About a year ago, my friend Nicole (from The Wardrobe Code) changed my life. In many ways, really, but in particular she inspired a much needed change in my life – my image.
Like many modern day women I spent most of my day running around putting out fires. I work out of my home and at the time my business was 100% online. Emails, phone conversations and lots of social media meant that I basically hid behind a computer and I looked like it. I’m a little ashamed to admit that most of my days went by unshowered and in my pjs. But here’s the thing: I thought I liked it this way.
I knew I was in a bit of a physical rut – not the weight I wanted to be, a drawer full of expired makeup and a wardrobe that consisted of bulky beige sweaters and white tank tops. All my shoes were flats and I’m only 5’2″ so they didn’t do much for me. Total comfort clothes. And I wore them outside the house too. I hated shopping for clothes and when I had to buy something it was basically to replace one of the aforementioned items that had worn out.
What I didn’t realize at the time was how big of an impact it had on my self esteem. Not only did I not look my best, I really didn’t feel like I deserved to look good. Spending money on myself was painful.
Around that time Nicole had been finalizing an experiment in thrift shopping and realized that not only was building creative wardrobes a passion, it was also a business model. She asked if she could test out her business idea on me. I have to admit I was a little skeptical at first – especially she came into my closet and told me the beige had to go (Bah! What do you know? Beige is my color). I rolled my eyes at the stuff she put into ‘the pile’ thinking I was going to put it right back into my closet when she left. Then she took me to a local Goodwill and started combing the aisles…pulling purples, reds, yellows, funky polyester shirts…stuff I would NEVER wear! I looked her straight in the eye and lied “I don’t think these are going to fit me” as I headed into the dressing room. I was being a serious pain in the ass.
But then something crazy happened. As I stepped out from behind the curtain she exclaimed “adorable!” and started tucking and pulling at me, grabbing a cool belt to tie high up on my waist (it didn’t hurt that she kept telling me how tiny I was).
“Whaaaat?” I thought as I looked in the mirror. Who’s that hottie? A little bit of a shift began to happen right then and there. I agreed to purchase this mass quantity of clothing she picked (really, more for her benefit than mine…) and my jaw dropped when it all rang up to only $46. I don’t think I have ever in my life purchased so many things at the same time, I was really expecting that to hurt. Errrrck – the sound of the shift happening again.
After that first trip I started playing with my new clothes a bit – pairing things I wouldn’t have worn together just to see my own reaction in the mirror. Over the next few months I became more open minded and allowed some pretty crazy things to come into my wardrobe – through the urging of Nicole, of course. Getting dressed was kind of fun now, and with a cute outfit I needed to try a little harder with everything else too.
It was as simple as that. One thing just led to another and it wasn’t long before I was feeling confident and beautiful again – something I was barely aware that I had lost a while back. When I say this changed my life, it literally did. I love who I am now and I make damn sure that all my decisions in life and business are true to myself. I can’t thank her enough for that!
In a year Nicole has built something amazing – and in a couple weeks she’s teaching a seminar to help lots of women reclaim their wardrobes and, hopefully, themselves. The event is based on the methods she uses to help clients discover their personal style and build a wardrobe on a budget. This DIY style workshop will get you totally inspired, then walk you through the process of making it happen.
Check out this short video on why shopping kind of sucks now…
And if you are local to Orange County, Register for her event on June 2nd – this will be the best “shopping trip” you ever take (or at least the start of great ones to come)! She’s already sold out her first event on May 1st, so register early for this one.
