Journal ~

The Wearer ~

A life does not arrive as one story. It arrives in chapters, each one closing quietly before the next begins.

Chapters of Life is where we sit down with a woman we dress and ask her about the one she is living now. Not the whole of her. A snippet. A moment. What is filling her days, what she has quietly let go of, what still surprises her about becoming who she is.

This time, Tyneal Alexander. A conversation about meaning, about the phases of womanhood she has moved through and the one she is in now, and what it feels like to wear Sahana through it.

In her own words.

~ How would you introduce yourself if job titles didn't exist?

I feel like I’m in a very nurturing phase of my life. I’m raising two young children through those early formative years, I’m also building my business and shaping it around the capacity I have in this stage of life. 

Across all of these, I tend to be the person who guides things forward. That can feel heavy at times, but it’s also deeply fulfilling. Everything I’m giving my energy to feels meaningful and aligned. I think I’m learning to hold all of it with a little more ease.

~ Looking back ten years, what feels most different about the woman you are today?

I move through life with a very different energy now. I have more perspective, a deeper understanding of myself and much more clarity about what matters to me. I guess I just feel more comfortable with who I am and in my own skin. My drive hasn’t disappeared, but it’s spread across more parts of my life now. Success isn’t only measured through my career anymore.

I think my 31-year-old self would be proud of who I’ve become and everything it has taken to get here. She might be surprised that I’m softer and slower now, but also clearer and more grounded in myself.

~ How does what you wear make you feel, and how does it change the way you experience your day?

Today is Friday, and I’m wearing a Sahana. The day already feels a little lighter, and the right piece to carry me through all the activities. 

What I love is that the dress can move with me through all of those different parts of my day. The fabric feels incredibly light and soft against my skin, and there’s a freedom in the way it moves. I feel feminine and beautiful in it, but also completely comfortable.

There’s a quiet confidence that comes from wearing something that feels special and has clearly been made with care. On a day that involves lots of different activities and roles, the dress brings a sense of ease and fluidity. It feels as though the softness of what I’m wearing allows me to carry a little more softness into the day too.

~ What is a moment of reflection you find yourself returning to?

Sometimes a quiet moment gives me enough space to look at my life and feel this deep sense of gratitude. I’ve made deliberate choices, taken risks, made sacrifices and put myself in uncomfortable situations to create a life that feels like mine. 

I don’t know if proud is quite the word, but there’s a quiet appreciation for the life I’ve carved out and the choices I have made which have led me to where I am now.

~ What roles are you holding at the moment? Name them all, including the invisible ones.

I’m holding the visible roles of mother, partner, business owner, friend and community member, but it’s the invisible roles that can feel the heaviest.

I hold a lot of space for the people I love, and while that’s deeply meaningful to me, there are times when I feel very stretched by it.

~ How has the way you dress evolved as you grow older?

The way I dress has become much more connected to how I want to feel in my clothes. Comfort matters to me now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still want to feel beautiful or like myself.

My clothing needs to feel good against my skin and move with me through the different seasons of my day. I might be doing daycare drop-off, sitting at my computer for hours, going into a work meeting and then ducking into town for groceries, all in the same outfit.

I’m drawn to pieces that have that flexibility and fluidity, but still feel personal and meaningful. I want softness, ease and something that feels distinctly like me. I don’t want to feel restricted by what I’m wearing; I want my clothes to support the life I’m actually living.

~ What do you want your daughter, or a younger woman watching you, to learn about clothes?

My daughter Ava watches me get ready, and I feel a real sense of responsibility around the early messages she receives about clothing, beauty and her body.

I want her to care about what she chooses to wear. I want her to understand that what we wear can influence how we feel. There can be real intention in that. More than anything, I want her to have fun with it. 

I hope she learns that getting dressed can be a way of expressing who she is and being creative, rather than trying to become who the world expects her to be.

~ What has getting older given you that you wouldn't trade back?

Getting older has given me quiet confidence and a much deeper understanding of myself. There’s more acceptance now, of who I am, what matters to me and the way I want to move through the world.

I think there’s a softness that comes with that too. I’m gentler with myself, more comfortable in my own skin. I wouldn’t trade that sense of ease for being younger again.

~ Finish this: I wear Sahana when I want to feel…

I wear Sahana when I want to feel lighter, feminine and quietly beautiful.

I found myself wearing more Sahana pieces during this chapter of motherhood. The ease, softness and intention behind the label feel very aligned with the way I want to dress and live now.