Open letter written on September 4th, 2020. Outfit worn on June 24th, 2020.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss Quote
For so long, i’ve told myself: “It isn’t love if it’s selfish”.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 16 scaled
It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 9 scaled
It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 19 scaled

There’s still nothing in me that has stopped believing that’s true.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 3 scaled

Desire paired with selfishness is only possessiveness and in action, it’s only consumption.

It’s cruel and it enslaves. It suffocates. It disregards the needs, wants, and desires of another. It inflicts pain to all involved.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 6
It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 5 scaled
It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 12

But what makes something selfish, anyway?
I’m not sure i actually know….. Is everything i want automatically selfish in my mind?… everything i think i can’t have?

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 8 scaled

These beliefs have caused me to give up on fighting for what is lost.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 2

If desire or adoration–of any kind–isn’t reciprocal, i’ve considered it vile.

I’ve told myself that even if it once was mutual, it isn’t noble to try and rekindle it. That would be a selfish act for a lost cause.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 13 scaled

This has brought me an immense amount of fear, pain, and self-loathing.

It has caused me to withhold from telling you just how deeply i adore you, and just how deeply i grieve.

I’ve gotten through these last few months by repeatedly shaming myself with those words.

“It isn’t love if it’s selfish. It isn’t love if it’s selfish…”

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 14

Trying to snap myself out of feeling or wanting anything.

All it’s done is stunt my grieving process…it took me too long to realize how much i was hurting myself with it.

I need to love myself, too.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 11 scaled
It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 10 scaled
It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 18 scaled

As i discover what it looks like for me to be healthy, happy, and emotionally and mentally sound, i’m realizing more and more just how much i keep bottling up how i feel and trying to pretend my feelings don’t exist. Even (especially?) when they are positive feelings.

(How many times do i have to relearn this until it becomes a solid, stupid, simple habit? I don’t know.)

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 4 scaled

Aside from the mass amount of fears and self-neglect i need to work through (and am currently, furiously fighting to improve)–the feelings that are most pertinent are in admiration, adoration, and care for you.

In all our 5 years knowing each other, there hasn’t been so much as a moment where the growth of these feelings has so much as slowed down.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 7 scaled

I’m finally telling myself that just because how i feel may not result in anything or have any benefit, doesn’t mean it’s selfish for me to feel it or express it.

I never imagined i could adore anybody so much.

I never knew i could feel so loved and so deeply cared about–Even by somebody who is no longer my romantic partner.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 1 scaled
It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 20 scaled
It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 17 scaled

You’re the greatest friend i could ever hope for, and i don’t know what i would do without you.

Yet there’s absolutely nothing i want more than–and absolutely nothing i wouldn’t give up for–a chance to love you completely and fully for the rest of my life.

I drive myself crazy thinking about how foolish that makes me feel, and trying to bury it all.

But i’ll say it. I’ll let it out without fear of whether it’s useful to say or not. Or whether it’s selfish.

I don’t want to live a life where i don’t get to be by your side.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 2 1

I can’t keep telling myself to bury that thought and pretend i don’t feel as pained as i do.

I can’t keep telling myself that it’s evil of me to long for the love that we had.

I don’t know that how i feel will ever go away… I truly don’t believe it will.

It Isnt Love If Its Selfish Alissa Ackerman Story Behind The Cloth fashion blog post Summer Mori Kei gothic bohemian witchy romantic outfit Heartbreak breakup depression love loss 15 scaled
Trailblazing – An Outfit Representing Paving My Own Journey

Trailblazing – An Outfit Representing Paving My Own Journey

There’s a long journey ahead, and i need to trailblaze the path myself. The paths society has paved do not suit me. Attempting to walk them is dangerous to me and full of strife. “Normalcy” may not exist for me and i don’t want to attempt to adhere to it anymore. I MUST figure out how to make life work with my own needs.
SO, i’m gonna build a “skoolie” to live in!

More Mental Health Blog Posts:

The Strength of Accepting Weakness

Accepting weakness begets strength.

I am queen of my darkness, and equally queen of my light.

I can own my struggles, i can own my pains, i can own those emotions that feel so very close to death.

They are mine, but i am not theirs.

I can relax in who i am, moment to moment, and see beauty even in the dark and quiet.

Fashion + Self Love Party: Uplift Your Confidence and Self-Esteem with Fashion

Guest post by Lia from A Southern Girl, Lia.
Fashion and the clothes you choose reflect and affect your mood and attitude.
The magic begins when you find a super cute outfit, you put it on grab some heels and Bam! You see a different person in the mirror and so you start acting like one too. Your confidence starts showing and you start building a high self-esteem. Don’t forget that little dance we all do in front of the mirror when we are feeling fabulous.
I hope that my step by step routine is of help to you!

Fashion + Self Love Party: For the Love of the Gram – A Short Guide for Increasing Self-Love Despite Social Media Influence

Guest post by Savana from Official Savana Rae.
Instagram has so much interesting content and impressive content creators. However, the bar is set very high. When the bar is set as high as it is, growing may become an issue. It mainly drives attention to the biggest accounts–which undermines the rest no matter how good your content may be.

