7 Reasons to Take Awkward Selfies (and link up with What I Wore Sunday!)

More than 3 years ago (!!!) I started joining up with one of my favorite link-ups, What I Wore Sunday - it was a great way to "meet" fellow bloggers, foster online community, and provide a little accountability when it came to getting dressed nicely for Mass.

Since that time, the leadership at the original blog that hosted the link-up, Fine Linen and Purple, has changed. The link-up has lost a little bit of steam as schedules make it more difficult for the authors to host. But Holly and I would love to return the link-up to its former glory!

I'll be hosting What I Wore Sunday right here this Sunday and would love to have you join in - if you're not convinced, here are 7 reasons to join in the fun:

--1--

It's an opportunity to get out from behind the camera

Most non-fashion bloggers spend time taking pictures of other things - their kids, their projects, their houses... But you rarely get a glimpse of what they actually look like! This gives your readers more of a personal connection to you when they can actually visualize what you look like.

Plus if you're a mom, you might end up with pictures you'll treasure forever:

Teeny tiny baby twin!

 --2--

It might help you plan ahead

Before I started linking up with What I Wore Sunday, I was always scrambling to grab something clean and Mass-appropriate on Sunday mornings - once I started linking up, I did a much better job planning my outfit beforehand (and subsequently built-up a wardrobe that made grab-and-go easier for me), which reduced the stress on Sunday mornings immensely.

--3--

You'll "meet" some awesome fellow bloggers

Some of my very favorite bloggers (some of whom are now friends of mine in real life!) I found through What I Wore Sunday! Especially when all the kids were under the age of 4, it was really hard to get out of the house and build community, so the social interaction from blogging was hugely valuable! You'll notice that there are a lot of "young mom" bloggers out there - the ones who can blog during naptime and who write in part because they aren't getting any meaningful adult conversation during the day. Through What I Wore Sunday, you'll meet single ladies, older moms, grandmas, and moms in the trenches - all united in one purpose: To honor Jesus by dressing nicely for our weekly trip to His house!

I met quite a few of these ladies through blogging before we even met in person!

--4--

You'll get more page views and comments

Purely selfish, I know, but isn't it depressing sometimes to write a post and get... Zero comments? Or single-digit views? When I was a new blogger, it was pretty much just my mom reading on a regular basis. When I started joining link-ups, I gained regular readers and friends who actually commented on my blog so I wasn't writing and then publishing it to the giant void of the internet! It made blogging more fun, and I discovered a lot of great new blogs as well.

--5--

You'll get more style ideas from real women

I can guarantee you nobody is photoshopping flaws out of their WIWS pictures, and (let's be honest) pretty much nobody is even editing them (including me, most of the time!) - the women you see are real, wearing clothes that normal people can afford, and that are practical to wear. None of us are "real" fashion bloggers (and I've written about how I'll never be one). I love getting new ideas for how to style items I might already own, or recommendations for stores I hadn't heard of.

I've worn this same dress to Mass and posted about it more times than I can count - you don't need a new outfit every Sunday!

--6--

You're getting fellowship with women who share a common goal

None of us are here to show how expensive our clothes are, or how perfectly coiffed our hair is, or how impeccably clean our houses are. We're doing our best to honor God by dressing nicely to visit His house, and we're showing ourselves and others that it's possible to care about how you present yourself without losing yourself to materialism and self-indulgence at the same time.

--7--

Nobody cares about your flaws

That post partum belly that still hasn't faded 15 months after you had the baby? Your broad shoulders? Your too-skinny legs? Your less-than-clear skin?

We've all got our issues, and sometimes just the act of confronting them every week in a picture can be a healing experience. You are your own worst critic - no matter how unflattering you think pictures of you might be, we've all been there. And we're here to affirm you, and let you know you're not alone!

You don't even have to clean up the toys all over the floor!

So grab the button below, put it in a post, write a little something when you've got the chance, and pop a picture of your Mass outfit in - link back to the post on Sunday and that's all you need! You can even link up instagram outfits (your account will need to be public for non-followers to view it) by using the hashtag #whatiworesunday and copying the url of that post to the link-up.

And because I'm super-classy, I'm linking up my link-up plea to the lovely link-up lady, Kelly! Did you know I discovered *her* blog through What I Wore Sunday? Imagine all the awesome blogs you might discover by linking up!

For more What I Wore Sunday post examples, you can check out my outfit posts here.