I was born in 1959 into a family of three sisters and a father who was in the Navy, so we spent a lot of time as five women – my mother, my sisters and me. We were a middle-class family with enough money to get by, but not to spend outrageous amounts on clothes and luxury items. I mostly got the old hand-me-down dresses from my sisters, which I hated, because I didn’t feel comfortable in a dress – especially not one of the leftovers. I didn’t want to be a girl, I wanted to be a boy (maybe influenced by my father, who exclaimed in desperation when I was born: “Again, a girl!!!???”) From an early age I wanted to wear trousers, which my mother would only allow if I wore a skirt over the top. One must compromise… I remember my eldest sister fighting with my mother for permission to buy and wear a pair of jeans, a battle she eventually won! At age eleven I managed to get my first corduroy jacket and trousers, they were dusty pink, and I was soooo happy with my new outfit! At high school I wore tight bell bottom jeans that you had to put on while lying down and an Indian midi dress on top and painted wooden shoes. As long as it was outrageous and ‘rebellious’ I was into it. At some point many students started wearing the wooden shoes, creating so much noise on the tile floors of the school that we were forbidden to wear them. Secondhand fur coats were also very popular. We would go to flea markets and purchase musty-smelling black coats with huge collars and wear and tear in the fur. In theatre school, the style changed again – we were not allowed to wear real fur anymore, so I bought a fake fur leopard coat and a red fedora hat. People would still shout “Animal abuser!” at me in the streets. In the pub people would literally ‘steal my style’, taking my hat, putting it on their head and walking away so I couldn’t get it back. Very annoying. In those days, when you wore flamboyant clothes, it was not really accepted due to envy or a general ‘how dare you stick out’ type of attitude, which is common in The Netherlands. To not protrude above ground level. I always had my own style but I got a little more moderate in my expression in my forties and fifties. I realised that how we dress ourselves is an outer expression of the image we have about ourselves and women in their fifties can have an especially hard time with their bodies, their self-image and in dealing with the changes that occur with menopause. I had my share of that too, experiencing self-doubt, depressive moods and menopause ailments. I had lots of support and I increased my awareness about the lies we are fed about how we are supposed to be as women and how we get crushed by societal demands and norms. Now I am in my sixties and feel more vital than ever, despite some conditions I have that need to be attended to. The joy and playfulness and spunk has returned (it was never gone, just not lived in full) and the fun I have with my clothes is the reason for starting this platform and encouraging women to Dare to wear You. There are no rules! It is not about the outside norms, because they are mostly capping. Dare to wear the You that you innately are and yes, there are body forms to consider, but there are no limits on how you can experiment with what you already have or want to throw away or buy new. We change, our awareness about ourselves changes and so does the style of how we dress. It is a joyful adventure to rediscover You in your expression!