
"I Said Yes to the Fashion Show": This One's For the Ladies Who Keep Making Excuses to Stay Small
From Beyond the Bombshell: Confidence, Style, and Empowerment for Women by Michelle Stokes
June 1, 2026 · 26 min · Episode 136
About this episode
Michelle shares her experiences and reflections after participating in a fashion show, discussing personal challenges and the importance of self-acceptance.
Michelle records from the parking lot outside her office, coming down from one of the biggest weeks of the year—dance competition, Sold by Stokes brunch, and walking a fashion show runway she almost said no to three times. This is a candid episode about the four buckets she's juggling right now: the spark she felt walking that runway in clothes that actually fit her real body, the quiet worry about her 13-year-old who's home more than she'd like, the trap she's fallen into at work showing up just to show up, and the reminder of why she started all of this in the first place. From the fashion show's invitation sitting unanswered to Josh simply saying, "Why would you say no?"—sometimes it takes one person to call out your excuses for you to finally say yes to yourself. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to Beyond the Bombshell 00:35 May-cember Madness 01:59 Mom Life Updates 04:06 Post Event Crash 06:31 Fashion Show Yes 06:48 What Bombshell Means 09:00 Shopping Habits 10:11 Facing Runway Fears 14:00 Runway Moment 14:57 Be Your Own Hype Girl 17:41 Back to Reality 17:50 Helping Ben Grow 19:49 Work Purpose Reset 22:47 Juggling All Buckets 24:43 June Pep Talk 25:09 Final Sign Off If this episode…
People in this episode
Host: Michelle Stokes
Topics covered
- fashion
- self-empowerment
- motherhood
- work-life balance
- personal growth
Keywords
- fashion show
- self-acceptance
- motherhood
- personal growth
- work-life balance
- excuses
- empowerment
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Beyond the Bombshell
More episodes of Beyond the Bombshell: Confidence, Style, and Empowerment for Women
- Kitchen S-E-X and Asking for Help: This One's For the Ladies Who Need Permission to Do Both · June 8, 2026 · 22 min
- Why Do I Always Get Triggered by the Littlest Things?": This One's For the Ladies with a Short Fuse and No Idea Why · May 25, 2026 · 35 min
- "We Don't Need a Different Partner, We Need Different Patterns": This One's For the Couples Who Love Each Other But Forgot How to Be Happy · May 18, 2026 · 25 min
- I Wish I Could Mother Them Now as the Person I Am": This One's For the Moms in Pure Survival Mode · May 11, 2026 · 31 min
- Building Fences, Not Walls": This One's For the Couples Who Think They're Connecting But Aren't · May 4, 2026 · 25 min
- Honor Your Energy as Much as Your Ambition: This One's For the Women Who Give Everything to Hustle and Nothing to Themselves · April 27, 2026 · 27 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Beyond the Bombshell: Confidence, Style, and Empowerment for Women podcast page.