The New Era Of Personal Styling

The fashion industry has had its fair share of negative influence on society. Personal Styling in the media is often portrayed as intimidating and shallow (thoughts go to make-over scenes where outrageously loud clothes are thrown at a confidence-lacking, unfashionable woman by two stick thin, judging brand addicts wearing stilettos and pencil skirts). 

Considering fashion is so subjective and is a creative industry, a lot of boxes and restrictions have been created to limit people when it comes to their style.  Frequently in my styling appointments I would encounter phrases such as; "Oh I'm too old to be wearing something like that", "I've been told I can't wear that colour" or "I don't want to buy anything new until I get back to my old size". 

When I look back at the depiction of styling and fashion in TV, especially the 90's and 2000's, the reasons are obvious as to why some men and women feel insecure, unconfident and scared to be expressive with their wardrobes. Programmes like; What Not To Wear, Trinny and Susannah, Snog Marry Avoid, 10 Years Younger and Next Top Model, depict looking young and skinny as the epitome of beauty- something that everyone should be spending their time and money trying to achieve.  

TLC's What Not To Wear with stylist's Stacy and Clinton, seem to impose their own opinions, styles and damaging views on how a woman is supposed to dress on unsuspecting participants. In this clip, this stunning (and somewhat unwilling) client has her love for designer shoes and sexy outfits slated by these two "stylists". Some of the words used to describe her style were; "trashy",  "cheap" and "insecure". Her love for feeling sexy and confident was torn down and, even though she amazingly stood her ground- it resulted in the stylists being extremely unprofessional and bitchy towards her! I could go on and on about how much I want to jump in to this clip and rescue this woman from having her style completely ripped away from her- but I can only watch on as her uniqueness and self confidence is trodden down to a more "acceptable" way to dress.

In Trinny and Susannah's BBC What Not To Wear UK programme, their opening title starts with them calling out each others insecurities and then saying "There isn't a single woman who can't find one fault with her figure, but we can all learn to hide what we don't like". Basically, rather than learning to embrace your body shape and learning to love yourself- hide it! In this clip, once again, two stylists are ganging up on the client, interrupting her and not letting her lead- imposing their own styles on to her and not listening to her! The woman being styled was called boyish, lanky, told to be careful to not took too thin and scrawny! I wonder what the impact of advice like this does to anyone's self-confidence...

These programmes seem to be more about the "stylists" then the clients and I would not want to book in for a session with a Personal Stylist after watching these women getting their physical appearance insulted and personal style choices thrown aside like trash. So what is the difference between that and what I do?

I pride myself on empowering my clients and listening to their preferences and lifestyles. I love showing my clients how to embrace their body shapes, to use fashion to elevate themselves but still feel true to who they are. I give my clients the tools to style themselves, to critique their own outfits in a positive way (there are a million garments and only one you), to make sure the clothes they have make them feel amazing without compromising on comfort or budget!

Now, this post isn't about having a go at the stylists from an era when the fashion industry's aim was to make everyone hate themselves in order to buy fancy clothes and beauty products. But an opportunity to compare how far the fashion industry has come within a couple of decades. There is still a long way to go when it comes to body image and empowering people to love themselves and to have the confidence to just give style a try. But I do think it is crucial to look back at the messages being given to men and women when it comes to style and fashion. And it helps me to understand why some of my clients still feel restricted by the rules created by theses programmes. 

Body shapes change as we go through different chapters in life and we will look older as we age- but what a gift that is! Why are we not taught to thank our bodies for the amazing things they have endured or to be grateful for all the wrinkles we get from the smiles we've had? Embrace change and let go of the old you, wear clothes that make your feel amazing and happy. Be the version of yourself that you want to be!