I did something for myself every day. I said I wouldn’t cheat on myself, and when I did, I didn’t beat myself up about it. I stood up for myself. I said “no” to things. I asked for help. I raised my expectations of my family and others. I let things go. I chose me.
Read MoreThanks for coming back for my final week of the Style I.R.L. Guide! We have been defining your personal brand, and using that knowledge to take steps to improve your life. Follow these easy steps to purge your wardrobe of things that do not align with your personal brand.
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I’m so glad you keep coming back for my Style I.R.L. Guide! You are going to be so happy you did! In January we are defining your personal brand. By now you know how your life will improved when you know more about your personal style. First step was to create your inspiration board. Using your board, we used what we learned to define your style. Now let’s implement that.
One of the services I provide my clients is creating a Virtual Personal Look Book. I’m telling you, it changes their lives. A client told me she can’t get dressed without it anymore! A Virtual Personal Look Book is a curated catalog of photos of your outfits- from top to bottom- that you can access from your phone and use as a reference when you get dressed every day. Imagine the time and stress you will save each day! No more standing in front of your closet wondering what you will wear? And as part of my Style. I.R.L. Guide, I’m going to give you the steps to create your own. Right here. Right now. Let’s go.
“Step 1”
Step 1: Put an outfit together. Make sure you choose every element of the outfit from earrings to shoes. Try it on too. See how it fits, is it proportional and does it all work together. Also keep in mind your Personal Style- now that you know what it is you can use it to build a look you love.
“Step 2”
Step 2: Lay it out on the floor in a visually appealing way. Make it Instagram-worthy, with everything in the outfit included.
“Step 3”
Step 3: Take a photo of it from above. Create a folder in your Photos called “Look Book” and file the photo in there.
DONE! If you take the time to do this, soon you will have a fabulous catalog of outfits to choose from. No more stress about what to wear to work or that luncheon. Just take out your phone, scroll through your Look Book , and choose an outfit.
This week I challenge you to plan your outfits for the week ahead of time. Take 15 minutes to look ahead to your week. Choose two days and pre-plan your outfits for those days. Then follow the steps above make these two outfits the first in your Look Book. Then see how you feel on those days when you use the Look Book to get dressed. Share with me on Facebook- I want to know how you benefited from this challenge.
Still not sure this is worth the time? Check out my latest Facebook video where I explain more about the benefits of creating Virtual Personal Look Book. If you aren’t already, be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter and become a part of my style community. I share my tips, events and more from my Style I.R.L. Guide.
For the Style I.R.L. Guide, our focus for January is creating your personal brand. Last week we created your inspiration board. It’s the first step I do with all my clients. Once you’ve got your inspiration board, whether it’s a collage you can hang in your closet or a virtual board on Pinterest, it’s time to go deeper. We want to use this visual expression of your taste to determine your personal style.
If you are like me, your board probably includes several public figures and celebrities whose style you admire. I’ve been posting my style icons on Instagram all week. Some of my favorites include Reese Witherspoon, Katie Holmes, Jackie O, Tory Burch and my list actually keeps going on. Let’s dive deeper into the celebrity style and I’m going to use myself as an example. I’ve been an admirer of Jennifer Aniston since the 90’s. Jen’s is a good example of a woman who has a strong personal style, and although it has evolved over the years, she’s always got an easy, bohemian beach style. For award shows she will dress it up. At the airport she always goes for relaxed layers and jeans. Her makeup is generally fresh and natural. She rarely strays from her brand, which says to the world that she is naturally beautiful and doesn’t try too hard. Guess what? Jen has a stylist. Jen tries. Jen wears makeup. This “easy” look doesn’t come easy, but it also doesn’t have to be hard. Jen sticks to styles that fit her personal brand and that makes getting dressed uncomplicated. She is able to dress it up or down depending on her needs. So I like to incorporate those things into my personal style too. For me, I mix and match comfy, distressed denim with blazers and loafers. And I’m totally on board with her natural makeup look, including dewy skin and a nude lip. For more on my every day easy makeup look, check out this week’s facebook video. I’m sharing my favorite products to do a polished but natural makeup look. WATCH HERE
Take a look at the style icons you put on your inspiration board. What do you admire about them and how can you incorporate those traits into your own wardrobe?
