Things are changing at an accelerated pace.

Now more than ever we need people who are willing to help others walk through this moment, however that might look for them.

I’m not a front-line worker or someone in leadership making decisions about how our country and world will get through this. I am someone who helps others through transformation; sometimes difficult transformation, during times of life where there is unpredictability and uncertainty. Armed with this experience of working with women on their wardrobe, style and ultimately, confidence, I hope that I can be of service to you.

Of course, some may say ‘it’s only clothes, don’t we have more important things to focus on right now?’ I’ve grappled with that question myself in recent days.

And yet, I keep coming back to the very reason I do the work I do. And the thinking I underwent some 8 years ago when I made the decision to trade my LLB for the opportunity to show women how to style their LBD (truth be known I detest an LBD).

It’s this:

Just because something might appear trivial and frivolous on the face of it, doesn’t make it any less powerful as a means of outreach.

Those clothes and that fashun just might be the small difference that makes the big difference for someone today.

I’ve already had many readers tell me that my recent blogs (Waist up style and Put your pants on to WFH) have encouraged them to face their day in style and with added strength. This gives me courage to keep offering my thoughts and serving you as best I can, even though I am acutely aware that clothing and style cannot (now or ever) fix the big problems in life.

And of course, for every person who has taken my advice and put their pants on, there are an equal number who have chosen to take their foot off the pedal, stay in their activewear and relish this unfamiliar moment of relaxation. They’re still performing their role and meeting their KPIs, they’re just doing it in a style that is a little more, shall we say, loungeroom chic.

The point is this.

However you choose to dress, exercise, self-develop or not, home school your kids or let them go free range, take that nap or power through, introvert, extrovert or ambivert in this time of physical distancing and social solidarity, try to make an intentional and considered decision. One that pays respect to the person you are, in this moment, during a period of social upheaval that has each and every one of us being asked to ‘human’ a little better than we ever have before.

My 17-year-old daughter’s final year at school has come a cropper in a way that none of us have ever imagined let alone experienced. This morning, she whipped me up a delicious stack of blueberry pancakes (yup, without being asked). This young woman could have understandably been sulking in her bedroom because her life as she knows it looks a bit shit. Instead, she looked up, noticed another human and made an intentional decision to act in a way that lovingly served the needs of that human. One human.

It made the difference.

I am encouraged and inspired by her to do the same. To serve you in style, whether that means offering you a positive, light distraction, knowledge and information or c. all of the above.

For years now I have been espousing the notion that our style and appearance no longer equate with frivolity (if indeed they ever did). Now, more than ever, is the time for me to hold fast to my beliefs and offer them to anyone who might be served, uplifted, inspired or simply put in a slightly better place today because of them.

I’m curious. How can I best serve you today?

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: HT-Pix from Getty Images Pro (Canva)