Living In Your Truth

Oscar de la Renta FW13

What does it mean to live in your truth? How do you find your truth in order to live it? So many people ask me how I came to find what I love and my only answer is my unwavering quest for the truth.

I don't know why I love fashion illustration as much as I do, I just know that it is the most fulfilling, genuine expression of myself. I know that even if nobody saw it as having any value, if no one cared to look, I would still need to paint these miraculous little glimpses into the world of fashion. Because to me, what I do, is like breathing. I couldn't live without doing it. Or at the very least, I wouldn't be contributing the best of me to the world around me (and frankly that's just as terrifying).

We can spend so much time getting caught up in the woulda/shoulda/coulda. But at the end of the day, if you are living in your truth, if you are following your heart, then you probably are exactly where you need to be right now.

If I have any regret in my life, it is the time I spent wasting second guessing myself. I've known all along what it was that I wanted to do but I worried too much about what others around me were doing too. Ultimately, fortune favors the bold, and I don't just mean monetarily. You have to be willing to take the risk, make the leap of faith, for a chance at the reward. I'm not sure I've even seen the reward of my risk yet but what I do know is that I'm grateful everyday that I'm living honestly with myself - who I want to be, who I'm meant to be.

You're probably wondering what any of this has to do with anything, maybe even specifically the look I painted for this post. Trust me, there is a connection ;) Oscar de la Renta, who happens to be one of my all time favorite designers, really took a risk this past season when he partnered with the dishonored John Galliano for his FW13 collection.

Oscar has a label with a tremendous amount of credibility. Taking Galliano under his wing, after he was very publicly ousted from Dior, could have been very damaging to his brand (fashion can be unforgiving after all). But instead of fearing the risk, he embraced an undeniable talent, and delivered one of the most evolved and breathtaking collections of his career. Living in his truth resulted in a beautifully transcendent expression of design and self.

I'm certainly not advocating taking lofty risks with your life, but more like walking away from what you know for the chance of something greater. Living an unfulfilled life to me seems like a much scarier fate.

Anyway my loves, I would be so interested to hear your thoughts on the topic of living in your truth. What does it mean to you? Wishing you an amazing week ahead.

Much love
Meag xx