A New Spring In Your Step: It's Not So Bloomin' Hard

As a wardrobe stylist and image consultant, I have many clients who have either been through a divorce or are currently going through one.  I also have clients who are starting a new career or entering a new stage in their lives. I treat them all the same.  Going through any change in your life beckons a “soul-searching” process, it allows for re-invention.I want to start by telling a story about a client of mine who is a dating consultant.  One day my client was throwing a seminar and invited me to fill a seat in the audience.  She claimed I might find it quite interesting.  As I sat and listened to the stories of dates gone badly, I realized that I was in a room full of woman and men that were STUCK in their current situations.  What was the common denominator I thought?  As I looked around, I noticed woman and men trapped  in a time warp with their hair, make-up and clothing.  I felt that I held the key to help all these people get un-stuck.  The only problem was how do I sit in the back of the room and pass out business cards to all these people in need of some wardrobe services....  “Hi my name is Katrina, and I am a wardrobe consultant and I can help you.”  I don’t think this would’ve gone over so well.  I might as well give them a ticket and performed citizen’s arrests.  It was at this seminar that I also realized that there is so much more that goes into the healing process before someone can actually get back into the game of dating. Assuming you are ready to get things moving along, I start by asking you this question.  What is in your closet?  Do you look into your closet and get completely overwhelmed.  Are you scrambling to find something to wear every time you get dressed?  How many outfits do you have hanging on your treadmill?  The key to stress-free dressing is to get your closet in order.  I recommend buying a coat rack and spending the day pulling everything out of your closet….a cleansing of the wardrobe, if I may. After you have pulled everything out, I now ask that you go through every piece of clothing one-by-one.  I know that this is a tedious undertaking, (which is why people hire me to do this for them), but you will be amazed at what you have been hanging on to all these years.  Whatever remains on that rack will now need close examining.  Is the clothing in good shape?  Is there visible wear and tear?  Is the clothing current?  At this point, you will try really hard to convince yourself that whatever is out of date, will eventually come back.  Don’t do that!  Whatever is out of date will come back, but it won’t come back the way you have it hanging in your closet.  
You have the opportunity to re-invent yourself after a divorce, why not do the same for your personal style.   You have to make sure that you are comfortable (not in an elastic waist pant kind of way), but in a confident way.   Are you wearing heels for the first time in your life and can’t walk in them?  Are you trying to portray something you are not?  In order to be confident in what you are wearing, you cannot completely throw your own personal style away.  You need to just create a more –refined version of yourself.   Examine your personal style and start by asking yourself if you make a good first impression. How do you know whether or not you make a good first impression?  The sad reality of dating is, no matter how many cookies you make for the senior center or how many inner-city kids you mentor your first impression will make or break your date.  Going on a date now, will be completely different then what it what it was before you were married.  You are a different person, and what was acceptable to do and wear before, may have expired by now. 
A refreshed wardrobe and pinning down your first impression are both ways to get yourself in the game.  Once you have established your winning style, you will feel good about yourself and will carry yourself in a whole new way that will even leave you impressed.My philosophy as an image consultant is to treat every day as a dress rehearsal.    I believe that no matter what you do, the minute you leave your home you are the main actor of your life and the show must go on.    Take care of yourself.  Make sure that your hair is fresh and your make-up is subtle.  A natural face is much better than a completely over-made-up face.  Make sure that your clothes are presentable; this means no wear and tear, stains and wrinkles.  

Remember…..you are not looking to change who you are, you just want a new and improved version of yourself. 

Katrina Bischoff,stylist/wardrobe consultant/personal shopper
A-dresstheissue.com  
kitkat1012@optonline.net"

Katrina's experience includes work in the PR department of Neiman Marcus, Beverly Hills managing in-store events, designer appearances and fashion shows. Additionally, her responsibilities have included work with the media. Her experience includes working closely with Neiman's "studio services" group styling outfits for model shoots, magazine covers, and the entertainment industry.