I have noticed that a lot of people have been affected by this, and a big loss in confidence has increased in my fellow influencers and those who follow me.

I want to give you some self-love advice that I myself follow when I feel low, because let’s face it–we all have THOSE days.

This guide to increase self-love is one that I find incredibly useful, as my mom reminds most days that we all need to love ourselves first so that we can be at peace. Think about it this way, if you didn’t love yourself, how can you feel at peace?

Getting Back Into A Confident, Healthy Flow in 2021 and 2022

After almost two years of pandemic craziness, if you’re ready to get back out there and live your life, you need to do it with confidence. And to do that, you need to take steps to improve your health, wellbeing, and overall quality of life. Lawrence Mager and Story Behind The Cloth have listed some simple tips for how you can do just that:

I’ll Be Honest – Fashion and Depression

I think honesty is important. Especially when it has to do with your emotional well being. I've been dealing with depression and huge personal changes. I don't feel capable of writing anything else on this blog if i don't open up about this. 2016 was a rough year for...

Fashion + Self Love Party: Curbing Unhealthy Spending & Loving the Wardrobe You Already Have

Guest post by Lindsey from Have Clothes, Will Travel.
Living in a day and age where everywhere we turn there is pressure to buy the latest and greatest fashion makes it very easy to fall into the “retail therapy” trap. And to make it even more difficult, our brain actually releases the pleasure-inducing chemical dopamine when you buy something new…
…getting addicted to this high is not only bad for your overall self-esteem, it can, obviously, be very damaging to your wallet.
However, I’ve taken a few measures to correct this…
… the trick to it all is creating the illusion you have a ton of clothes by swapping out key pieces when styling your outfits with clothes you already own.

Color Psychology Questionnaire Results

It was so enjoyable reading all of your answers on the color psychology questionnaire! I’m excited to share with you the results, as well as further color psychology research to complement our study (just a little)! Some were surprising (Could orange be peaceful?; Could yellow be boring?), and others were pretty by-the-book, universally relatable (Red is passionate; Blue ranks as the top liked color; Gray is reminiscent of cloudy skies and seasonal depression).

Connecting With Emotion

Spending some extra time deciding on my outfits is my favorite way to recognize my emotions and prioritize my mental health.
Artistic expression has always allowed me an avenue to slow down, explore, and find beauty in the things i feel.
Sometimes connecting with my emotions feels like pure magic… I find power in being in sync with how i feel and accepting myself as i am.

Happiness Is Freedom

I do not believe that false “joy” and stagnant “hope” are the answer…But i do believe that happiness can be discovered in little things when you feel like it’s nowhere to be found. When we’re able to find true happiness, we gain power to free ourselves, both on an emotional level and in a way that allows us to more easily work towards our goals, which will set us free on a more tangible level.

Dressing Up With Nowhere to Go – Day 7

I challenged myself at the beginning of this week to stop being lazy about my outfits just because i have nowhere to go, and instead start getting dressed up in clothes that make me feel good about myself that day.

I was surprised just how much more empowered i’ve been feeling with this simple task. By putting on clothes i love, and doing so for no apparent reason besides deciding i want to, i’ve also been putting on confidence.

What do you think? Will you try getting #AllDressedUp this week and see what it does for you?

More Fashion-Philosophy:

Guest Post: Gender Neutral Clothing and Gender Fluidity

Guest post by Kelsey Davis from The Lux Authority:
Everyone claims their own unique style, but only some have been able to do so without the fear of ridicule. Gender neutrality is not something new, but the specialized clothing is and will undoubtedly continue to succeed, shape lives, and overturn viscous stigmas.

Confidence and Self Love – Encouragement From Imaan at The August Clause

Confidence is an interesting thing, isn’t it? Some seem to shine with it, and with ease. Others feel they’ll never find it. But really, all of us deal with a lack of it from time to time. It comes and goes. We can be so hard on ourselves, and that attitude of shame then easily permeates the rest of our lives. We need to learn to love ourselves. And love is a continuous action…so sometimes we have to learn again and again.

How to Make Your Clothes Tell a Story – Fashion, Storytelling, and Symbolism

How can you tell a story through your clothes? What we wear hints at who we are. It’s a powerful experience when we wear clothes that tell a story. Unfortunately, the meaning isn’t always clear to all who see your outfit–Often times leading to misconceptions based off of stereotypes. But using symbolism is a good start to bring more clarity.

Dressing Up With Nowhere to Go – Day 7

I challenged myself at the beginning of this week to stop being lazy about my outfits just because i have nowhere to go, and instead start getting dressed up in clothes that make me feel good about myself that day.

I was surprised just how much more empowered i’ve been feeling with this simple task. By putting on clothes i love, and doing so for no apparent reason besides deciding i want to, i’ve also been putting on confidence.

What do you think? Will you try getting #AllDressedUp this week and see what it does for you?

