We wear our values.

We embody our values through our style, and we get dressed every day with joy and confidence. We know that choosing to invest in our confidence in a world designed to make us hate ourselves is a radical act. We opt out of diet culture, optimization, and over-consumption, and we act to create a world where our clothes don’t harm the Earth and others.

We cultivate productive and positive energy.

We refuse to let clothing and body image hold outsized negative mental power over us. We examine the stories we absorbed about style, bodies, gender, and consumption, and write new ones. We believe our clothes should support and celebrate us, not oppress us—and that should be true for everyone. We understand our values, habits, style, and self. We want to use our formidable mental and emotional energy on positive pursuits, creativity, contentment, and joy.

We practice feminist consciousness raising.

Fashion touches on all aspects of our interconnected lives: body, size, and wellness, politics and capitalism, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, physical and mental ability, culture and religion, the environment, human rights, and class and money. We articulate our internal stories about these topics and recognize that this can be a catalyst for a journey of feminist thought and practice.

We speak with integrity, intuition, and love.

We respect and appreciate the differences and experiences of others, and use our voices to uplift and lovingly challenge. We speak clearly and truthfully, and say what we mean; we do not dismiss or degrade others or ourselves. We refuse to use fear, shame, scarcity mindset, or criticism to manipulate people.

We think critically, without self-criticism.

Critical thinking is practicing the skill of assessing our information, behaviors, beliefs, and habits, and committing to using them to guide our future behavior. We believe we are in control of our actions. We are open to new ideas, perspectives, and feedback. We are pragmatic and recognize reality, yet we refuse shame, self-criticism, and close-minded ego.

We model the world we want to live in.

We participate in the community and world in a positive and intersectional way, because we believe that small change is still powerful. As individuals, we recognize that our actions have impact, and how our behaviors can cultivate a better world. We value cyclical growth and know that we are strongest when we are connected with others.

The Anti-Racist Small Business Pledge

Read and watch Rachel Rodgers' Anti-Racist Small Business Pledge.

I believe that everyone, regardless of style, size, ability, gender, sexuality, race, religion, background, or budget, can and should feel supported by and confident in their clothes.

I acknowledge the existence and impact of racism, white supremacy, and the ways modern capitalism is exploitative of humans and the Earth. I recognize the ways our behaviors can perpetuate or dismantle systems of oppression, in our hearts, our communities, and the world at large.

I believe a business can embody feminist values and begin to “model new ways of living, working, and being together.” I recognize that being a feminist business is a commitment, not an achievement. I work to own my various privileges and to create services that acknowledge and respect everyone’s unique experiences and style. I am receptive to feedback and growth.

As a solo entrepreneur, I pledge to:

  • Practice anti-racist behavior to the best of my ability, through my words, my actions, and my work.
  • Continually educate myself through active self-study. I maintain a business education budget, and actively seek out anti-racist and feminist education on all topics, not only race. I seek out business coaches and service providers who demonstrate their values through words and actions.
  • Collaborate with and invest in business owners, makers, creators, and coaches from diverse backgrounds, races, abilities, and experiences, and most importantly: pay fairly.
  • Work to ensure that my coaching sessions, material, and program are inclusive of my clients' lived experiences and the way that style and our intersections combine. Ensure that my community, and even comments sections, are not a source of discrimination or oppression. Inside The Unfolding, we moderate and model opinions, questions, growth, and ego. Clients commit to an enforceable Code of Conduct and values pledge that includes inclusive behavior and language commitments.
  • Donate 2% of monthly revenue each month to organizations dedicated to eliminating oppressions of all kind. Past donations have included local Black businesses in my hometown of Austin, TX to rebuild after a fire set during 2021 protests; Third Wave Fund for Give Out Day; Indy Smith’s BIPOC Community Urban Farm Fund in Los Angeles; the Native American Food Sovereignity Alliance; local Austin COVID relief and the Central Texas Food Bank and Good Work Austin for meals and shelter for the unhoused after the Texas 2021 winter freeze.

Teachers & Credits

No ideas are original. Here are some of the teachers, mentors, and resources that I've adopted ideas from, learned from, or practice with.

  • Mariah Coz, Cami Farey, and team at Fearless CEO for creating an incredible group coaching program and client experience, business model, and sales.
  • Katy Prince and the Squirm-Free School of Business for ethical sales practices.
  • Rachel Rodgers and coaches in the Hello Seven club for business, mindset, and money.
  • Jennifer Armbrust's Proposals for the Feminine Economy and Feminist Business School course.
  • Kelly Diels business values, specifically around the "female lifestyle empowerment brand"
  • Shohreh Davoodi and their work on self-trust
  • Kia Young, social media strategist
  • Alexis at Worts&Cunning's thoughts on sliding scale payments.
  • Bird Williams, business strategist
  • Ashley at Do The Damn Thing
  • Hunter Niland Welling and her ethical, human-first business practices
  • Melinda Rothouse, my career coach throughout my transition from tech to entrepreneurship
  • Aja Barber, Marielle Elizabeth, and Elizabeth Cline, sustainable fashion activists
  • The Curated Closet book by Anuschka Rees (a personal style classic!)
  • MerriamStyle's bone structure types
  • 📸 All photos of me by the talented Riley Reed @ Woke Beauty