I first met Amanda eight years ago. We had fun doing her colors, makeup and a wardrobe consultation. Since she enjoys the process of creating a wardrobe, she took the new information and ran with it.
Then everything changed!
As Amanda says, “After my second journey through breast cancer, this time including chemo, my hair grew back thick, curly and gray. I decided that I was going to wear my experience with pride and look fabulous no matter what.”
Before chemo she had been blonde and had built a lovely palette around her blonde colors. Since she was embracing her new curly gray hair she was at a loss as to how to move forward. Nothing she wore seemed to work anymore.
Amanda recounts, “I immediately reached out to Ginger, with whom I had worked before. She redid my colors (wonderful blues and grays) and helped me create my inner beauty words.”
This past August I decided it was time to do another before and after photo shoot and I invited Amanda to be part of the fun. To my delight she said yes!
Amanda had gone through the ‘Your Style, Your Way’ workshop a few months before and now had her four inner beauty words. This gave her renewed energy and focus in creating an authentic wardrobe. We were able to truly capture her essence, not only through her colors but also through the styling choices.
She was determined that her wardrobe would reflect her newfound strength and, as you will see below, it does.
Here is Amanda wearing a suit she had worn before her most recent bout of cancer and before she sported her fabulous gray curls.
Her inner beauty words are:
- Vibrant
- Beguiling (used in the sense of being charming and fascinating)
- Grace-filled
- Quiet Strength
When you look at Amanda in her brown suit other than perhaps some ‘quiet strength’ you do not see much of her other essence reflected. Not to mention that the yellow/green color does nothing to make her appear vibrant or beguiling. It is a simple, classic style, but it doesn’t do much to express her truly authentic self underneath that.
As she mentioned above, her desire is “to look fabulous no matter what.” Whether she is going to work, a party or the grocery store, she wants to express who she is and feel amazing.
Here you will see Amanda in her beautiful Joseph Ribkoff skirt suit (from Infinity Boutique) with a great steel blue/gray Recover Designs tank and vibrant and beguiling jewelry from Jewelry by Karel.
If you ask her she will tell you that she truly feels amazing—and you can clearly see that in the photo.
If she is heading to the grocery store and errands on a weekend, she sports a pair of bootcut jeans that make her legs look a million miles long (she is wearing dressier heels in the photo because the shoes are beguiling, but she could easily pair these with a great pair of ankle boots with a chunky heel).
When we found this gray denim jacket at Infinity Boutique there was no question but that she had to have it! She could wear it with a lot of different tops, but she liked the idea of adding a punch of vibrant color with another Recover Designs tank top. She could also add a scarf or different jewelry, but for the photo she wanted to keep it simple (grace-filled).
Amanda’s next outfit is one she knew she had to have the second she put it on. She felt beguiling and vibrant. The lacy straps, the soft flow of the dress and the delicate sparkly jewelry all add a touch of grace-filled. Her attitude wearing this dress screams, if you will, quiet strength.
Notice that we kept the shoes understated so they compliment the beauty of the dress without overpowering it and the low vamp keeps her leg line long and shapely.
You can see why she had to have it! She absolutely sparkles.
Is Amanda happy? She says it best, “Now I get comments the whole time that I look fabulous, stunning, better than before. Ginger helped me to release the changed me that was just waiting to be freed.”
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Many thanks to my amazing ‘before and after’ team:
Josie Baker Procopio (www.jbakerstyles.com) — Hair
Theresa Johnson (www.johnsonphotography.com) — Photographer
I did her makeup
*Inner Beauty Words: Each of my clients gets 4 personal inner beauty words. I have worked with hundreds and hundreds of women and no two have had the same 4 words. This is no surprise since each woman has an inner essence that is unique to her which is part of what makes it so exciting to help each of my clients find the wardrobe that makes them feel amazing. There are many ways in which I help women uncover their inner beauty words. Find out more HERE.
All of Amanda’s after outfits are vegan/cruelty-free including the shoes, accessories and even the makeup.
