life to the fullest<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My niece was 18 when she passed. She had a bad asthma attack and then panicked, so she went into cardiac arrest. She always wanted to be a fashion designer. Her passing was a reminder that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">life is short<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You have to be present. We worry about too many things that are so minuscule. I see women who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/diaarmy-2018\/\">want to hide their arms<\/a> because they think their arms look terrible. You have to change your mindset about that. If you say, \u201cWell, 20 pounds from now, I\u2019m going to wear that.\u201d Why are you going to wait? You don\u2019t know if you\u2019re gonna lose that 20 pounds\u2014and tomorrow\u2019s not promised. Only the present moment is promised.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Has celebrating your body through what you wear impacted your mental health or self-<br>esteem? Share this post with&nbsp;<em>your<\/em> story!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marcy Cruz is a writer, public speaker, and one of only&nbsp;a few fit models who wear a size 28. After working in marketing at a plus-size e-commerce company, Marcy realized that women who looked like her could also love and appreciate fashion. This aha moment led her to start her own blog, which quickly solidified [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":6917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[185],"class_list":["post-6881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-love"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Marcy Cruz on Building Self Love Through Style - Dia &amp; Co<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you ask plus size writer, public speaker, and fit model Marcy Cruz about fashion, she&#039;ll tell you it&#039;s anything but frivolous. 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