Do you feel overwhelmed when facing your closet and selecting an outfit to wear? Do you waste time trying on multiple outfits before you find one that feels right?

A lot of people struggle with this. And trust me, I’ve been there too. It makes getting ready a daily source of stress…one that we’d rather live without. Can I get an Amen?!

If you’re not a morning person, waking up is challenge enough, let alone facing the daily decision of what to wear. Before I discovered what I’m about to share with you, I faced many mornings of groggily staring at my closet paralyzed as I tried to figure out what I would put on my body. Often, nothing felt quite right, and it was way to early to get creative about which outfits fit the occasion and season, that I didn’t already wear in the last few days.

I’m going to cut to the chase and share my #1 tip for easily choosing the right outfit and saving time every single day.

With this method you can gain back hours in your week that you previously wasted on indecision or trying 3-5 different outfits before settling on one to wear

Personally, I love efficiency and speed. I don’t like complicated or time consuming solutions. So this method is simple and highly effective.

All you need is a smartphone camera and a full-length mirror. On a day when you have done nice hair and makeup, try on all the outfits you can put together-including accessories & shoes-and take full length mirror selfies of yourself in them. Be sure to smile and strike a cute pose for best results. Then review and refine as needed, and put the ones you like into an album on your phone by season. For example, you might save a collection of summer outfits into an album called “Summer 2019”.

I call this a “Look Book.”

When you’re ready to decide on what to wear, simply open and view your seasonal outfit album to see what looks/feels right for the occasion. Personally, I peruse my Look Book while laying in bed, or sometimes while sipping my coffee and slowly waking up.

via GIPHY

You can decide what you feel like wearing before you ever approach the dreaded closet. The photos will remind you which accessories and shoes worked with it so you don’t have to struggle recalling the details. Easy-breezy! This is such a time saver. While it requires a bit of time up front, at least once per season, it saves time and eliminates the daily frustration of trying to choose what to wear.

Now let’s take a step back, because for many of you… finding many outfits you LOVE and want to photograph for your look book is the bigger hurdle. That’s what we’re here for! You don’t have to go it alone.  Fortunately, we have a 7-step path for you, and guidance to help you get there.

If you are ready to free up time and stride into your days with self-confidence and ease, I invite you to watch my complimentary Million Dollar Look Masterclass where I’ll show you the path, the most important elements to consider, and proven results.

Let me know your thoughts on this tip! Please comment with feedback.

Finding outfits you love that are also flattering to your body can be a challenge for a lot of women. Sometimes it feels like a minor miracle when you pull it together to actually feel good about what you are wearing. Or when you see a garment you love hanging on a rack, try it on, and find it actually flatters you. Jackpot!!

What if I told you there is actually a science to getting it right? Sound scary? Don’t sweat it…but read on for insight. Having worked with thousands of women, with every body type imaginable, we’ve discovered there are some techniques that every woman can learn and practice. What a difference it makes to self-esteem and confidence when we know the right styles to choose and why. Not to mention saving tons of time & money when shopping… Quickly eliminating the styles that simply won’t work for you and trying only the ones that flatter your body & style.

Let’s dive right in to 5 basics you need to understand about your body to make winning choices. While I’ll give you an overview here, during our 3-day Style course these are covered in depth, as you fill in what we call “Your Body Chart.” This gives you a solid foundation for creating your best style, and ultimately saves you money that you previously would have spent on styles that didn’t work.

1. Your Body Shape / Silhouette

Identify which silhouette your body is currently. From there, we’ll guide you to the styles that will flatter and create pleasing visual balance.

 

2. Line in your Body

There are 3 basic types of line. You will be one of these or a combination. Once you know which type of line you have, we can tell you the best fabrics and styles that support you. For example, where you have a moulded line in your body – a predominantly fleshy, softly curved appearance, wear styles of clothing that have some movement and drape easily over your curves. A few of the best fabrics for this body type are medium-drape to fluid fabrics including: most knits and jerseys.

 

3. Proportion in your body

The proportion of your torso relative to your leg length helps you choose lengths of jackets, pants and skirts. If your legs are short relative to your long torso, or your legs are long relative to your short torso, you need to find the right length of clothing pieces to create a visual balance. When the proportions in your clothing relate to your body proportions, your clothes look like they were made just for you.

To discover your body’s length proportion, measure your body’s height in head lengths—from your hairline to the top of your feet (Just below your ankle bone).

If your body is:

• 8 head lengths = body is in proportion—You generally can appear balanced in most clothing styles. (Example below)
• Less than 8 head lengths = body is short—You need to balance your proportions by visually increasing the length of your body. For example, wear 3/4 length sleeves rather then long sleeves.
• More than 8 head lengths = body is long—You need to balance your proportions by visually breaking up the space in your body. For example, wear clothing styles that have shoulder yokes, pockets, and/or horizontal seam lines and pattern details.

Next, discover the proportions of your upper body—to find out if you are in proportion, short or long waisted….and then the proportions of your legs: in proportion, short or long. Once you’ve identified your body’s proportion, we’ll teach you the techniques for creating visual balance in your style.

Understanding proportions & balancing techniques can take a bit of time and practice to grasp…but once you know, it’s super helpful to creating great style.

 

 

4. Scale in your body

The scale of your bone structure determines the appropriate scale of construction details in your garments and accessories such as purses and shoes. Construction details include: stitching, facings and plackets, ribbing, pleats, the size of straps in purses and shoes, and the size of heels on shoes.

