SYLING

Do you sometimes look at a well-dressed, confident woman and think; “How does she do it?”

Do you spend a lot of time thinking about how you’ve missed the mark on your style and what you wear to work every day, but have no energy to change it or don’t even know where to begin?

Here’s the thing, what we wear and how we wear it tells a story. It can either say; “Hey, I’ve kind of given up” or it could say; “I feel like a leader and I know where I’m headed”. I’d like to encourage you today by giving you some industry tips on how to dress for success. There are styling principles that, when put into practice, will work in every wardrobe and almost any style profile. I’ll be discussing three of them today.

The first principle is understanding your shape. Look, I’m not about to tell you what kind of fruit you are (ever heard of the pear or apple shape?), because that’s just not how I roll. However, it will benefit you to understand which silhouettes are best suited for your shape so that you know what to wear when you finally deliver your presidential acceptance speech.

We all have that one dress we feel fantastic in and always get compliments on. I want you to analyse that dress; think about the design and the fabric choice and how it falls on your body. Does it hug your shape or accentuate a certain part of your body? Is it a specific colour that really suits you? Taking note of the elements of that dress (or item that gets complimented) this will really help you pin down which silhouettes work well on your shape and will help you to recreate similar outfits with different items of clothing.

Secondly, and probably my favourite of the three, is the principle of ‘sparking joy’. We all binge-watched ‘Tidying Up’ on Netflix (if you haven’t yet, go and

check it out and it’s a pleasure). I think people are so impacted by Marie Kondo and her methods, because it appeals to that deep need within us to feel good. Sometimes I work with clients who have completely lost the joy of getting dressed. It might have happened because they have extra weight after having a baby and don’t know how to dress their ‘new’ body. Often the restrictions of their jobs cause the frustration. Teachers have a million rules about what they are not allowed to wear or ‘more creative types’ find themselves in a corporate job and feel completely uninspired. The good news; I can help you marry your ultimate style and your current season! The key; adding elements that ‘spark joy’ for you in your everyday styling choices. Love colour, but need to wear neutrals? Add creative scarves around your neck or in your hair or add a killer lipstick to your repertoire. You have to find things that spark joy for you and find appropriate ways to style them.

Lastly, I want to touch on the principle of vision. Leaders have a vision and they know what to do in order to see that vision come to life. If you don’t have access to a stylist like me, I would like to encourage you to make a styling mood board for yourself. You need a style vision! Source pictures of colours, dresses, textures and accessories that really spark joy for you. Try not to edit what you add - sometimes we disqualify things we really love, because they seem inappropriate. Adding all the elements we love creates ample inspiration, helping us to find creative ways to implement them in our daily lives.

The moral of the story is that you do not have to live one more day feeling uninspired or stuck with your wardrobe. You don’t

have to continue waking up every morning and dread getting dressed. By applying the style principles above, you will make your ultimate style a reality! We are all so uniquely wired. Understanding your shape, identifying your ‘joy sparkers’ and creating your vision will give you a clear styling direction that is not only interesting, but uniquely YOU.

Still feeling stuck? Need someone to help you sift through what you have and help you decide on your style profile? I would love to help. Check out my Virtual Styling packages or simply pop me an email and we can chat.