Why personal style starts with good sleep
You don’t need to own a tracking ring to know how a night of good sleep feels like in your body, right? It’s seems subtle to some, how our wellbeing is shaped by the amount of hours we’ve rested yet sleep influences everything. I was thinking about one of my favourite hobbies and mattresses in particular during my move back to Germany and landed in one of my childhood fairytales from Hans C. Andersen.
Princess on the Pea
In case you don’t know the plot, this short fairytale is about a prince searching for a “real” princess to marry. During a storm, a woman claiming to be royalty is looking for shelter. The queen tests her by placing a single pea under twenty mattresses and twenty featherbeds. The next morning, the woman complains of a terrible and sleepless night due to something hard in the bed. Her extreme sensitivity proves she is a true princess, and the prince marries her. The pea is placed in a museum as proof.
Not only was this fairytale a great inspiration on the creative direction for the shoot. It also - and obviously more importantly - teaches us a very significant lesson: vulnerability is strength. In the story it’s a sign of nobility and royalty.
We are in fact at our most vulnerable state energetically speaking when we’re asleep. On top of that, sleep is one of the big players in the conversation of longevity since we spent almost 1/3 of our life sleeping*.
Between the sheets
The real intimacy of personal style has three key elements in my holistic styling approach: sustainability, flexibility and expression over impression. Similar to that bett1 mattresses are not only made in Germany with a OEKO-TEX Standard 100 which is known for maintaining consistent and long-lasting support. They also have a special foam that is designed to provide excellent point elasticity and prevent body impressions.
Talking about the intimacy of sleep and personal style. What does the word actually mean? It derived from Latin intimus meaning “closest,” “innermost,” or “deepest”. Developed from Late Latin intimatus (past participle of intimare), meaning to make something known. Combined with the suffix -cy, an english suffix denoting a state or quality it becomes an expression of inner depth. Which in my head is very similar to vulnerability. Just as garments become your bodyguard as the first layer on your skin this mattress protects your good night sleep. And I don’t mean protection against something evil. Sleep and personal style are protective tools to create an environment for vulnerability and intimacy to feel safe enough to be expressed.
Longevity becomes - what we’ve learned through the fairytale and mattress situation - the more vulnerable and intimate layer of sustainability and consumption in the context of fashion. It’s not only a cognitively created system, production chain or conscious belief concept, it’s an experience. And experiences famously impact us far more than any book you read. This is how we truly learn, adapt and ultimately change on a synapses level.
Long live the Queen
…ok, let’s call it inner authority. We’re only as strong as our weakest spot. And one of our softest spots is our subconscious or this inner authority. It’s fleeting not tangible nature is what makes it difficult to access yet powerful to gather and work with. Holistic styling in my approach becomes an embodiment tool and a way to experience the subconscious nature in a united way. By increasing physical activity - which textile sensations on the skin are - sleep can be improved and an improved sleep rectifies the brain function. A good working brain is better at concentration and decision making which choosing an outfit in the morning is at its core. Assuming longevity in fashion is based on sleep, physical and mental wellbeing then we actually dress the nervous system and not only the body. The inner authority is part of the nervous system. It’s that soft inner voice that runs on intuition and instinct.
I’ve collected 5 tangible examples for daily rituals to support her (the inner authority, the queen, or how I call her in my eBook goddess):
A sleep uniform: your body associates environments and textures with certain states (pavlov's dog, who?) Create a signature outfit that triggers rest. When the body learns “we’re safe” then cortisol drops faster and sleep quality improves.
Bedroom interior: Visual calm reduces cognitive stimulation allowing the brain to shift into parasympathetic recovery. Removing your laundry, choosing natural fibres and a colour palette that feels soothing to you.
Circadian Rhythm: Clear textile signals between active and restorative states regulate your inner clock. Changing clothes immediately after work creates a psychological transition ritual.
Bodily Awareness: Choose clothing at night that allows full range of movement. Physical activity improves deep sleep cycles where the body performs cellular repair and it also creates a stronger body-clothing relationship.
Brain Training: Morning styling is a decision making exercise that can become a tool to reflect straight from bed. You’re training clarity and intuition every morning.
And instead of counting sheep I’m creating outfits in my head until I fall asleep (can’t recommend - it’s too much fun most times so it keeps me up even longer) Well, and don’t forget your magnesium and rubbing your feet..
x
Lea