If you missed last week’s blog post or you haven’t had a chance to create your inspiration board GO BACK NOW and build your board. It’s easy, fun and really gives you insight into what you like, who you admire and what your taste is. Don't miss any of my Style I.R.L. Guide by signing up for my weekly newsletter and become a part of my style community.
It’s time for more of my Style I.R.L. Guide! January’s focus is creating your personal brand. Last week we talked about how much better your life can be when you know your personal style. Together we created your inspiration board. It’s step one in determining your personal brand and it’s a step I do with all my clients. This week we are going even deeper and figuring out how to implement your personal preferences into your wardrobe. So if you missed last week’s blog post or you haven’t had a chance to create your inspiration board yet, GO BACK NOW and build your board. It’s easy, fun and really gives you insight into what you like, who you admire and what your taste is.
Once you’ve got your inspiration board, whether it’s a collage you can hang in your closet or a virtual board on Pinterest, it’s time to go deeper. We want to use this visual expression of your taste to determine your personal style.
Is there a lot of one color expressed on your board? THEN CONSIDER ADDING MORE OF THIS COLOR TO YOUR WARDROBE.
Do most of your pictures reflect a more casual style or many most are of classic, preppy looks? IF IT WORKS WITH YOUR LIFESTYLE, PUT MORE OUTFITS TOGETHER IN THIS STYLE.
Maybe you wear mostly skirts to work but have a lot of pictures of outfits with pants and trousers? THINK ABOUT WHY YOU DON’T HAVE MORE PANTS IN YOUR CLOSET. THEN TRY TO CREATE A PANT LOOK THAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE IN.
Don’t forget hair and makeup. WAIT, DID YOU FORGET HAIR AND MAKEUP? That’s an important part of your personal brand, even if you prefer a natural looking face. Don’t really wear makeup or not sure where to start? I got you. For more on my every day easy makeup look, check out this week’s facebook video. I’m sharing my favorite products to do a polished but natural makeup look. WATCH HERE
This week I want you to look at your inspiration board and make a list of words that describes the styles you see there. For me, words that describe my board are classic, pulled together, crisp, tailored, neutral, stylish, balanced, natural, and polished. What are yours? These are the building blocks of your personal brand.
Don't miss any of my Style I.R.L. Guide by signing up for my weekly newsletter and becoming a part of my style community.
Welcome to the start of the Style I.R.L. Guide! We are going to accomplish so much together. January’s focus is creating your personal brand. In this week’s Facebook video, I told you the 3 main reasons why knowing your personal style will make your life better. WATCH HERE When I work with new clients, the first thing I do is give them a little homework. That includes creating an inspiration board. Usually I have them do this on Pinterest so they can share it with me. But when I do it for myself I really love to create an actual board, something I can hang up in my office or closet for daily inspiration. Choose what works best and whichever version you will use the most. The point is for you to learn what looks you love, what colors and styles you admire and put it all together in one place. You will save money and time, and build confidence, by doing a little prep work. Make it fun.
1. Clip pictures out of magazines, catalogs and flyers of outfits and color swatches that you like. Collect images from the internet and Instagram of people who have a style you admire. 2. Grab a big sheet of paper or cardboard, or use a cork board, and organize it all. Create a collage of your clippings. Organize it however you want- by color or style- whatever is visually appealing to you. 3. Then hang it where you can see it every day. Doing this helps you focus on what you like and the looks you want to incorporate into your personal style.
Next week we will use our inspiration board to dive deeper into our personal style so try to get something put together this week. It doesn’t have to be perfect and it can actually be a lot of fun.
I want to hear how it’s going! Have questions or want to share what you think of this challenge? Engage with me on Facebook. Check me out on Pinterest to see my inspiration boards. And be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter to be a part of my style community- that’s where you will get all the information on the Style I.R.L. Guide including links to the latest challenge, videos and more.
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