Any item in your wardrobe should satisfy one of two criteria: utility and joy.

If you only have work clothes - the black trouser and ribbed turtleneck you got four years ago at the Gap - you're not participating in your own style personality.

I really do believe that my style is informed by the fact that I had such issues with my appearance at various times of my life.

I think style is very different from fashion. Fashion was what I went after when I was feeling incredibly insecure and monstrous on the inside.

Seeing, feeling, thinking, believing - these are the stages of how we change our style on the outside and our self-image on the inside.

Being able to choose the skin I live in was the draw of fashion.

Your self-esteem won't come from body parts. You need to step away from the mirror every once in a while, and look for another reflection, like the one in the eyes of the people who love you and admire you.