Right now, so many of us are suffering from a deep fatigue.
An exhaustion that comes from being cooped up and bored with the same sameness of our everyday lives, while simultaneously being stretched like never before as we tackle the wild abnormality of our new normality.
What a gift it was therefore to attend an event last week run by my go-getting business coach, client and friend, Emma McQueen, where a group of just under 100 women acknowledged the heaviness of our collective feelings of blah and went on to learn exactly how to experience more connection, brilliance and inspiration in our lives, with the brilliantly inspiring Janine Garner at the helm.
Now that feels better already doesn’t it?
Emma always kicks her events off with a question to get our minds into gear and this time was no different. She asked, “How would you like to feel at the end of the session together?”
Hands down the most popular answer was “I want to feel inspired”. It seems that in business, work and life we’re all looking for something that lifts our gaze, our spirit and allows us to imagine more for ourselves and those around us.
Inspiration is summed up beautifully by Scott Barry Kaufman in the Harvard Business Review:
‘Inspiration awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to transcend our ordinary experiences and limitations. Inspiration propels a person from apathy to possibility and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities.’
According to this, inspiration is a sure-fire way to boost creativity, kickstart liveliness to take action and increase our well-being.
Flatness, monotony and stagnation begone.
It’s the same thing when it comes to our wardrobes.
I’ve lost track of how many women I’ve spoken to who are just so breathtakingly bored with their clothes and confide in me that although their wardrobes are frustratingly full, nothing they wear truly inspires them. And in the current pandemic, this complete absence of wardrobe wonderful and style sparkle appears to be getting worse.
It got me thinking. Of course it did! It’s what I do best. Besides curating inspirational wardrobes that work for women who work (sneaky wink).
How can we get you moving from feeling bored and unmotivated in your wardrobe to feeling deliriously inspired and inspiring? What traction gaining action can you take today so that you will feel absolutely lit up tomorrow?
Working with my clients I use a tried and tested three step process:
1. Decide to be intentional about your style and understand how your current attitude to it came about, including what might need to change (Style Mindset)
2. Define your style identity by gaining knowledge about your body shape profile, colour-complexion fit, wardrobe-lifestyle fit and style preference (Style Message)
3. Do what it takes to figure out the precise mix of core, essential and statement pieces that work for you, enable you to shop strategically for those pieces and set your wardrobe up so that you can create everyday outfits with ease (Style Method).
This is the basis of my Decide, Define, Do methodology and it is the difference between wardrobe angst and intentional dressing that inspires.
Let me show you three ways you can get started on this today:
1. Think about your relationship with your image and style. Do you see it as an inconvenient necessity that you don’t put time or energy into because you’re just not convinced of its value? Or perhaps you spend too much time and energy on it so much so that it has become an emotionally charged distraction that leaves you feeling guilty, overwhelmed and dissatisfied?
Now imagine how it would feel to have a style and wardrobe that feels like you. Imagine that every day, you get dressed quickly because you’re not overwhelmed by options. Imagine the brain space that opens up for inspiration when you stop second guessing your outfit or wondering if it could be positioning you better, if only you’d made the effort. Inspirational style means that you can be intentional about the energy you want to harness for yourself and project into the world.
2. Define what you like and what makes you feel like you, aligning it with what flatters you most and with your lifestyle needs. Build your knowledge and flex your style muscle – we’ve all got one regardless of what you might have told yourself. Get clear on what it is that you love to wear and how you want to wear it.
Free yourself from the relentless mind chatter telling you that you can never achieve a put together look because you don’t know what you’re doing, and nothing looks good on you anyway. Instead, arm yourself with knowledge and skills (subscribe to receive my handy Style Identity Checklist to get started) and soon you’ll be confident in the knowledge that every piece in your wardrobe lights you up and is a true expression of you.
3. Set your wardrobe up for success. It’s high value real estate in that wardrobe of yours. Why would you allow clothes to take up valuable space (mental and physical) that do not serve you well? Make sure every single piece has earned its place (use my swoon-worthy wardrobe audit tips to weed out the slackers) and organise the space for streamlined outfit selection, ensuring you squeeze maximum value from every item.
An ordered, organised and intentional dressing experience is packed with so much re-energising goodness and the next time you want to hit refresh on your style, deciding what to buy will be completely pain free.
Dressing for you and expressing yourself authentically, is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. The inspiration, self-belief and vitality that comes from making a purposeful decision about what you put on your body cannot be underestimated.
Okay, so now you know how to make that start, go do it! Today.
Want a sneak peek into what all of this looks like for me? Subscribe to this week’s newsletter and get super styler behind the scenes video access to my wardrobe where I’ll share with you my story about getting intentional with my style, what I know for sure about my style identity and how this helps me to pull together a tight collection of inspirational outfits that work sinfully hard and light me up no end.
Hi, I’m Nicole, and I’m a personal stylist obsessed with helping women in business and corporate roles to experience effortless, stylish dressing, allowing them to stand out for all the right reasons. I bring strategy, solutions and expertise to my clients. I fully understand the challenges women face when trying to achieve a wardrobe that actually works and I take the pain out of shopping for clothes and deciding what to wear. I transform something that feels fraught and complex into a streamlined solution expertly tailored to you.
Image: Fi Mims Photography
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