Kate is amazing! She has a high-powered job, a wonderful marriage and an adorable little girl, Olivia.
I first met Kate a few years ago (before she had Olivia). After working together for a short time, she shared that, “I don’t think I realized that when I repeatedly picked black, gray, and other “neutral” and “basic” colors, I was certainly saying something, and it wasn’t an authentic statement about who I am.” You will understand more about what she means when you see her transformation and learn her inner beauty words*.
What was truly a blast was helping Kate create a wardrobe during her pregnancy that she loved and that felt like her. (It’s a jungle out there for expecting moms when it comes to finding attractive clothes.)
Now, with Olivia, Kate knows it is even more important that she be able to get dressed easily and still feel great about how she looks.
“Working with Ginger has been a wardrobe- and life-altering experience for me. She managed to draw out of me a description of how I see myself, and then teach me how to say just that with my clothes,” says Kate.
Here is an example of Kate before our work together:
The outfit doesn’t work for a at least three reasons:
- The print is too big, geometric and overpowering on her.
- The twist at the hips looks droopy and heavy at her hip and does nothing to enhance her shape.
- Kate has delicate coloring and in this case that dress would have been better served with a lighter shoe (more like her hair color).
The dress also doesn’t work because it does not reflect who she is (her inner beauty words) which are:
- Sparkly
- Velvet Glove (as the Urban Dictionary shares, velvet glove ‘suggests the use of gentle but effective persuasion’)
- Knowing/Sophisticated
- Orderly Beauty
Does the dress reflect her words? No, and here is why:
- The print in the dress has no sparkle (although that could always be added later, but chances are good any hint at sparkle would be overshadowed by the overbearing print).
- There is nothing gentle about that print so velvet glove is not represented. Plus the print is so overpowering that you notice it before Kate and with the velvet glove she needs to be seen.
- The print lacks any sophistication!
- While the print does have cleanly defined lines, overall it feels messy and not at all orderly.
It is important to know that one does not have to express every inner beauty word in every outfit, but when all of them are missing it means the garment or outfit is definitely not a good fit energetically. That’s what you are seeing with Kate above.
Since working with her inner beauty words, color palette and other tools, Kate shares that, “I actually have fewer clothes than I used to, but everything in my closet makes me smile, and there’s not a single stray piece that I can’t or don’t wear.”
That’s what every woman I work with wants – a closet (reasonably) full of clothes and she wears all of them!
So, what does Kate have in her wardrobe?
Here are two beautiful examples:
Instead of that fussy dress from above, we chose a simple (orderly beauty with sophistication) green dress in a color that makes her sparkle. Of course, adding a beautiful necklace is the icing on the cake and keeps the neckline from feeling too high. Notice her shoes blend with her hair and skin rather than wearing a heavy black shoe that would draw all the attention to her feet and look completely out of place on her.
And, of course, as a working mom this dress is easily washable. Isn’t Olivia too precious for words!
On her time off, Kate refuses to settle for yoga pants and sweatshirts. She still wants to feel beautiful and express her personality while, of course, still being very comfortable. That is where a pair of pull-on jeans (all the rage right now!) with a pretty flowing top does the trick. It is a simple, unfussy style. Even the busy print is done in beautiful colors with a small pattern as opposed to the overpowering geometrics from the ‘before’ dress above and everything else is kept very understated. Her earrings and bracelet add a touch of sparkle and she feels great.
And, she can easily play with Olivia in comfort (both inside and out!).
Also, if you wear eyeglasses they are part of your image as well since they sit front and center on your face. In this case, Kate’s eyeglasses are too heavy for her. See how we tweaked them just enough to enhance her face and eyes without overshadowing them.
This is the state of her entire wardrobe which makes getting dressed a simple task in her busy life. And, there’s an extra bonus…
Kate says, “I have never gotten so many compliments as I have since starting to work with Ginger.”
That says it all!
*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.
All of Kate’s after outfits are vegan/cruelty-free including the shoes, accessories and even the makeup.
Many thanks to my amazing ‘before and after’ team:
Josie Baker Procopio (www.jbakerstyles.com) — Hair
Theresa Johnson (www.johnsonphotography.com) — Photographer
Annie McGonagle – you’ve seen Annie in many of my videos and she assists me in the ‘Your Style, Your Way’ workshop. She added her amazing ‘joyously unrestrained’ essence to the experience for everyone! Annie has a great eBay business so check out her finds here: http://stores.ebay.com/AnniesFabulousBoutique
And, I did her makeup.
