Dress Your Inner Self
Ms London - 27 June 2005Sally CranswickHands up; how often do you hunt frantically through your wardrobe for the perfect outfit only to exclaim… “None of this is me, I have nothing to wear!” I’m certainly guilty of having a wardrobe stuffed to the corners with things that just don’t reflect who I want to be. Impulsive shopping, bargain-basement sales and fashion crazes are largely to blame for this (plus a fair portion of bad judgement on my part), but this age-old dilemma is one that many women share. According to personal stylist Sarah Whittaker, otherwise known as ‘The Wardrobe Shrink’, 50% of women in the UK hate to shop because they don’t know what to look for, and surveys show that we wear 25% of our wardrobe 75% of the time – that’s a lot of wasted clothes and money. If you also keep in mind that 75% of a first impression is about the way you look (whilst only 2% is what you say!) then it’s worth taking some time to focus on how you would like to project yourself. Sarah says, “Consider yourself a brand – a walking, talking advert for yourself. You should dress to get the job you want, the date you want or just a different response from passers by.” It’s easy to wear high-fashion clothes, or to follow a style that has worked in previous years, but we change, our lives change, and to feel truly comfortable with yourself and your image you have to know ‘who you are’. After much research, Sarah has created a personal-profiling system, which looks at each person individually. She uses thirty-five image types to determine a personal ‘style blueprint’ for her clients and says, “By using my method of personal profiling I am able to help people express themselves from the inside out. It is more than what you are wearing and your personal image – it’s who you want to be”. A consultation with Sarah is a lot of fun. For many women, it’s the first time they have sat down and really focused on themselves and thought about what they want from their clothes. She asks questions about star signs, career, lifestyle, family, hobbies, likes and dislikes in order to compile a comprehensive profile. Sarah goes on to explain, “Everyone has their own blueprint – their psychology, their physiology and their presence. Your psychology is your character and how you interact with others, your physiology is your colouring, body architecture and shape, and your presence is the entrance you make when you enter a room or your personal energy. This is what makes a person unique and is also the basis for their own style. Knowing your blueprint, allows you to understand what you need to communicate in your clothing and how. Non-visual communication represents 65% of communication, so without saying a word, your clothes will reflect who you are which, in turn, will encourage the response you need from others and situations.” You can start to create your own blueprint by scheduling some time to think about yourself. Involve a couple of good friends and ask for their feedback as you begin to search for the new you. Sarah suggests six points that you can use to find your own personal profile: 1. Define your five main character traits. Use adjectives to describe who you are. When choosing your style, ensure that the clothing matches your five defining traits. (For example, Sarah concluded that I was ‘Urban Warrior meets Joan of Arc’, so I should opt for urban military wear with clean lines and functionality.) 2. How do others describe you? Look for clues in how your friends define you. Too often we dress in a ‘uniform’ and don’t follow our own personality. The clues friends give you will help you separate yourself from the crowd and find your unique role. 3. What was your favourite colour as a child/young girl? Often this is the clue to defining your colour palette. Colours divide into two bases; warm tones – yellow-based colours and cool tones – blue-based colours. You will fit into one of these palettes. Use colours that match with your favourite colour as these will harmonise with your own skin tone and bring out your own colouring, a language in itself. 4. In every woman is a Princess, Queen or Priestess waiting to come out. Are you young at heart, a natural authority, or wiser than your years? These archetypes describe your presence. Whether you are a Lulu, a Carol Voderman or a Cher, you need to reflect your energy in your clothing or you will look out of focus and trying to look older or younger than your personality, regardless of age. 5. Forget pear shaped or hourglass. These terms can be too unflattering – instead consider your body is made of angles and curves. The more angles, the more structure you need, the more curves the more flow and drape. Use basic geometrics as templates for analysing your body. 6. We often don’t know what our best assets are, even if they are staring at us in the mirror each day! These are the qualities that you want to reveal the most and make a point of! Whether it be mysterious eyes, long legs or a bubbly nature, you will have at least three fantastic qualities that you need to enhance through your clothing, make-up or hair, today! Once you have created your own profile, it’s time to have a good clear out. Be brutal and realistic about what needs to go from your wardrobe, holding back items that you can crop, alter or add detail to. Sarah says, “Don’t despair as you will always have things in your wardrobe that work for you. It’s a matter of putting them together in the right context so that they reflect you more effectively. Also, try creating a basic capsule wardrobe with key items that allow you to create the most outfits. A combined clear out and a bit of shopping will help you find those key items that you need to reflect your Image Type.” Many stores have a shopping service – check your favourite stores’ websites to see what they can do for you – for example, Top Shop in Oxford Circus offers a Style Advisor service (see www.topshop.co.uk or call 020 7927 7863 for details) whereby someone else does all the prep work and trawling of sizes for you. Before you hit the shops, save time by searching the websites for items that you will be interested in – even call in advance to make sure they have what you are looking for in stock to save a wasted journey. Use your time and money wisely – no more impulse purchases or shopping ‘outside of the box’! A consultation with Sarah is a consultation for life, as she sets you in the right direction to make your own choices. It’s great fun and you will learn things about yourself that you never knew! A consultation is pounds 150 and you can book online at www.insideoutprofiling.com, where you can also subscribe to Sarah’s newsletters and The Wardrobe Shrink E-Book. END. Sally Cranswick is an Independent Freelance Writer for Health, Beauty, Fashion and Fitness. Contact Sally Interested in a consultation NOW? Sarah offers a Distance Image Profiling Consultation that means you don't have to wait for her next trip to London and can learn your Image Type in the luxury of your own home. Back to Insideout website |