Can a simple style tweak lead to winning an election?
Speaking from experience, yes!
Although it’s deeper than just tweaking your style. It’s who you become in the process of The Style Awakening (™). Style is simply the tool; the gateway.
You’re probably curious which style tweak was the tool and impetus that led my client to win the election and become the Kern County Assessor-Recorder Elect (she officially takes over office in January).
When we first started working together, Laura was bored with her clothes and putting zero effort into getting dressed. She felt unfinished.
Getting dressed was a chore.
If you’re like most of the women I chat with, I think you can relate! Especially coming out of the “work from home” era of the pandemic.
And I completely understand!
I also understand that once you get stuck in that rut of wearing the same thing over and over, forgetting about your accessories and living in lounge clothes, it’s a lot harder to motivate yourself to create outfits that have you feeling confident and polished.
So what did we do to help Laura feel polished and comfy and pulled together?
She was about to start the process of running for office and was not feeling the part. There were also stories floating in her head that her clothes were boring and she needed to change everything in her closet.
I call these stories because they aren’t true. They’re simply a thought you’ve created in your head because you’re feeling a certain emotion. It’s a way to justify that emotion and make yourself right.
For Laura, as it is with most of my clients, it was about completing the look!
She had all of the basics in place and simply needed to add key finishers like accessories and blazers. For instance, imagine a red dress paired with black heels. Sounds totally fine, yet is it truly expressing your personality?
For Laura, that meant adding a camel blazer on top (which we purchased), pulling it together with a black wrap belt (also purchased), adding a fun animal print heel (already in her closet), layering some gold necklaces (a mix of new and those already owned) and finishing with a bold black ring and crystal bracelets (also already in her closet).
With every outfit we created, most of the pieces were already in her closet! It was about mixing them together in a new way and then adding those finishers pieces which are accessories, a fun shoe and blazer or jacket. That’s what takes your outfit from blah to bold.
These may seem like simple tweaks, yet the impact is greater than you can imagine. Laura shared with me that in changing her style, she felt more confident. When she attended various networking events to let others know she was running for office, she felt like she fit in. And just a few months later, she won the election over the incumbent!
So where in your life are you holding yourself back because you don’t feel like you fit the part? What would it look like to take 10 minutes this weekend to play in your closet and create an outfit that feels fun and excites you to actually take the next step? And what key finishing pieces would take it (and you) to the next level.
Let me know in the comments below what you create and what pieces you notice are missing. I’ll offer some tips on where to shop.
Oh and below’s a photo of what Laura wore to her campaign kickoff meeting. Here’s what she shared with me the next day:
“What a great night! I had such a good kickoff and felt so positive. And I looked amazing!”
Little did she know that kickoff would lead to a win… or did she:)
xoxo,
Style Specialist & Confidence Catalyst
