🌸 Soft Bud, Strong Bloom - How I Won the Right to Be Me at Work - By Alice
.png)
They said I couldn’t do it.
They said “professionalism” had a dress code—and I wasn’t in it. Not in my puffed pants. Not in my yoga pants or leggings. Not in my gentle colors, high-waist joggers, or anything that dared to hug the body I live in. Certainly not in anything that quietly padded the truth of my daily needs.
But soft buds have a way of blooming wide when the sun hits just right.
And last week, the light finally broke through.
☀️ The Quiet Revolution
After weeks of quiet persistence, careful conversations, and showing up again and again as my whole self—with dignity, joy, and a killer tote bag—I got the news:
I am officially allowed to wear joggers, yoga pants, leggings and soft, flexible attire to work.
Over my diapers.
Without shame.
Without pretense.
With grace.
I cried.
The good kind of tears—the ones that taste like lavender tea and long-held relief. The kind that come when you’ve been holding your breath for years and suddenly realize you don’t have to anymore.
🌷 More Than Just Alice
This wasn’t just a win for Alice.
This was a win for softness everywhere.
Let me be clear: I didn’t march in there demanding revolution.
I came with softness.
I came with proof that style, comfort, and capability are not mutually exclusive.
I showed that showing up padded doesn't make you less professional—if anything, it makes you more prepared, more composed, and more compassionate to others who are carrying quiet burdens of their own.
And I didn’t back down.
Not when they raised eyebrows at leggings and yoga pants.
Not when a coworker asked, “Is that...?” and trailed off with a smirk.
Instead, I smiled.
I swished.
I sparkled.
I did my job beautifully.
I helped others feel safe in their skin.
💖 When HR Said Yes
When it came time to make it official, HR said yes.
Not just a quiet yes—but a supportive, affirming one.
“We’re proud of how you show up,” they said.
“Wear what works for you.”
So now, here I am:
Yoga joggers hugged to my hips, a long top or tunic fluttering down to just where I like it, my puffed plastic pants quietly rustling underneath—and I am walking down the hall like it’s a runway.
Because it is.
It’s the runway of a life lived in bloom.
🌼 For You, Too
If you’ve ever felt like you had to hide who you are to be taken seriously—this win is for you.
If you’ve ever had to change in a bathroom stall, praying no one noticed the plastic glint under your waistband—this win is for you.
If you’ve ever dared to believe that softness is strength, and that dressing to feel like yourself is not a weakness but a right—this win is for you.
Because softness is not silence.
And bloom is not just pretty—it’s powerful.
With love, leggings, and lightly scented baby powder,
– Alice 🩷
I swished.
I sparkled.
I did my job beautifully.
I helped others feel safe in their skin.
💖 When HR Said Yes
When it came time to make it official, HR said yes.
Not just a quiet yes—but a supportive, affirming one.
“We’re proud of how you show up,” they said.
“Wear what works for you.”
So now, here I am:
Yoga joggers hugged to my hips, a long top or tunic fluttering down to just where I like it, my puffed plastic pants quietly rustling underneath—and I am walking down the hall like it’s a runway.
Because it is.
It’s the runway of a life lived in bloom.
🌼 For You, Too
If you’ve ever felt like you had to hide who you are to be taken seriously—this win is for you.
If you’ve ever had to change in a bathroom stall, praying no one noticed the plastic glint under your waistband—this win is for you.
If you’ve ever dared to believe that softness is strength, and that dressing to feel like yourself is not a weakness but a right—this win is for you.
Because softness is not silence.
And bloom is not just pretty—it’s powerful.
With love, leggings, and lightly scented baby powder,
– Alice 🩷
#AliceInYogaPants #ProudlyPadded #SoftlyConfident #SelfAcceptance
#OutfitDiary #ToteBagDiaries #VisibleHealing #SoftnessIsStrength
#WardrobeWednesday
Comments
Post a Comment