Wrists

• Small—Choose clothing with small-scale construction detailing as seen in the facings, ribbings, stitching, and functional buttons. (1/4″ to 1/2″ facings).
• Medium—Choose clothing with medium-scale construction detailing as seen in the facings, ribbings, stitching, and functional buttons. (3/4 – to 1″ facings).
• Large—Choose clothing with large-scale construction detailing as seen in the facings, ribbings, stitching, and functional buttons. (1-1/4″ to 2″ facings).

Ankles

• Small—You can wear shoes with small-scale heels, straps, and ornamentation.
• Medium—You can wear shoes with medium-scale heels, straps, and ornamentation.
• Large—You can wear shoes with large-scale heels, straps, and ornamentation.

Face

The size of your facial features relative to your face size determines your best choices for accessories and prints;

• Small—Wear small scale accessories and prints.
• Medium—Wear medium-scale accessories and prints.
• Large—Wear large-scale accessories and prints.
• Extra-large—Wear extra large-scale accessories and prints.
• Combination—Your accessories and scale of prints need to reflect the variations of scale seen in your features.

Tip: If you have a large body size and small-scale facial features, you can wear small scale detailing in your accessories and prints if they are in volume. Rather than one strand of large beads, choose many strands of smaller beads.

 

5. Texture in your body

When choosing clothing, generally select fabrics with textures that relate to the textural patterns of your body from the following categories;

The Surface Quality of Your Skin

• Plain smoothness
• Patterned smoothness (or visually textured)
• All-over textured
• Combination of smooth and/or patterned and/or textured 

The Quality of Your Hair

• Plain smoothness
• Patterned smoothness (or visually textured)
• All-over textured
• Combination of smooth and/or patterned and/or textured

Your Textural Pattern of Skin, Hair, and Eyes

• All smooth—You can easily wear smooth fine fabrics and accessories.
• All patterned—You can easily wear smooth fabrics with visual patterning.
• All textured—You can create balance in your visual textural presentation by choosing fabrics, and accessories that have texture.
• Combination—You can easily wear a combination of fabric and accessory textures.

So what happens if you have lot’s of texture in your body (Freckles and curly hair for example) and you select an outfit that is predominantly smooth and shiny? It will create a sharp contrast, highlight your texture, and won’t create a cohesive, related look.

While there are more things to consider, like personality, voice quality, movement, and inherent coloring…these are the 5 Basics!

Have you considered any of these 5 basics when choosing clothing? Comment below to let us know, and if you had any “aha moments” …what stood out to you.

At first it can seem overwhelming, but the more you internalize, understand and practice…it becomes second nature, and shopping or choosing outfits becomes much more fun.

There is no need to struggle on your own when you can get focused, effective coaching to create style that builds confidence and attracts the opportunities you desire. Watch my free Style Masterclass and discover the 7-step path to embodying the best version of yourself.

 

I happen to be blessed with a very glamorous mother, who comes from a long line of glamorous women. Many times while growing up, as I was getting ready to go out, my mom would say “what about lipstick, dear” or “aren’t you going to add an accessory with that dress?”

Thanks to her tutelage I was trained in the ways of glamour. I watched her apply her make up and style her hair, gaining my own skills as she demonstrated. Though I had an unfortunate period in middle school of trying to look exactly like her, short layered hair and all…

…eventually I grew into my own sense of style which is just that: my own. 

I know my experience is not shared by many other women. Training in the art of style is not very common. More often, a mother will impose her own sense of style on her daughter. With the best of intentions of course, yet not recognizing that her daughter is her own person, and needs to discover her own sense of style.

When we consult with clients, often their style choices are just an echo of what they were taught growing up, and what they saw. It doesn’t actually match their personality or work well on their body type. We help them move from styles of the past to reflecting the truth of who they are today, their own unique individuality.

Another common scenario is no training at all. A girl grows up without any idea of how to apply make up, style her hair, or thrive in the art of dressing. She’s left to fend for herself and acquire the skills somehow on her own. 

My mother-in-law, Carla grew up on a ranch in a rural farming community. Her mother, a stylish and tidy woman, always took care of the basics. A comb through the hair and fresh application of lipstick each day. Carla adopted this habit which worked fine enough in her younger days. But as she aged, she discovered that more than a quick comb-through and fresh lipstick would be needed to present polished and refined style.

Well beyond midlife, Carla learned how to apply more make up and style her changing hair. Her ongoing education has allowed her to maintain a beautifully stylish and chic look well into her 70’s.

I am grateful to have such a beautiful mother and mother-in-law, not only on the outside but on the inside, most importantly. They taught me that beauty starts on the inside, but can be celebrated and expressed on the outside as well. I learned to celebrate the art of personal style and to relish in beauty.

As personal stylists, we often step into the role that one’s mother may not have been able to, of training and educating our clients –women and men–to present their best image.

Style is truly an art. An art that one must learn to fully enjoy the benefits.

As Mother’s Day approaches, I honor both of my “moms”  who have taught me so much. I’ve had training from some of the best!

As you reflect on your upbringing, what was your experience with your mother or primary caregiver? Did you receive training in the art of style? If so did you adopt their style or not? If yes, does it fit who you are today?  Or have you had to figure it out on your own?

My favorite line from a John Mayer song says “Girls become lovers who turn into mothers, so mothers be good to your daughters too.”

As a mother myself I am mindful to be good to my daughter and teach her what I know about style, while at the same time not imposing my own style upon her, but letting her discover who she is first and how she wants to look.

If this has spoken to you and you want to learn how to celebrate your unique beauty, we’re here for you. Watch our complimentary Masterclass to discover the 7-step path to embodying your authentic style.