Recently, I was watching one of Oprah’s daily inspirational videos that was so powerful and profound, I had to replay it several times.
In the video, Oprah quoted Maya Angelou who said, “the question, Oprah, is, are you a real woman, or just an aging female. Who do you want to be?”
Ouch! The pointed question certainly clears the decks, doesn’t it?
Who wants to be merely an ‘aging female.’
Oprah explained what Angelou meant was, are you optimizing, living your best potential in all areas? Or, just gutting it out, getting through, clinging to sameness or the comfort zone. What have you learned from your mistakes and how have you readjusted.
And, I might add, how is this reflected every day in your demeanor, your attitude, even your style choices. Including those style mistakes we’ve all made.
Who do you want to be?
As women, the answer can be a moving target as we go through our days occupying the many different roles we span over our lifetimes. Daughter, granddaughter, mother, sister, friend, businesswoman, house manager, wife, philanthropic leader, politician, teacher. The list is vast!
At the intersection of all these roles is our style, how we appear, which is often a different version many times a day or during a typical week.
Not only that, as our roles change, so do our bodies, as well as the seasons where we live and travel. What looked good ten years ago, heck — even last year, can look surprisingly dull or uninspiring the very next season.
What was appropriate in the last city you lived, might not work in your new city, or on vacation.
So we shop! We try and try, thinking, OK, this time I’ll get it right!
Possibly, we copy whatever the style is in our region or social group, even if it’s not optimal for us.
It’s a challenge because as women, we have so many choices.
Some of you aren’t at all fond of shopping or curating your wardrobes. Some of you simply don’t have time. Some just opt out altogether.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed. One woman recently told me shopping makes her incredibly anxious. So many colors. Keeping up with trends and styles. So much merchandise in the stores. And, dealing with that mirror staring back at us in the dressing room. It’s a lot!
This is why many women give up and say, eh, I’ll just wear the same thing. Who cares, anyway? Or, I’ll give it some attention once I’ve lost those last ten pounds, or after the kids graduate.
We both know it’s so worth it not to give in to the temptation to give up on your style. You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t think so.
When you deny yourself the full luxury of tapping into your unique look, you feel less vibrant. Less alive.
For me, style always gives me something to get excited about. To look forward to.
If that’s not you and you need an assist, there’s no shame in asking for help.
I love helping women connect with who they really are and how they want to project themselves during the next year or the next stage of their lives. It’s a thrill to help you extract your very best look from clothing you already own. We find the good, release the so-so and put you on track to shine with a few new pieces.
Gone are those days of staring at your big walk-in sighing, ugh, I have nothing to wear.
Reach out to find out how style starts in your very own closet and how you can build your look for whatever transition or stage you’re in. To begin the journey towards who you want to be right now.