The Story Begins – Fashion as a Form of Storytelling

I believe fashion is a form of storytelling…. Delving into that idea is the core purpose in starting this blog… What you wear tells people who you are and what you love–It tells a story. It’s personal and you bring it with you wherever you go. What if we could make our clothes declare, with even greater strength, the truth of who we are? What if our outfits could be a catalyst for conversations about the things we’re passionate about?
The plan is to explore the depths of these ideas….

Fashion Anthropology: What Is THAT?

Anthropology is the study of humans. Fashion Anthropology uses clothing as a lens to understand who we are as people. Here’s how:

Fashion + Self Love Party: How To Fall In Love With Yourself This Valentine’s Day!

Guest post by Lena from Lena Dee XO.
Valentine’s is fast approaching and more than often we’re caught up on having a love life with someone else. I bet you sometimes forget it’s okay to be madly in love with yourself and the person you’re becoming. I’m here to remind you NOW is the time to embrace yourself!

8 Elements of Character Costume Design

Whether it’s for Halloween, Disney-bounding on vacation, or just for the fun of putting together an outfit that’s inspired by a favorite movie, TV, video game, or book character–I think we all enjoy getting into somebody else’s shoes every once in a while.

This post will be looking not only at how to get the aesthetics right, but also at how to use character traits and storyline for inspiration, so we can get to the heart of the character we are portraying.

So, here are 8 aspects of costume and character design to consider before creating your character-based outfit:

Never Have I Ever – #FashionSelfLoveParty Game – Fashion Blunders Edition

Never Have I Ever – Fashion Blunders Edition!
We’re about to get REAL…

The most honest people win!
1 point for everything you HAVE done.
Share: How many points did you get?
Which one do you think is the hardest to overcome?

Classy Colorful Confidence: A Style Story Interview with Shannon Holmes | + Thoughts on Building Confidence, Alabama Culture, and The Beauty of Kindness

Shannon is a cheerful wife, mom, grandmother, and Realtor who lives and works in the Birmingham and Auburn areas of Alabama. She enjoys sharing her love for fashion, color, and life on her Instagram @StyleShenanigens.
Her confidence is unwavering, every day is an opportunity to be her best, and it truly shows in the playful professionalism of each outfit she wears. Her classy silhouettes elude her high standards for herself, and every pop of color gives way to her warm, open personality and kindheartedness. She’s incredibly sweet, passionate about life and people, and her upbeat attitude is inspiring.

Styles You’ll Enjoy If You Liked This Outfit:

Your Love Was My Favorite Adventure

I don’t really have a place to call
“home”. That used to be an idea that would excite me and send wonderful
chills down my spine… “Alissa the nomad”. For as long as i can remember
i deeply believed that was my
one and only possible destiny;
the only thing that could ever
make me feel whole.
Now all i want is to go home.

Serenity -Outfit Styling Based on Desirable Qualities

An outfit styling based on the kind of person i want to be and qualities i hope to grow in this season of my life. Serenity, gentleness…Peace with myself and the world around me. Remembering my own past, but not letting it be the main thing to shape me. Allowing myself to grow, but not being angry about where i am at.
Loosely inspired by traditional Japanese style and ideals.

The Strength of Accepting Weakness

Accepting weakness begets strength.

I am queen of my darkness, and equally queen of my light.

I can own my struggles, i can own my pains, i can own those emotions that feel so very close to death.

They are mine, but i am not theirs.

I can relax in who i am, moment to moment, and see beauty even in the dark and quiet.

What is “Poshmark”?

Poshmark is a simple to use, social, fashion-buying-and-selling platform, particularly for creative fashion-enthusiasts–think Ebay meets Instagram. But way better. (At least in my opinion!) 🙂

Trailblazing – An Outfit Representing Paving My Own Journey

There’s a long journey ahead, and i need to trailblaze the path myself. The paths society has paved do not suit me. Attempting to walk them is dangerous to me and full of strife. “Normalcy” may not exist for me and i don’t want to attempt to adhere to it anymore. I MUST figure out how to make life work with my own needs.
SO, i’m gonna build a “skoolie” to live in!

Pages – An Outfit Representing a New Chapter of Life

Life is a story… That we get to take part in both reading and writing!
We get to create who we want to be.
We get to watch life unfold.
Let’s enjoy every page!
What do you hope to “write” in this next chapter of your life?

Whispers of Christmas – Holiday Outfit

This elegant holiday outfit represents the quiet and tranquil moments of Winter, as Christmas gently draws closer.

I Didn’t Mean to Let Our Relationship Die – An Outfit Representing Relational Sabotage

I wonder all the time if i sabotaged our relationship.

Together for 5 beautiful years…Over in the blink of an eye.

Am i the villain of my own story?

Joy to the World – Holiday Outfit

This holiday outfit represents pure Christmas cheer.
I pulled together thoughts of Santa and his Elves for inspiration. A charm bracelet adds the finishing touch with words from a classic favorite Christmas song: “Joy to the World”.

Dead Tired

I've been chronically exhausted since i was, like, 8 years old. I don't know why, but hopefully will soon. I'm finally getting it addressed with doctors... My psychiatrist gave me a cortisol test kit to see if i have adrenal fatigue and my primary physician referred...

Pin It on Pinterest

Shares
Share This
%d bloggers like this: