It was 16 years ago I that wrote my first blog post here on Inside Out Style. When I started I wanted to share the wisdom that I'd learned from my work as an image consultant and my experiences with clients as I wanted to share the science and art of colour and style that had changed my own life as well as my clients. The knowledge changed how I approached my own style as well as the huge difference in knowing what really worked for me, my body, my personality, and my lifestyle which improved my confidence in the process. This knowledge saved me so much angst, as well as time, money and energy as I no longer stood in a store wondering if I should or shouldn't buy a particular garment. Instead, I had a set of self-determined personalised guidelines to run past that garment and only if I got to tick when it passed those guidelines.
I remember wanting to reach a wider audience than I'd ever do working one-on-one with clients. From a lifetime of reading fashion magazines up to that point, I know they were not providing me with the answers I sought to help ease my closet chaos. However, the wisdom I gained from learning the WHY behind colour and style was the key that unlocked my style (and gave my clients their own key to their style).
Are You Putting Your Style on Hold?
When I speak with women about being an image consultant and personal stylist, many would tell me that they too would love to have a wardrobe full of clothes they enjoy wearing. They would tell me about how they were waiting to improve their style. They really wanted to do it, but one thing was stopping them.
What were they waiting for?
Frequently, they were waiting to be a different size from the one they are today. As if there is a certain size and shape that is the one that women can enjoy clothing and style and be stylish.
As if they could never feel good or look good in clothing if they weren't a particular size (aka a small size).
So many women put off buying clothes, and particularly "investment pieces" as they aren't at their desired weight. Yet they end up wearing clothes that don't make them feel good or look good either as they spend as little as possible on their clothing without really understanding that making these kinds of clothing choices makes them feel worse rather than better.
It's as if many women equate weight and body size with value. The thought is only if you fit a certain small clothing size then you are worthy of investing in your clothing. Until you are at that size, then you shouldn't be "wasting" money to buy yourself clothing that you love, that expresses your personality, that makes you feel good. It's an insidious thought that goes through the heads of so many women. Not only do they think that getting style assistance when they are not at this idealised weight is a waste, but there is no value in spending any money on themselves.
Your Size Doesn't Equate to Your Value
Of course, when you look at this with the cold light of day shining on it, you can see that size should not stand in the way of style or your value. You are human, you are alive and you are a fantastic, fabulous woman who should be appreciated for all your amazing qualities. You are valuable just as you are and deserving of expressing your style. You should feel like you are worth spending money on and that investing in your style at any size is a worthwhile thing. You have to get dressed everyday, and what you wear communicates so much about you. "I've given up" isn't the message most women want to be silently communicating, yet by thinking that fashion and style are only for the young, thin (and rich) you are losing out.
This is why I've written so many blog posts to help women find their style. To understand how to dress their body, no matter their weight. The fashion industry puts out a very narrow image of what is stylish and how to dress, based on a body type that is way less common (as the ad used to say "There are 8 billion women in the world and only 8 of them are supermodels).
I know from my own experience of trying to dress my body in a way that didn't harmonise with it, and that I didn't feel good in, particularly when I looked back at photos, that I was trying to fit the fashion mould, following fashions that weren't for me, rather than learning what worked and then following my own guidelines, using fashion as a tool to express myself rather than thinking it had the answers.
Learning the Science of Style Gave Me Confidence
After learning more and more about colour and style and how to create harmony with each individual. That every colour is beautiful in the right context. That every body shape looks great when you follow its inherent shape in the silhouette of your clothing. That when you choose clothes that express your personality, rather than just wearing what others wear to fit-in, you feel more confident and look fabulous. This is what I wanted to share because I didn't want this knowledge to be a secret.
I started blogging with the thought that if nobody ever read a post, then at least I'd had a place where I could put my thoughts together and over time I could amass enough to write a book. 3000 blog posts and 16 years later, I've written a bunch of books and created a variety of online programs to help women find their own style, then refine and develop it in a way that feels authentic and true to who they are. No cookie cutters, no restrictive uniforms or somebody else's set of rules.
Instead, everything I've created over the past 16 years has been about helping you find and show off the best version of you, in a way that feels right for you. So you don't feel boxed in or left out because you are perfect just as you are. And you get to be the boss of your wardrobe and your own personal stylist.
Sweet 16 and You Get the Discounts!
To celebrate my sweet 16th Blogiversary I'm hoping to share with you even more of my in-depth knowledge by giving you a 16% discount off all ebooks, video masterclasses and online style programs from now until the end of August 2024.
Promo Code: Sweet16 (will be applied at the checkout).
I can't tell you how many women after joining my online colour and style program 7 Steps to Style tell me that they wished they had done it sooner - this knowledge can be applied today and every day for the rest of your life even when things change.
I'm here to change how you think about your style and help you discover what really works for you so you stop wasting money, time, energy and resources on clothes that sit in your wardrobe unworn because they aren't in harmony with you.