Embellish Everything

Written by Joshua Steely on March 22, 2026

I recently changed the logistics of my closet to rotate through three seasonal collections. As a guy, I've been able to go this long (19 years) wearing all of my clothes year-round (like shorts in December), but to switch things up, I've decided to limit the selection and as a result, bring more attention to each article.
For the current spring collection, I have a lot of gray pieces. An all-gray quarter zip; an all-gray semi-semi-formal collared longsleeves; a light gray oversized worker-esque, not-quite-coat jacket; a very nice dark gray tshirt. And the idea is simple: spring is very gray, yes. Lots of clouds. But there are also pops of color as early flowers poke their heads out and the risk-takers start to bloom after blue rain falls from those gray clouds.

I want to embroider every one of these major gray items, and my Mom responded with this:

"Maybe don't embellish everything."

But here's my response:

"I'm going to embellish everything." Not just as a form of rebellion (though maybe a tiny bit) but with good reason. You see…

I have a pair of Goose pants

Several months ago, I embroidered a pair of cargo-style jeans with a goose on the bottom of the right pant leg. I love this goose, and it (along with the number of pockets) makes the pants my favorite pair ever.

The goose in question ^^ Forgive his derpiness, he was my second-ever embroidery project.

Without the goose, the pants are just nice jeans with a bunch of pockets. But with the goose, it is a smile of denim, joy incarnate. I can't wear them without a little giggle that "ope! There's a goose on my ankle!" and if anybody comments, I can even say I embroidered it!

So the reasoning is simple: Why wouldn't I want more pieces of clothing to bring me that much joy? Why would I not embroider a silly little squirrel on a silly wobbly tree branch with a silly goofy acorn in its silly little hands?

The goal with a gray closet is to encourage me to embroider pops of colors, allowing them to "spring" to life. Little surprises that can make my day a bit more fun.

Of course, I'm not expanding my embroidery endeavors to the dress shirts and suit jackets in my closet–those have their place as unembellished formal-wear. My argument, instead, is for embellishing everything fun. Everything that I'll wear day-to-day, even just around the house, that would benefit from an added smile. 

Embellish everything, I say.