No More Excuses!

When I meet potential new clients I often hear the same thing. Women are very interested in what I do and how I can help. Then they proceed to tell me how interested they are but continue with a list of excuses that most likely will not come as a total surprise.

·         …after I lose some weight. (This is the most popular excuse.)

·         …when I have some extra money to spend on clothes.

·         …when things calm down and I have some time.

Let’s quickly tackle these excuses. So many women feel uncomfortable about their weight. Many of us are constantly working towards losing weight. We put aspects of our lives on hold until we reach that elusive weight goal we made for ourselves… realistic or not. But what if we don’t wait? What if we start being more accepting of ourselves? What if start dressing the body that we have?

Our bodies change over time. We have babies, gravity takes over, things shift… we gain weight and we lose weight. We might still fit into the dress we wore 20 years ago but I guarantee it’s not likely to fit you the same way it did before. We need to adjust how we dress for our changing bodies. Find the clothes that fit the body you have now. I guarantee that once you find clothes that fit you properly and you’re able to dress the bod you have comfortably, you will feel lighter, brighter and much more confident.

But what about all that money you need to spend on new clothes? Budgets are tight, I get that. Out closet might not be the first place you want to spend your extra cash. But what if you didn’t have to spend a fortune on a new wardrobe? We’re not talking about a shopping trip to Saks. Depending on how your clothes fit, you might benefit from a simple tailoring fix. Buying new clothes doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Every retail store has sales and deep discounts especially this time of year.  You want to know how to dress your body and once you do, you can buy clothes at almost any price point that will fit you. We focus on style not price point.

I have two young boys and a husband who travels for work. I don’t expect life to calm down for many years to come. And I don’t want to put my life on hold until then. Making time is a challenge. I completely understand. But I have also found that if I make a point of planning something and prioritize its importance in my life, I can make room for the things that I thought I wouldn’t be able to address. It’s natural not to put ourselves first. But when you feel good about yourself, you’re a better mom, sister, wife, daughter, co-worker and friend.

So now that we’ve put our excuses to rest, it’s time to dress confidently and feel good about you. Walk tall and conquer your day ladies!

Be Strong, Be Confident

I started this blog and this business in order to help empower women. I've worked in a number of different industries and understand the challenges that face women every day in the workplace. I am a mother of two beautiful boys and understand the challenges of juggling work with home and children. I am beginning to understand the challenge of raising children in today's world.

As women we face unique challenges: raising children, building careers, sustaining relationships. We see the world in a unique and powerful way. I think we also have unique strengths. We know how to bring people together, how to be compassionate and love unconditionally.

I believe in the power of womanhood. I've witnessed it. We can be fearless. We can fight. We fight for those we love and for the things we believe in.

In building this business I've had the pleasure of meeting beautiful passionate women who have shared their talent, resources and words of wisdom with me. They have encouraged me and continue to do so. These are strong confident amazing women who remind me to be a strong confident woman myself.

I want every woman to know that she can do anything she puts her mind to. I want her to stand tall at work. To speak up in the boardroom. To empower our children. To be courageous, loving and empathetic. If I can help one more woman to feel just a little stronger when she gets dressed in the morning, then I've done my job. That's why I am here.

I encourage all of us to work together to build each other up. Let's remember the importance of supporting each other, cheering each other on and forgiving each other. We are all in this together and we are stronger together.

Find a little time for yourself...

Make time for yourself

We hear this message all the time.  We need to make time for ourselves. We need to take vacations. We need turn off our phones. We need to take care of ourselves (in whatever way that means for you: gym, yoga, spa, ect). What a grand and wonderful idea!

Who has time for that???

We are crazed. Forget about the added stress of the holidays. We are always multi-tasking. And most of the time we feel like we are always behind.

We have lives. We have children, husbands, parents, siblings, girlfriends, boyfriends, jobs, carpools, practices. The list goes on and on. I think I feel it most in the morning. As a working mom, I always feel like I'm juggling too much in the morning trying to get myself and my kids out the door. As a result, getting dressed in the morning is something I need to do with ease. I plan my outfit the night before, making sure that whatever I'm wearing is clean and wrinkle-free. Even though I plan the night before, I still don't have much time to do it. I'm usually picking something just before getting into bed at which point I'm so exhausted that the last thing I want to do is put any effort into pulling together a cute outfit. I'm sure many of you feel the same way.

Since this is the case, I wind up wearing a rotation of outfits that I know work. No time for switching things up or incorporating something new. But after a while you can get bored. So how do you find time and energy to add that something new?

Here are a few ideas:

1.      Make time for one big planning session on the weekend. One hour might be enough time to give you some ideas. Basically take out your work friendly clothing that you wear with the least amount of frequency. Lay out whole outfits (including shoes & accessories) and start taking pictures. If you're unsure of how something will fit, try it on! This is your chance. And then snap a picture of you wearing it! After an hour, you'll have a reference point for these new ideas that will help you incorporate them into your weekly wardrobe.

2.      Shop in outfits: When you actually do have time to go shopping (even if it's just online), try to shop in outfits. Most retail sites have an outfits section that will help to give you some ideas of how the clothes they sell can be coordinated. If you buy a new sweater think about what you're going to wear it with. If you can't come up with anything, look for the matching piece to buy with it. If you can't find something, re-think the purchase. Your money will best be spent in working around your current wardrobe. The pieces that you never wear are the ones that you can't coordinate or never have an occasion to wear!

3. Find multiple ways to wear one piece: We see this on websites all the time "How to wear our most popular dress 3 ways!" Retailers know you want to get the most out of your clothes. Find a piece that you can wear in multiple ways so that you can maximize your usage and minimize your hassle getting dressed in the morning. This can come in especially handy if for example, you're almost out the door and your sweet child spits up on you. We all dread this. But if by some miracle, your child only spits up on your sweater, the rest of the outfit might be salvaged if you knew how to wear the other pieces in another way.

Finding time for ourselves is never going to be easy, but maybe if we manage to steal a few minutes every now and again, it can help us to feel better about ourselves in the long run. If you can take the time to pull together a cute new outfit for work maybe it will help you to feel strong and confident the rest of the week! If we can do it once, maybe we can do it again. Try to find ways to add it into your routine. It can be once a week or once a month. Whatever works best for you is how you should start!