transforming your personal style

Happy Friday everyone!

As you may have noticed, the site recently underwent a big makeover — we like to keep it fresh and interesting for you!  Similar to undergoing an individual makeover, it helps us stay out of that style rut that we all tend to fall into from time to time.  So, it’s the perfect time to announce our new Personal Style Transformation program.  It’ll be directed and led by our new VP of Education and Training, Alison.  She’s an amazing coach, teacher, and guide and she has something really important to share with you — something that is based on all the values we share here at Wardrobe 911 — I was moved by her story as I hope you will be too.  ~Teresa

Hi all!

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m sort of a “late-bloomer” when it comes to style. I’ve always had an eye for color and design—I wore a stunning full-length, turquoise Thai silk dress to my college graduation in 1984 and was mistaken for the “fashion designer”— but I was just too busy with other things in my 20′s and 30′s to focus on fashion.  I was traveling, learning languages, starting a business school, building a career and figuring out who I wanted to be when I grew up!

The truth is, I was busy.  Despite wanting to be stylish, I just didn’t know how to make that happen on a day-to-day basis. Friends and family would say that I’ve “always been stylish,” but I know that it’s been kinda hit or miss. (If you join the program, you’ll have the chance to share some of your “style-don’t” photos! ) But about five years ago, I got even more interested in style as something real and important. As a life coach, I began to acknowledge the central role that body image (and wellness) played in each of my client’s happiness and saw how it was reflected with style.

There is plenty of evidence about image and how we’re judged by appearance. Though it’s indisputable, maybe you’re still not convinced that it really matters. Honestly, I dressed well enough in my career to excel and succeed. I coulda done better style-wise if I knew then what I know now. But that’s not why I care, really.

To me, style is about that whole snowflake thing. There’s only one of me: how I express who I am and what I want to “say” makes me, me. Knowing what you love and even why is part of that.

This morning my mother said, “My mother loved cornflower blue,” as she handed me some cornflowers and the most beautiful periwinkle hydrangeas. I love those blues too. As a trained stylist, I now know some of the reasons why. I guess we can’t ignore the power of genetics, but there’s also a part of it that is a mystery. Nature, nurture, and maybe something more.

But I can’t talk about style without also dealing with the issue of our bodies. We’re living with an epidemic of obesity and eating/lifestyle related diseases. I’m a dancer and, though I’ve never been professional, started dancing in high school and soon after began an obsession with my weight and size that took years to unravel and heal. At the time, there was still no word for “eating disorder,” but I began to revel in the attention and sense of control I had by eating  just few raisins and seeing my sinewy muscles through my Danskin.

It’s been many (many) years since I made peace with my body and eating. (As a small thread of the program, I’ll share how.) I have far fewer nags about my “flaws.” I’ll let myself go there, but not for very long. There’s always way more good about me—and you—to waste energy obsessing about it. Over the years, I have trained in a variety of dance and fitness techniques that are still central in my life—I’ll tell you about that another time— and take really good care of myself. I also think I look pretty darn good as I approach 50. I’m going to my 30th high school reunion today.

As I guide you on a Personal Style Transformation journey, I want you to know this: at the heart of style is a commitment to celebrating who YOU are. Of course, there’s the technical part—fit, proportion, color, style personality, managing your closet—and we will teach you that. Teresa’s one of the best out there. It’s really cool stuff and it creates a framework for bringing out the best in who you are. But I also hope that you end the battle of negative self-talk about your body. It ends here with us. See your body as an artist would.

Feeling good about and in your body is really all you’ve got. Everything else that you love depends on it. Your work, your relationships, your health. Style—however you will define that—is an important part of that equation.

For me, the spirit of style is this: Love Yourself Now. Don’t waste another day. You can buy another pair of shoes, but you only have one pair of feet!

There’s a little notebook on the table here. It says, “Life is too short to not have a little umbrella in your drink.” To me, that’s what style is about. It’s your life. Today. Live it with style.

Join me for the Personal Style Transformation online program!