Happy spring! Join us in celebrating the spring equinox and welcoming a new season. Not only do the days get longer more quickly than before, but we’ll also see warmer temperatures soon, which brings budding sprouts, blooming flowers, and greener trees. These natural changes can inspire us to think of spring as the best time to write a new story for ourselves. Yes, a spring refresh need not be limited to cleaning out your closets and scrubbing your baseboards (although those are never bad ideas!). A spring refresh can in fact also mean writing your own story with main character energy.
Every story has a main character. You’ve probably seen “main character vibes” littered across the internet and social media. What does that actually mean? Keep reading for more tips on how to channel the best main character energy into your life this spring.
For us at KIM+ONO, spring has important meaning because of our love for botanical designs. We are a handcrafted kimono company specializing in silk and charmeuse botanical print kimonos. Each floral kimono features an original pattern, first sketched by hand, then saturated in rich watercolors using a traditional paintbrush. Many of our robes feature romantic, tranquil scenes of timeless botanicals. That’s why for us, springtime is a special celebration of renewal, rebirth, and the opportunity to write new stories in our lives!
Choose Yourself as the Main Character
Being the main character of your own story can be described as a mindset more than anything. Here are some tips on how to approach the idea of choosing yourself as the main character. First, meditate on what you truly want. Instead of allowing the expectations of others to creep in and take over, think about the plans and actions that feel most meaningful to you. Part of this means leaning into your instinct, which at times can become buried. However, when your gut voice is allowed to take center stage, you might find that your actions and values are more in tune with one another. Remember to center your own aspirations—after all, you are the lead character!
Next, remember to speak kindly to yourself. That critical voice that we all have in our heads can be deceptively persuasive. Our inner critic pushes us to compare ourselves with others and to look at the glass as half empty instead of half full. The remedy in this case is to speak kindly and gently to ourselves. The next time a self-critical thought pops into your head, allow your inner cheerleader to counterbalance it with words of encouragement and reassurance. One way to do this is to remember that for every perceived mistake, there is something positive that can be learned from it.
Lastly, hold onto your own agency and power, especially when you feel like you’re being pushed away from the things that mean most to you in life. Part of holding onto your own agency means taking the time to savor your wins, whatever you perceive those to be. When we consciously celebrate our successes, we develop more confidence in our ability to make decisions that we’re proud of down the road.
Choose Kimono Robes that Make You Feel Strong
The main character is indeed the engine behind any story. Some of us are more practiced at playing this role in our lives, but for others of us, it’s a new feeling. Choosing kimono robes that make you feel strong is one way to give yourself main character energy. We are big believers of feeling confident in your own skin. That’s why we love creating an ethos that supports the modern (wo)man—so that you can breathe life into the things that are important to you.
To face a new day out in the world, we suggest our Kimono Wrap Collection, which is great for streetwear, day or night. Our fan-favorite kimono wraps are made of elegant charmeuse fabric with a touch of velvet on the sleeves and collar. This adds a little extra weight and structure, which is perfect for pairing with your favorite denim or evening wear. Our kimono wraps are also lightly lined, adding yet another bit of structure to help you face the outside world. Lastly, all of our kimono wraps now have side seam pockets! We love the added function and practicality.
If long kimonos in silk or charmeuse are more your style, we’ve got you covered. There is an elegance to the longer length of our kimono robes that can help you make a statement. Whether you’re wearing it at home or as part of your outfit of the day, a long maxi kimono robe can make you feel bold, confident, and strong—totally fitting for main character vibes!
Lastly, if the look of short kimonos makes you feel most empowered, we get it: they’re more casual, fun, and movement-friendly! Especially with the warmer weather of spring coming up in the near future, short kimono robes can be the perfect wardrobe staple to add a finishing touch to any outfit. Remember that the main character of your story—you!—gets to call the shots and make expressive outfit choices that best reflect your unique style.
Choose Relationships that Build You Up
No individual is an island, and no main character exists without the supporting characters in their lives. Our relationships with family, loved ones, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and community members are all so important for setting the scene against which our own story takes place.
When choosing relationships that build you up and support your main character energy, consider these questions: who offers you positive words of affirmation? Who sees you for who truly are, without making you feel like you need to change or mask part of yourself? Who supports you through the ups and the downs? The relationships in your life that are anchored in open communication are often the ones that thrive. We can’t forget that relationships of all kinds take work too. The folks who show up for you in the long run are likely the ones who boost your confidence and support your main character energy.
Choose New Traditions
No spring refresh is complete without taking time to identify what uplifts you—that way, you can choose new traditions that are meaningful to you. Memories and traditions from the past can certainly support where you want to head in the future. For example, community and gathering might be the things that keep you afloat during difficult times. If so, then what traditions of gathering are still in line with your aspirations? If some of those traditions have faded recently, what new traditions can you create? Here is where you can embrace being the main character and take charge of initiating new traditions that bring meaning to you. Give yourself permission to change the past and try something new. Maybe that means spending quality time with your closest friends in a new setting. Or maybe it means exercising generosity and charity in a way that you’ve never done before.
In the end, we hope that we’ve encouraged you to keep going down a path that’s uniquely yours. No one else can play the main character in your story the way that you do. In celebration of spring, here’s to writing a new story that’s all your own!
