Chico’s Fashion: Growing BOLDER Not Older #HowBoldAreYou

Chico’s Fashion: Growing BOLDER Not Older #HowBoldAreYou

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and partnership. My trip to NYC and partnership with O Magazine and Chico’s was an all expense paid adventure. These opinions are 100% my own. 

I’ve got some CRAZY and exciting news to share. As you might know, I’m an O Mag Insider, which means that from time to time I get the opportunity to partner with brands that align themselves with the O Mag audiences. A few months ago, I partnered with O The Oprah Magazine and Chico’s to celebrate and speak to the act of being BOLD. That’s ME (above!) in the May issues of O Magazine! As you can imagine, this has been such a crazy chain of events, especially considering that I actually met Oprah last month when I did an interview with Oprah for Disney’s Wrinkle in Time!

The timing for this partnership could not have been more perfect, because owning my boldness just happens to be something that I’ve been intentionally working on, especially in regards to where I’m at in my life and the messaging that I’m sending to my daughter about aging, self confidence, self love. . . ALL the things that we as females will face on our journeys. I made a decision last summer to not only own my age, but to celebrate it. And whaddya know?

Aging with Positivity

It’s funny how when you put things out into the Universe, the Universe answers right back with a challenge. I was challenged to not only speak about my boldness, but to participate in an ad campaign for Chico’s to be featured in O The Oprah Magazine! The campaign is #HowBoldAreYou and the challenge is basically to celebrate women and our love for bold statements in all aspects of life, including of course, fashion. Diane Ellis, Chico’s brand president explains it best:

“Because of our experience, we are uniquely positioned to speak authentically on aging with positivity,” Ellis said. “From our rich color palates, unique prints and styles that are flattering for an array of body types, we thought it was high time that we loudly celebrate our customer.”

47 Years BOLD!

Here’s the thing. I’m forty seven years BOLD. 47!! I’ve worked hard to get here and these years are a God given gift. I’m so proud of that number, but I wasn’t always. Numbers scared me. Growing older, scared me. It wasn’t until I really looked at the people that I admire most (and what I’ve learned from them!) when it all clicked. First of all, many of them are older than I am. Secondly, there is this sense of wisdom that comes with all of those years. A kind of “been there – done that” energy that not only allows me to find peace in situations that might otherwise be stressful, but also allows me to accept the things that I cannot change and embrace and celebrate the things that I can. And most of all, I’m proud of my age because you know what, it’s a honor and a privilege to have lived almost 5 decades!

Chico’s agrees with me on this, and I am SO in love with their new campaign which is encouraging women to step away from the number (age) and live their boldest and fullest lives! Count.Me.IN!!

100% Out of My Comfort Zone (and I loved it!) 

Needless to say, I’m thrilled and honored to have been selected to participate in this refreshing messaging, and I was already a huge fan of the brand so this relationship was a perfect fit! They flew me to NYC for a couple of days and I’m not going to lie, I was 100% out of my comfort zone but let me tell you this: if you have the chance to go there (outside your comfort zone) DO IT! It’s a pretty amazing place to be and I’m finding great reward from pushing myself to these new limits.

And speaking of new limits, here’s a peek at what my time in NYC at the photo shoot looked like:

How bold are you? Chico’s would love for you to share your story as well! Take the How Bold Are You Challenge on the Chico’s website by sharing your boldness in social media using #HowBoldAreYou

I’m loving all of the images that women are sharing across social media and it’s so neat to be a part of a campaign that celebrates and embraces those of us that love to color outside of the lines!

And not to mention, have you seen Chico’s clothing lately? I used to LOVE this catalog and now that we have a store here in my town, it’s one of my favorite places to shop. They give such great attention to unique styles and statement pieces that really bring an outfit together. I love the fit and feel of their clothing and if you are a traveler like me, you HAVE to try the Chico’s No Iron Collection, it’s fantastic! I’m certainly no fashion expert but that’s why a brand like Chico’s is a great fit for me! Chico’s helps me to feel like I’m dressing on-trend with clothing that is well made and will last for years to come.

Own YOUR Bold

When you own your own bold, you not only celebrate yourself, but you give others permission to do the same. I didn’t learn all of this over night, obviously and I’ve definitely made my mistakes but I’m here to tell you: own your bold. It’s life changing and nobody knows your bold quite like you do. Curious about the fishing pole in the background of these photos? You’ll have to read the article to find out!

This issue is at checkout stands now! If you see it, I’d love to know! And HUGE thanks to those of you that have already sent me fun photos of finding my article… so fun. I would also love to see your #HowBoldAreYou social media posts, so feel free to tag me in those as well! I’m @SheSaved on Twitter!