Fashion styling – embracing and appreciating ourselves
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Fashion styling – embracing and appreciating ourselves
The clothes you choose to wear say a lot about how you feel on a daily basis but, despite what a 3 trillion dollar global apparel industry tells us,[1] clothes are not here for you to impress one another – they protect you from the elements and they support your expression as the woman or man you are, inviting you to be playful in embracing and appreciating yourself.
Yet this is not the clothing experience of many women, including those I have supported as a fashion stylist with a wardrobe makeover.
Your wardrobe and the way you dress is a great reflection of your life and the way you see and feel about yourself.
In my work as a Fashion Consultant I noticed how each client said they would’ve never tried on the clothing that was suggested. Why is that? I feel that the simple answer is about women taking the time to connect to the essence of who we are within. Allowing yourself the space and self-appreciation to ‘read’ what colour and style supports, empowers and complements who you really are, opens you up to your style and supports a wardrobe makeover that goes beautifully with and not against who you truly are.
When a woman is given the space to be supported in a fashion styling session that is about them, it reveals that most of us spend our lives and our cash dressing to please another, to keep up with what’s in fashion and to feel good about ourselves by using clothes to cover up what we don’t like about our bodies, and show off what we do.
Why don’t we choose clothes that express who we are on the inside?
There are so many ways we hide who we are with the clothes we wear and hold onto in our wardrobes.
Sometimes we keep clothes for sentimental reasons or we feel our body shape may return to a certain size. Perhaps there is a favourite pair of shoes you’ll never wear again but hold onto anyway. Why do you keep these things and what do you hope to do with them in the future? Just starting a series of questions around your wardrobe contents and choices is the first step in fashion styling from the inside out.
Allowing yourself the opportunity to be truthful with your clothes and what they tell you about yourself can be as simple as asking:
- How do I feel about myself when I wear this?
- What am I feeling today that makes me want to choose that item of clothing?
- Am I feeling confident today or do I want to hide?
- Do I want it because it’s what’s in fashion now?
It is important to allow yourself plenty of time as your personal wardrobe makeover begins, to go through clothes and accessories and discuss how your clothes may reflect the person you are, instead of who you are portraying yourself as today. Many women already know that there are clothes in their wardrobes that no longer match who they are. Surrendering clothes that keep you in the comfort of the past rather than supporting you in embracing and accepting who you are in the present can be truly liberating, as you slowly start allowing yourself to be you!
All this can be quite exposing and helpful in discovering where we are with our relationship with ourselves, and our sense of self-worth and beauty.
The more this unfolds lovingly, the greater the appreciation we begin to have for ourselves and the easier it becomes to feel and know your own style and to feel confident about yourself.
Once the items that are no longer needed are removed from your wardrobe, there comes a sense of clarity about what future clothing purchases need to be made. It’s easy to do this without spending a fortune, just by simply buying a few quality pieces of clothing, playing with colours and observing the shape of clothes on your body.
After clearing out old clothes and patterns the next step in your wardrobe makeover is taking a shopping trip where, instead of choosing clothes to hide behind or to camouflage the areas of your body that you are embarrassed about, you can literally start to allow yourself to come out of the closet and choose clothes that confirm and match the beautiful, confident, delicate, sexy and utterly precious woman you are.
What joy it is to see the realisation on a woman’s face when she wears a colour or style that was once feared.
Shopping can be a lot of fun . . . experimenting and trying different things on. Interacting with staff and allowing them to serve you with suggestions and tips supports you to see aspects of yourself you can embrace and appreciate.
Fashion styling is about being truly you – not 'making yourself over' but instead feeling, meeting and bringing your innermost beauty with what you choose to wear. It is about wearing clothes that confirm who you are and not hiding or distracting from the ever-evolving expression of the divine woman you are.
"A woman's body will always be beauty-full to her, if she but allows who she truly is on the inside to model it."
Serge Benhayon Esoteric Teachings & Revelations, p 548
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Fashion, Beauty tips, Body positive, Appreciation, Style, Body image
