Priyanka Chopra on the 'Y2K Girl' Style Habit She Had to Break — and What Gives Her Confidence Today (Exclusive)

Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas teamed up with Marshalls to talk about ambition, insecurity, and (of course) fashion

For Priyanka Chopra Jonas, confidence is a skill that must be developed — and she’s looking forward to practicing it with other women. 

At Marshalls’ Good Stuff Social Club event in Chicago Oct. 5, Chopra spoke to an excited group of attendees about her decision to partner with Marshalls’ inaugural accelerator program and some of the experiences which shaped her sense of self.

The third social club event brought together hundreds of women from Chicago and beyond for interactive panels on happiness, financial wellness and more, as well as a color analysis station and networking spaces. The program also promoted the upcoming accelerator, where 40 women will be selected to receive a $5,000 grant, guided mentorship and peer coaching throughout the year-long experience. 

“A lot of brands talk the talk, but this is actually walking the walk,” Chopra told PEOPLE. “When I actually saw the impact of it — when I was sitting on stage and I saw women’s faces, and then when they were networking —  how much these women benefited from having a real, tangible space.”

For the actress and entrepreneur, it's important to have these conversations, whether they're about big goals or impostor syndrome.

“The fears and insecurities are real and I want to talk about that,” Chopra said. “I want to talk through how you regain or gain confidence to be able to take the next step, actioning your ambitions and [making] them a reality. It can be daunting to put your ambitions out there, and I want to talk through how, and tools of how to do that. I’ve done it for myself.”

For Chopra, who juggles her career with parenthood (she shares daughter Malti with husband Nick Jonas), finding her best self comes from being prepared, including being aware of who she’s working with on set and what she has to do when she arrives. And when she’s not feeling her best, she reminds herself: "Thoughts are not facts.”

Of course, there's also the style element of an actor's life — as well as a Marshalls partnership. Chopra said figuring out her personal style took lots of introspection and an internal fashion compass, asking questions of herself such as "Who am I going to be today?" "What’s my mood today?" and "What do I want to convey?""

She also has tips from working with some of the best stylists in the world to help make dressing every day a bit easier.

“Less is more, you don’t have to be a Christmas tree to look chic,” she said of one of the notes that stuck with her. “I didn’t think less is more — early on in my career, it was more is more. I was a Y2K girl, so it was all the things.” 

And on her rare days off, Chopra said she can be found living in comfortable clothes. She lets the experts handle dressing her for professional events, but she doesn’t like the pressure to style herself in her personal life.

With overconsumption as one of the hot-button issues in the fashion industry, Chopra said she personally believes “it’s cool to repeat," and she doesn’t believe in throwing out old clothes. She keeps a shelf in her closet, which she calls a ‘Pass Me On’ shelf, to give her old clothes away to cousins and friends and avoid excess. 

As she’s grown and evolved not just in style but as a whole person — moving to the U.S. from India, winning Miss World, marrying Nick Jonas, becoming a mother, just to name a few — she said change is the most constant aspect of life. And she embraces it.

“I don’t read my books backwards so I don’t care what’s happened in the past. Don’t let that bog you down,” Chopra said of her life philosophy. “But also at the same time, not to be intimidated by how overwhelming the future can be. If today is great, you look back and you’ll say, ‘Wow.' If every day is great, life will be great.”

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